ALEXANDRIA, Va. — NCUA Vice Chairman Rodney Hood praised credit unions for helping to maintain a strong economy and urged them to push further into the new realm of Health Savings Accounts.

"I am very proud of how credit unions are empowering more and more Americans to own homes and start businesses," he said. "The partnership should not end there, however. As your members' businesses succeed, they will be seeking ways to best meet the health care needs of their employees. "Rising health care costs are a burden on them, and they will be faced with providing expensive coverage for their employees, or no coverage at all. Rising health care costs can ultimately prevent a small business from hiring employees, which is truly a detriment to our economy. I believe that Health Savings Accounts are a very effective approach for credit unions to use in order to help their members' small businesses thrive while fulfilling their primary responsibility of providing quality health care."

Hood noted a recent report that said banks were beating credit unions to the HSA market. "The train is leaving the station and America's credit unions absolutely must be on board," he said. "I cannot think of a better way for a credit union to illustrate the 'people helping people' philosophy than by offering their members the opportunity to have ownership of quality health care for their families and employees."