Health savings account balances and health investment account balances declined in the third quarter, with the latter falling sharply, according to Canopy Financial.
The company said that individual health savings account balances fell by an average of 2% from the previous quarter and family health savings account balances fell 4% on average.
Canopy called those declines "modest" in light of "sharp drops in U.S. financial markets."
Balances in individual health investment accounts, however, fell an average of 17% from the previous quarter, and family health investment accounts fell an average of 8%.
Individuals and families over the age of 51 continued to hold the highest average health investment account values, nearly triple those of individuals and families in the 25-to-40 age bracket.
Card payments continued to lag every other spending category; bill payments and reimbursements made up the majority of spending out of health savings accounts, Canopy said.
Canopy, which released the survey results Monday, is based in San Francisco and has offices in Chicago and Plainsboro, N.J. The company provides "technology solutions that connect healthcare and financial services."
