Have the critics of health savings accounts been wrong?

There’s a common belief that employees prefer – and benefit more from -health reimbursement accounts to health savings accounts. The reason, of course, is that employers fund HRAs. Employees pay for HSAs themselves.

But one survey suggests that employees see things differently. A poll of 130 organizations with multiple health plan choices – including an HRA and HSA — found that more workers chose the HSA over the HRA.

The reasons: portability and versatility. Unlike an HRA, employees can take an HSA with them if they
leave the organization. And, for HRAs, employers set the rules for which medical services employees can and can’t be reimbursed for.

With an HSA, the account’s use is entirely up to the employee and can be accessed via a credit/debit card tied to the account. Unfortunately, some folks misuse HSA funds and use the money for non-medical purchases (in response, Congress has been weighing  proposals to put tighter controls on people’s access to HSA money).