The number of employers offering health savings accounts could more than quadruple next year, according to a survey by Mellon Financial Corp.'s human resources and investor solutions unit that was released Thursday.
About 7% of the 360 U.S. employers surveyed offer the product now, Mellon said, but 32% said they planned to offer it next year.
The vast majority of companies planning to initiate health savings accounts next year would do so as an optional employee benefit, the survey said; only 2% plan to fully replace their current health insurance offering with HSAs. The survey also found that that 66% of employers expect to offer some match of employee contributions to the accounts.
About 16% of eligible employees are enrolled in a health savings account. The employer-respondents said they are targeting 24% as the enrollment goal.
Administrators of health savings accounts have amassed $460 million of deposits, according to a recent estimate in "Inside Consumer-Directed Care."
