Health Savings Account fee ranking

A: Most Health Savings Account administrators today do not charge fees so this is usually a moot point. For employer-provided health plans with the "big name" providers like Blue Cross affiliates, Kaiser, Humana, etc., the costs associated with plan and account administration is incorporated into the overall pricing of services. Individuals enrolling on their own can use a HSA account offered by First American Bank that has no fees. Many of the health plans offered to smaller companies offer similar free HSA accounts. Those that do elect to pay a fee for account administrations usually do so because it provides access to particular desired investment features. For example, my spouse has a free HSA account through Aetna but also elected to open a second HSA account using Vanguard Funds through HS Administrators Inc. that charges a small annual fee. The perceived value of owning Vanguard no-load mutual funds makes it seem worthwhile. In reality, there is no indication that paying higher fees provides in any tangible positive benefit to account owners in terms of increased net return on investment. Some HSA owners prefer to have an independent advisor handle their HSA in the same manner as their other investment accounts. For this purpose, TD Ameritrade offers a flawless service that parallels that offered for large investment accounts. The fees are higher than other options, but these clients who are hiring expensive advisers tend to be les sensitive to items like account administration fees. The list of three preferred independent account administrators is at http://www.healthsavingsaccount-hsa.com/hsaacounts.htm . The recommendations are not based exclusively on fees, but rather on overall quality of experience with these custodians. The list may change from time to time as market trends and offerings shift. As a side note, some time age we approached with the idea of supporting enrollment a wider range of HSA administrators. I saw little value to the public in expanding the "product line" since it seems that HSAs are a commodity item that come in three of four basic formats. Most of the more recent innovations, IMO, have been detrimental to account owners. (See other posts about HSAs connected to credit a cards and commodity futures contracts.). The financial services industry is working hard to cash in on the HSA trend, but there is no indication yet that any of this benefits the consumer.