Relatively few uninsured households have enough financial assets to cover the cost sharing in consumer-directed health plans tied to health savings accounts (HSAs), according to a new study by Kaiser Family Foundation researchers published April 15 as a Health Affairs web exclusive.
The new study analyzes the asset levels of households with two or more uninsured members in 2004 and compares it with the range of cost-sharing features in HSA-qualified health plans in that year. The results show that most uninsured households do not have overall financial assets great enough to cover the HSA deductible if they get sick. For example, about 33 percent of households with at least two uninsured members had gross financial assets of at least $2,000, the minimum deductible for an HSA-qualified family plan in 2004, and only 9 percent had enough of these assets to cover the out-of-pocket maximum ($10,000).
The analysis is based on the 2004 Survey of Consumer Finances, a nationally representative household survey conducted by the Federal Reserve Board every three years. Read the abstract.
