My friend and former colleague, Eric Johnson,wrote an article for this publication not too long ago where heoutlined five reasons to enroll in a health savings account. I actuallyagree with him that the HSA is going to be the plan of the futureand that they do offer a number of great benefits for employers aswell as employees. In fact, my family and I have had an HSA for thelast couple of years. However, there are reasons why an HSA mightnot be for everyone.

1) HSA are not instantly financed

Of course we know by now that one advantage the HSA has over theFSA that unused funds can stay in the account indefinitely—no useit or lose it rule. However, the disadvantage is that funds usuallyneed to build up over time. Most employees, and employers whocontribute to their employees' accounts, make a contribution eachpayday. At that rate, and depending on what is being spent from theaccount, it can take a while to build up enough dollars to fullycover the deductible. On the other hand, an employee with a FSA canaccess the full amount of their annual allocation on day one of theplan year if they encounter a big expense.