The nation’s “Blues” healthcare providers who serve one out of every three enrolled Americans have launched own bank to manage HSA accounts.

The Blues plans in the first four bank states have already opened their doors: Michigan, Idaho, South Carolina, and Arkansas. Kansas and Illinois Blues are in the pipeline. However, the goal is to roll out 12 to 15 more Blues plan banks this year and all 33 states by the middle of 2008 if possible.

Almost one in three Americans are in a Blues plan (100 million members). In Michigan alone CDH has grown from 25 to 70,000 lives in just the last year, and leaders said it expects 15-20% of its business to be CDH over time. Blues officials said the Treasury Department told them that it estimates 40 to 50 million Americans in CDH accounts by 2010, so Blues plans expect to have 13 to 15 million covered lives in CDH by that time. All 50 states are eligible to have a Blues bank under the new charter.

The new Blues bank is projected to hold more than $20 billion in CDH account deposits after the first three years, according to filings with federal regulators.

CareGain, VISA and Fiserv will work together to make the new accounts work. VISA will allow doctors offices to link to the bank using a health plan one-card. Fiserv will use its technology to link the transactions, and CareGain will use its advanced multi-purse technology to feed payments to the right account and other features.

Wellpoint is asking regulators for a second bank running alongside the Blues bank because it has multiple products that most Blues plans do not offer such as other insurance types, and has plans without Blues trademarks.

Blues bank consumers will be able to make investments in securities after reaching a threshold of $2,000. Company officials did not describe which funds or how they would be offered but said it would be a “broad range of investments.”