Congress is apparently angry that banks aren’t doing more to spur the adoption of HSAs. Some congressmen are thinking of holding hearings or adding legislation.

Reports surfacing from Washington indicate that anger is building.

HSAs are drawing the interest of one committee on Capitol Hill, and could become a major issue.

“Anybody who has tried to go out and get an HSA knows this story: most banks in this country refuse to trustee or custodian an HSA—even though they hold millions of IRAs and 401ks,” a congressional staffer for one committee told capital newsletters this week.

“If you have a high-deductible health plan, there is no reason on earth why you should not be able to walk into any bank in the U.S. that does IRAs and get an HSA. This is pure discrimination.”

Other banking practices which are anti-HSA include refusing to give a spouse a second debit card to use for medical care, hiding the fact that HSAs are an investment option in bank lobbies and literature, and refusing to coordinate HSA account payments with health insurers or to provide tax forms that are provided for IRAs.

“Basically, the banks are avoiding the expense of servicing HSAs because they are still too small to bring in the fees and charges that IRAs and 401ks generate,” the staffer said. “That's not illegal, but could be contrary to the spirit of banking laws, and is certainly something Congress could look at as a discriminatory practice.”