| News from Washington |
| Democrats Face Steep Odds in Bid to Keep Senate Democrats are staring down an increasingly difficult Senate landscape as national political headwinds threaten to sweep away what they believe is their best chance to hold at least one chamber of Congress. With hopes for holding their House majority dimming quickly, Democrats see this year’s Senate map as a relative bright spot, given the fact that they’re defending fewer seats than Republicans and believe they have a strong class of candidates. But nationally, they’re up against a brutal political landscape. Read More |
| HSA Compliance Corner |
| You May Have Been Disqualified. Learn How to Diagnose and Fix the Issue. If your HSA-qualified plan offered telemedicine benefits below the deductible during the first quarter of 2022, you may be temporarily disqualified from funding your Health Savings Account. Or not. Your insurer or employer should have adjusted the benefit to apply to the deductible (and can still do so retroactively by reprocessing claims). But some may not have. Here’s what you need to know. Read More |
| HSA Industry News |
| CVS Sells Off Health Savings Account Arm PayFlex CVS Health is selling off its HSA business PayFlex to Millennium Trust, a bank that already offers retirement and financial services, but wants to expand into healthcare and benefits accounts. PlayFlex covers 2.4 million members and 2,500 clients. With the deal, Millennium will reach 5 million individual client accounts and $47 billion in assets under administration. Read More |
| PayGround Expands Digital Wallet with Plastiq Partnership PayGround, a healthcare fintech payments platform, has partnered with Plastiq, a smart payments platform, to expand the payment options available to patients through the PayGround Digital Wallet. Patients can now pay any healthcare provider through their preferred method. Options include their bank account, their FSA or HSA, or via a credit card or debit card — all from the PayGround Digital Wallet. Read More |
| HSA Industry Best Practices |
| Why a Health Saving Account Can Help Improve Recruiting and Retention Efforts With a Younger Workforce Over the past several years, there has been a dramatic shift in the workplace from baby boomers to millennials. When it comes to health benefits, millennials aren’t interested in more expensive traditional plans. Millennials prefer a plan that comes with lower premiums/payroll deductions rather than one with lower out-of-pocket expenses. For employers, offering a lower cost HSA-qualified plan with a funded HSA has become an important part of their overall benefit strategy and recruitment and retention efforts. Read More |
| The HSA Market |
| Mega-Trends Have Emerged That Drive Growth in HSAs Mega-trends are driving the growth of health savings accounts. In the last five years, the number of HSA accounts has grown more than 60% and the number of assets has grown by 250%. HSAs’ rapid growth since 2003, when HSAs were created, has been driven by employees wanting to cover rising health care costs in retirement. In addition, more employers have moved to high-deductible health plans that are paired with an HSA. Read More |
| HSAs & Retirement |
| Who Are the Investors Among HSA Owners? And Are Enough Investing? HSAs are an ideal vehicle for long-term savings and investment. Yet industry surveys show that fewer than one in 10 HSAs includes any active investments in mutual funds, stocks, bonds, and other instruments. That figure appears to represent a lost opportunity, but a more careful analysis of the situation adds a few layers of understanding to the state of HSA investments. Read More |
| Maximizing Your HSA |
| 93% of HSA Holders Are Making This Huge Mistake According to a recent Devenir report, only 7% of HSAs had at least some of their funds invested. And that means that most HSA holders are missing out on a prime opportunity to benefit the most from their accounts. HSAs offer the same tax-free investment growth Roth account holders can benefit from. But it’s clear that most users aren’t treating their HSAs as a long-term savings and investment account. Read More |
| HSA Investment Strategy: Guide Health Savings Account offers the opportunity to build an investment portfolio to cover future medical expenses. This specialized account could be a game-change in retirement with the right investment strategy. The details of an appropriate HSA investment strategy will vary for everyone. Here are four key things to consider. Read More |