What are the implications of health savings accounts for the US payments business? How can financial institutions best exploit this opportunity?

Abstract

Health savings accounts (HSAs) provide financial services firms with a unique opportunity to enter the healthcare value chain and participate in the evolving healthcare market. Financial services firms can create enormous value for themselves and also for health plans and healthcare providers by adopting a new model for transaction processing that reduces provider bad debt, lowers administrative costs and improves decision making. This paper defines the scope of the opportunity (transaction fees related to HSAs alone will account for US$2.3bn over the next five years) and outlines the options to consider in developing a successful healthcare transaction processing strategy.