Research: Most Affordable Health Savings Accounts

The Vimo Rankings Report is based on a sample of the top 84 companies that market HSAs (aka "HSA custodians") for which data could be verified, which together represent roughly one-third of all HSA offerings available in the United States. Vimo's research team gathered data through published materials, phone interviews and the Internet. While the Vimo website presents a broad range of comparative information on HSA companies and products, this new report focuses upon the quantitative areas of cost and interest rates offered in each Health Savings Account.

Consumers and businesses can use this Vimo Report to find the least expensive accounts offering the highest interest rates. "HSAs are a wonderful, triple-tax-advantaged savings vehicle ... but they're also a relatively new animal for most people," Said Chini Krishnan, Vimo's CEO. "They are not quite a savings account, not really a 401k. So it's difficult to make an apples-to-apples comparison among the hundreds of different offerings. It's hard for people to make informed choices. We hope this Vimo Rankings Report makes choosing the right HSA a lot easier."

The Vimo Rankings Report ranks the five HSA offerings in the country that offer the highest interest rates on typical account balances of $2,500. Some HSA custodians offer more complicated investment options such as mutual funds and money market accounts, but the focus of this report was on regular interest-bearing options. Patelco Credit Union's HSA offering came in first place. Following Patelco, in order, are Exante Bank, Home State Bank, National City Bank, Bank of Cashton. The Vimo Report also ranks the nation's most affordable (least expensive) HSAs. Topping that list is a seven-way tie: American Chartered Bank, Assurant Health, Black Hawk Bank, First American Bank, Gilmore Bank, Heartland Bank and Keystone Bank all sharing the honor of being named in the Vimo Report as the nation's most-affordable Health Savings Accounts.

Five cost categories are included as criteria within the report: 1) annual fees; 2) account set-up fees; 3) monthly account maintenance fees; 4) transaction fees, and; 5) account closing fees. All of these cost categories show a massive variance across the 84 companies surveyed in the Vimo Report. For example, annual fees range from $0 all the way up to $185 per year, while account set-up fees range from $0 at the low end to $50 at the high end to set up a new HSA account.

The Vimo Report cautions consumers that with interest rates on HSA account balances currently topping-out at about 5%, it is important to realize that high fees can completely wipe out any financial growth over time. For example: an individual opens a new HSA and deposits $2,500. For the premier HSA offering in the Vimo report, the annual return would be +$113. But the same $2500 invested in another HSA in the report actually loses $121.

"The new Vimo Report primarily addresses cost and interest rates, which should be near the very top of everyone's consideration list when choosing an HSA," said Tom Cochrane, Vimo's Vice President of Partners. "It does not factor in many of the qualitative aspects of services provided by HSA providers. Consumers should be aware that some HSA custodians are able to keep their fees low precisely because they provide relatively few extra services." He continued, "It's also important to realize that the 'right' HSA will be different depending on whether you tend to spend each year's contributions, or save them. The inexpensive, high-return HSAs that we focus on in this Report are probably best for the 'saver'."

Vimo plans to publish updates on this Report, as well as additional reports on a quarterly basis. New reports will focus on different aspects of the fast-emerging Consumer Driven Health Care market. The reports will be designed specifically to help consumers and small businesses plan better, spend smarter and make the most of their healthcare dollar. Reports expected from Vimo in the near future will focus upon comparing the "softer" more qualitative service features of the hundreds of HSA offerings, and another report revealing the most expensive and most affordable hospitals in the major metropolitan markets.