The ACA is in its second decade of affecting healthcare across the country. This legislation continues to have a major impact on Americans across a range of economic groups and industries. Its affects can also be felt in the CDH market.
Originally Posted by BenefitsPRO
November 22, 2021
Healthcare reform has been debated for years, with many recent U.S. presidents trying to reshape the American system in different ways. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) is the most comprehensive reform since the 1960s. Implementation has had wide-reaching effects on the healthcare and insurance industries. In particular, the ACA has significantly impacted Consumer-Directed Healthcare (CDH). This market has grown significantly year-over-year as the ACA has evolved. Bo Armstrong, CMO of DataPath, Inc. recently published a whitepaper and presented a webinar detailing the ACA’s timeline, provisions and the affect on consumer-directed healthcare accounts.
The one constant with the ACA has been change.
“The ACA is the most comprehensive American health care reform legislation since the 1960s,” said Bo Armstrong, chief marketing officer for DataPath, which develops benefits administration technology. “The reality is that the ACA is still extremely young, but it has caused massive tidal waves throughout the health care industry. For some people, it has gone too far and for others, it hasn’t gone far enough. Because of the way the ACA keeps changing, it is hard for employers to keep up and stay current, especially in the consumer-directed health care space.”
How has the CDH market changed?
“Despite many obstacles, or perhaps because of them, the CDH account market has significantly grown year-over-year as the ACA has evolved,” he said. “The question now is whether this growth will continue, not to mention how employers, brokers and third-party benefit administrators can take advantage of the market expansion.”
During his webinar presentation, Mr. Armstrong shared some interesting CDH growth statistics:
- “In 2010, 37% of workers who were offered flexible spending account enrolled in one, with an estimated 18 million FSA accounts and an average annual contribution of $1,400,” Armstrong said. “By 2019, the total number of FSA accounts had risen to 30.2 million. By next year, the market is expected to grow to 33 million accounts.”
- “In 2010, the estimated number of health reimbursement accounts was 10 million,” he said. “By 2019, that number had grown to 15 million. By next year, estimates put the number of HRAs at almost 16 million.”
- “Finally, we have the hugely successful story of health savings accounts,” Armstrong said. “In 2010, just a quarter of those under age 65 who had private insurance were enrolled in a high-deductible health plan. In 2017, enrollment in HSAs had nearly quadrupled to 32% of commercially insured individuals. By 2019, total accounts had soared to 28.3 million. By the end of 2020, there were nearly 30 million HSA accounts, with an asset value of $800 billion, almost $24 billion of which was being invested. Projections are that HSAs will reach 43.7 million accounts next year.”
Learn about Mr. Armstrong’s key takeaways from the webinar on BenefitsPRO.
Bo Armstrong
Chief Marketing Officer, DataPath, Inc.
As Chief Marketing Officer, Bo Armstrong leads all marketing and product initiatives for DataPath, whom he joined in 2015. Bo has over 25 years of marketing leadership experience at companies ranging in size from Fortune 500 to start-ups. He has a proven record for driving results and growing revenue through dynamic marketing programs. Bo focuses on identifying emerging market trends within the benefits industry, advocating for customers and their needs. Bo holds a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from Texas A&M University and a Master’s degree in Religion from Liberty University.
