While adoption rates are increasing for health savings accounts, Dennis Triplett, CEO of UMB Healthcare Services, says few realize the full financial potential of these tax-advantaged accounts:

There are three primary ways HSA account holders save on taxes: tax-deductible deposits, tax-free earnings and tax-free withdrawals. Unlike other tax-advantaged spending accounts, HSAs also have the ability to accrue funds from year-to-year, and many have investment options, similar to other retirement savings vehicles.

"We continue to see strong adoption rates for HSAs, but there is room for education on the financial benefits of these accounts," said Triplett. "Despite the tax advantages, many are not meeting the yearly contribution max or realizing the true potential of year-over-year growth in these accounts. For example, looking at account balances from May 2011 through May 2012, we saw that our account holders had an average account balance of $1,917 (up from $1,710 last May), but far below the yearly contribution maximum."