American Express branches out to Health Savings Account customers

I have a love/hate relationship with my health savings account (aka: HSA, flex account, cafeteria plan). On one hand, I love it because I can pay for my health care spending with pre-tax money.  On the other hand, I hate how complicated it is to be reimbursed. You have to save the receipts, fax them in to the company and wait a few weeks for a check to be sent back in the mail. For someone who loves direct deposit and online banking, this is monstrously slow! It's almost as bad as the mail-in rebate system!

But it looks like this old fax and mail process may be on its way out. American Express has over a million active prepaid healthcare accounts in the US and this service is outpacing 401(k) adoption according to The Nilson Report. The program is called Health Pay Plus and combines a HSA account with a prepaid credit card. Consumers who are enrolled in a "high-deductible" health plan through their employer and with a deductible above $1,000 can qualify for this account.

Visit the American Express website to learn more about the Health Pay Plus card. The Nilson Report estimates that this type of health care account would grow to more than 5 million customers over the next ten years. If we're lucky, this could put fax machines out of business!

What do you think of this American Express account? What do you think of your flexible spending account or health savings account program? Share your feedback in the comments section below.

Comments

[Emma]

I love this plan! I have a VISA HSA right now, and it has saved us quite a bit of money. And it's extremely flexible and convenient. I use it for co-pays, medicine, heck, even Tylenol.

The HSA, should garner that much attention, could drive down health costs because consumers would be more aware of medical purchases.

One small correction though, you qualify for a HSA when you have a high deductible policy, individual or through an employer. You only listed employer. :)

[EmilyPeters]

I'm jealous! I wish I had a HSA card!

Thanks for the correction, that makes a big difference for people who pay for their own insurance.