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Health accounts remain popular despite health law's restrictions
Health savings accounts (HSAs) are continuing to grow, despite new restrictions in President Obama's healthcare law.
Roughly 70 percent of workers who have a special healthcare savings account said their employers contributed to the fund last year, and 42 percent of workers made significant contributions of their own, according to data released Wednesday by the Employee Benefit Research Institute.
Forty-two percent of employees said they contributed at least $1,500 to an HSA last year, while just 15 percent said they made no contribution, the institute found.
HSAs are tax-preferred accounts specifically for healthcare expenses.
Republicans see them as integral to a "consumer-oriented" approach to healthcare, but the Affordable Care Act includes some new restrictions on HSAs. The accounts can no longer be used to buy over-the-counter drugs unless a doctor writes a prescription.
Nevertheless, the number of people who use HSAs and HRAs continues to climb, as do their contributions to the accounts, according to Wednesday's data.
Seventy percent of workers with an HSA or HRA said their employer contributed to their accounts, and the percentage of employers making contributions of more than $1,000 rose from 14 percent to 22 percent.
