While federal and state governments and consumer and industry groups slowly work toward health care reform, employers have to address the situation as it currently exists. And for a growing number of employers, that means establishing or switching to a health savings account-high deductible health care insurance plan.

A high deductible plan is typically the least expensive health care insurance option for a business, while the health savings account or HSA enables employees to pay for their share of health care with pretax dollars.

There can be no doubt that these plans save overall health care costs for employers and employees when compared to Preferred Provider Organization plans. A multiyear study by UnitedHealthcare shows that after adjustment for demographic and health status, the HSA-high deductible plans lowered overall health care costs by 7 percent in 2006 and 9 percent in 2007. The employer's share of health care costs was down 12 percent.

Recent America's Health Insurance Plans studies report that in the past two years, the number of people enrolled in health savings account plans has grown by 90 percent and now stands at 6.1 million nationally.

The studies found that 27 percent of people with health savings accounts in employer-based plans were previously uninsured. And a study by Golden Rule Insurance, a UnitedHealth Group company, found that an even larger percentage of individual-based health savings account buyers -- a whopping 40 percent -- were previously uninsured.

In total, OptumHealth Financial Services estimates that nearly 2.5 million previously uninsured people have gained coverage through health savings account plans. And a recent OptumHealth survey estimates that three in 10 holders of health savings account plans say that if it weren't for the option, they wouldn't have health care insurance at all.

-- Stephanie Bernaciak-Massaro,
UnitedHealthcare,
svbernaciak@uhc.com