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A softer economy hurt sales of new health savings accounts at HealthEquity earlier this year, but executives hope cost-cutting pressure on employers could eventually increase HSA sales.
HealthEquity says it sold 150,000 new HSAs during its first fiscal quarter of the year, which ended April 30.
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The number of new HSA openings was up 12% from the total HealthEquity recorded during the quarter that ended April 30, 2023, but down 23% from the total for the quarter that ended April 30, 2024.
HealthEquity is cautious about how macroeconomic conditions will affect job creation, but "we are optimistic about the pipeline," Scott Cutler, the company's chief executive officer, said last week, during a conference call with analysts that was streamed live online.
Cutler sees economic downturns as a good time for persuading employers to offer a high-deductible health plan along with an HSA, or to replace an existing high-deductible health plan option with a program that makes a high-deductible plan the only plan.
"With effective plan design and greater adoption, we can help drive down their health care costs," Cutler said.
What it means: If Cutler is right, employers might be slow to make benefit plan changes right now, but they might be interested in hearing ideas about what to do next.
HealthEquity: The Draper, Utah-based company has a broad view of the HSA market because it administers about one-quarter of all HSAs.
The company held the analyst call to go over results for its first fiscal quarter. A recording of the call is available on HealthEquity's website.
Although new HSA sales were soft, strong customer retention pushed the total number of HSAs administered to 9.9 million, up 9% from the total recorded a year earlier.
Washington: Stephen Neeleman, HealthEquity's founder and vice chairman, talked about the many HSA improvement provisions in the big tax and budget package recently passed by the House. The package is now under consideration in the Senate.
Related: 14 HSA and HRA sweeteners in the House 'One Big Beautiful' tax bill
"We remain confident that HSAs and other tax-advantaged health accounts are popular on both sides of the political aisle, and we'll continue to advocate for all Americans to have the opportunity to have access to them," Neeleman said.
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Allison Bell
Allison Bell, a senior reporter at ThinkAdvisor and BenefitsPRO, previously was an associate editor at National Underwriter Life & Health. She has a bachelor's degree in economics from Washington University in St. Louis and a master's degree in journalism from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University. She can be reached through X at @Think_Allison.
