More Americans are using HSAs to save and pay for medical expenses, according to a newreport from the J.P. Morgan Treasury Services. The report shows theaverage HSA balance is up 7 percent from 2009, at $1,494, and theaverage account contribution rose slightly in 2010 to $1,884,compared to $1,816 in 2009. The report includes the J.P.

Morgan HSA Program Snapshot which details the saving, spendingand investing patterns and trends among 700,000 HSA account holdersin 2010. The average age of account holders is 43, and 73 percentof account holders contributed more than they spent during eachmonth in 2010 (up from 68 percent in 2009), the report showed.

“As health care costs continue to rise year over year, Americansare increasingly leveraging HSAs as a means for using pre-taxdollars on medical expenses, as well as a way to invest and earnmoney for future health costs,” says David Josephs, managingdirector at J.P. Morgan.