PORTLAND, Maine — Even in Maine, where folks resist change, health savings accounts are emerging as the plan of choice for employers, said Jennifer McCurry, account manager with Insurance Innovations, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Maine Credit Union League Insurance Trust. This not only allows credit unions to save money by offering HSAs to their employees, it also means more customers for credit unions that offer the accounts.

Thanks to another year of premium price hikes…McCurry's July renewal clients are seeing increases from 22 to 32% over last year…HSAs have emerged as a popular tool to help both credit unions and their employee groups control benefit costs.

"This seems to be the year that everyone is really taking a serious look at HSAs for their employees," McCurry said. "We already know quite a few of our credit unions will be switching over this month, and when January rolls around, we anticipate a big increase in the switch to high deductible plans, especially HSAs."