HSA Bank’s Annual Health and Wealth Index(SM) Offers Important Insight for Employers

PR Newswire

MILWAUKEE, July 16, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- HSA Bank, a division of Webster Bank, N.A., today released its third annual HSA Bank Health & Wealth Index, a report that explores trends in consumer financial and physical health. A total of 2,000 U.S. adults were surveyed about their health plan enrollment status, health practices, ability to pay for healthcare, and confidence in their own health and wealth. Each consumer received a combined health and wealth score between zero and 100. The average consumer was found to be moderately engaged in their health and wealth with an average index score of 56.4.

HSA Bank has been running this survey annually for the past three years, giving these insights context and depth. Key findings from the 2020 Health & Wealth Index revealed:

Consumers are unfamiliar with important aspects of their health plan.
Only nine percent of the age group newest to the workforce (Generation Z) knew their out-of-pocket maximum. Additionally, 42 percent of all consumers surveyed didn't know if their plan was HSA-eligible.
Financial best practices are poor, especially for those nearing or in retirement.
The survey showed 83 percent of consumers over age 65 report worrying about current or future medical bills. Also, 37 percent of those consumers report that they rarely save money for future healthcare expenses.
Consumers are less confident in their physical health and their ability to manage their health needs.
Only 21 percent of consumers said that they made changes to improve their finances related to healthcare, and only 15 percent of consumers frequently save money specifically for future healthcare expenses.

"We encourage employers to look at these insights as opportunities for increased employee engagement," said Chad Wilkins, president of HSA Bank. "HSA Bank provides many tools and resources to help employers better engage and inform their employees with both their health and wealth. Employers are able to measure engagement and provide recommendations for improvement using the Health & Wealth Index Calculator."

To more broadly share insights on key findings, HSA Bank will hold a webinar on Thursday, July 30 at 1 p.m. Central, titled "Improving Health and Wealth Engagement in our Changing Times" offering demographic and behavioral insights on health and wealth engagement that can help employers make decisions for healthcare benefits. To register, please click here.

The full report is available to view online at hsabank.com/index2020.

About the Study:
A survey of more than 2,000 randomly selected U.S. adults ages 18+ was conducted in order to gauge physical and financial health across the country. It was designed to provide participants with an overall health and wealth consumer index score. The survey was commissioned by HSA Bank and executed by a third-party organization. The margin of error for this sample size is +/- 2.18% at the 95% confidence level. Smaller subgroups have larger margins of error.

About HSA Bank:
HSA Bank is a trusted leader in consumer-directed healthcare (CDH), focusing on Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) for over two decades and serving as both the bank and administrator. Discover how we can support your benefits strategy with our comprehensive account-based health benefit solutions that include HSAs, Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs), Health Reimbursement Arrangements (HRAs), Commuter Benefits, COBRA Administration, and HSA investment solutions such as HSAdvisor+. With a reputation for outstanding service and thought leadership in the CDH space, we offer one platform and one portal for all of our members. HSA Bank inspires 3 million members and more than 35,000 employer groups to "own your health" by making it easy to access, understand, and afford healthcare. As of March 31, 2020, HSA Bank has $8.6 billion in total footings (assets) comprising $6.7 billion in deposit balances and $1.9 billion in assets under administration through linked investment accounts, and is a division of Webster Bank, N.A., Member FDIC.