In most cases, a credit union's members would rather turn to the credit union they know and trust for all of their financial needs instead of establishing a new relationship with another financial organization. It only stands to reason, therefore, that members who are small- business owners would look to their credit unions when it comes time to invest in a Health Savings Account (HSA) or begin an HSA program for their employees.

The recent Community Bank Competitiveness Survey from the American Bankers Association (ABA) and the ABA Banking Journal shows employer and professional groups account for nearly 70% percent of the productive HSA marketplace among community banks. And more than 48% percent of community banks offering HSAs say they help with customer retention efforts. Although these figures relate to community banks and their customers, this data suggests a good reason for credit unions to start paying more attention to the value HSAs can bring in better serving and retaining their business services members.

I use the words "can bring" because while HSAs, in conjunction with High Deductible Health Plans (HDHPs), are growing in popularity with larger employers, many small business owners haven't fully embraced them yet. In fact, a number of small employers have begun to drop health insurance coverage altogether due to skyrocketing costs according to the 2007 National Survey on Employer Sponsored Health Plans. The survey shows just 61% percent of small businesses, those with 10 to 200 employees, offering some sort of health insurance plan compared to 69% percent in 2001. The same study shows only 11% percent of small businesses offer ann HDHP, which is typically much more cost-effective for an employer than a traditional health insurance plan.