Publications
Publications
- February 2018
- HBS Case Collection
Health Savings Accounts: Enabling Consumer Participation
By: Regina E. Herzlinger and James Wallace
Abstract
Health savings accounts (HSAs), a creation of the 2003 Medicare Modernization Act, had become an integral part of the drive toward consumer-driven health care. Coupled with high-deductible health plans, HSAs allowed consumers to directly control a significant part of their annual health care spend, and the tax-advantaged nature of the accounts made them an attractive investment vehicle as well.
Several thorny questions remained, however. For instance, would insurers and employers embrace the accounts for the customers they influenced? Would financial professionals see the relatively small accounts as a valuable component for their clients? In this context the mobile app HSA Coach was developed. The Health Savings Accounts case presents the challenges facing new innovations in mature sectors, with particular emphasis on technology and finance concerns of Prof. Herzlinger’s Six Factors of the Innovating in Health Care framework.
Keywords
Health Care; Healthcare Costs; Health Insurance; Health Care and Treatment; Cost; Insurance; Innovation and Invention; Health Industry; United States
Citation
Herzlinger, Regina E., and James Wallace. "Health Savings Accounts: Enabling Consumer Participation." Harvard Business School Case 318-110, February 2018.