Businesses need to "turn up the heat" in educating consumers about health savings accounts and health reimbursements accounts, according to Acclaris, a tech consulting firm for account-based health care plans.
The firm recently conducted a survey of over 300 health industry professionals that showed the difficult task the industry faces convincing consumers to take a chance on HSAs and HRAs.
Among the key findings:
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92 percent of respondents rated the average consumer's understanding of HSAs and HRAs as poor or mediocre.
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40 percent said HSAs are the most difficult type of plan for consumers to understand, while 27 percent said HRAs were the hardest to grasp.
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63 percent said consumers' lack of education on the subject was the greatest barrier to them considering such plans. Nineteen percent said general lack of awareness was the biggest obstacle.
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56 percent said a big problem was that consumers continue to take a passive role in their health care decisions.
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52 percent said that consumers don't grasp the long-term benefits of HSAs and HRAs.
What's the solution? A little over half of respondents said employers should take a more active role in explaining the benefits of such plans to workers. Meanwhile, 21 percent said it is the duty of insurance brokers, 7.5 percent said it should be the responsibility of the consumers themselves, 3 percent said the government should step in and 10 percent suggested others.
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