Mountain View, Calif., February 15, 2005 � Health insurance plans purchased as part of individuals� and families� Health Savings Account (HSA) programs in 2004 included solid benefits and reasonable prices. Plans purchased included coverage for prescription drugs 99.4 percent of the time and coverage for doctor visits and other important benefits 85.4 percent of the time. This and other data on HSA adoption in 2004 was released today in an in-depth annual report by eHealthInsurance, the nation�s leading source of health insurance for individuals and families.
In addition to prescription drugs, HSA-eligible health plans purchased in 2004 through eHealthInsurance.com by individuals and families are providing benefits including office visits, prescription drugs, and hospitalization at an average monthly premium of $137.94 for individuals and $277.45 for families. Eighty-nine percent of
HSA-eligible plan purchasers are paying $200 or less per person per month.
HSAs are already meeting the healthcare and financial needs of consumers. Bill Lomel from Georgia, a 41year-old commercial roofer, has used a HSA program since their introduction in January 2004 to cover his family�s medical services and pharmaceuticals. The plan he purchased through eHealthInsurance.com saved him $6,000 last year on premiums alone. �As a father with three active kids, it�s important to have quality health insurance -- but I only want to pay the insurance company�s negotiated rate for medical services we will use,� said Lomel while participating in a White House panel on HSAs last month. �Instead of putting money into a �black hole� paying huge monthly premiums, I am depositing the savings tax free into a fund to use for our short-term medical needs. The money in my HSA that went unused in 2004 rolled over for use in 2005 and beyond.�
Other key findings of the report on HSA-eligible health plan purchasers include:
� Nearly half are at least 40 years old;
� More than one-third are families with children;
� 40 percent have incomes under $50,000 a year;
� One-third were previously uninsured; and
� Of those in the $15,000 to $35,000 income bracket, there was a 161 percent increase of previously uninsured purchasers during all of 2004 compared to the first six months of the year.
�HSAs are intended to help people to get affordable health insurance, experience flexibility in the use of their healthcare dollars today, and save for their future medical needs,� said Gary Lauer, CEO of eHealthInsurance. �Our data shows that those objectives are being addressed across all age groups and income brackets, including those making less than $50,000 a year, who came to eHealthInsurance without health insurance. Getting health insurance into their hands begins to solve one of the nation�s most pressing problems.�
eHealthInsurance today released an in-depth annual report, �Health Savings Accounts: The First Year in Review.� The report consists of consumer demographics, data on pricing and plan benefits of HSA-eligible health insurance plans purchased by individuals and families across the U.S. for all of 2004. The report also compares that data with the first six months of the year. In addition to reporting on HSA purchasers, the eHealthInsurance report includes comparable information on the buyer demographics, pricing and benefits of major medical health insurance of all types sold to individuals and families through www.eHealthInsurance.com nationally.
