News from Washington Trump Taps Long-Time Tax Lobbyist Ken Kies for Key Treasury RolePresident-elect Trump announced that he will nominate Ken Kies, a long-time tax lobbyist in Washington, DC, to be Assistant Secretary for Tax Policy. Kies will serve as the senior advisor to the Secretary of the Treasury, and will be responsible for analyzing, […]
News from Washington Health Savings Accounts Poised for Comeback Under RepublicansRepublicans have a new chance to expand HSAs offered by employer plans when Congress reconvenes in 2025, revisiting a divisive policy that some Democrats support even as others denounce it as a tax break for the wealthy. Republican interest in revisiting HSAs is broad. Read […]
News from Washington Shutdown Update: American Relief Act Sustains Critical Telehealth Flexibilities (but not for HSAs)Congress passed the American Relief Act of 2025 early Saturday morning, avoiding a shutdown of federal agencies and a swift end to some key telehealth policies. But other telehealth policy flexibilities were not extended, including first-dollar coverage of telehealth for […]
News from Washington Extension of Telehealth Likely as Negotiations Crest in CongressLawmakers are in the throes of negotiating an end-of-year legislative deal before the government runs out of funding December 20. The latest healthcare deal includes a two-year extension of Medicare telehealth flexibilities and a one-year extension of pre-deductible coverage of telehealth for HSA-qualified plans. Read […]
HSA Studies & Analysis Top 20 HSA Market Concentration – 2024 Midyear UpdateUsing data from its latest HSA Research Report, Devenir analyzed market concentration among the top 20 HSA providers (by assets), finding a 10% increase from the previous year. Market share among the top 5 largest HSA providers increased to 73% of total HSA […]
Compliance Corner Do HSA Funds Expire at the End of the Year? Here’s What You Can, Can’t Buy With Your HSAYou might not know the difference between an FSA and an HSA, or what you can spend that money on. Here’s a simple breakdown of the difference between an HSA and an FSA and what […]
News from Washington Employers and Benefits Brokers Unite to Defend Group Health Tax ExclusionA coalition of benefits brokers, employer groups and benefits groups is trying to ward off any efforts to weaken the current federal income tax exclusion for employer-sponsored health benefits. The Partnership for Employer-Sponsored Coverage has written to the leaders of the House […]
News from Washington Lisa Gomez Expects Fiduciary and ESG Rules to Face Reversals Under New AdministrationIn a public conversation at the PLANADVISER 360 conference in Scottsdale, Assistant Secretary of Labor Lisa Gomez acknowledged that the Department’s retirement security rule, which clarifies when financial professionals are fiduciaries while advising retirement plan participants, may not align with […]
Compliance Corner How Much Can You Contribute If Your Covered Spouse Is Also Enrolled on Medicare?Limits on HSA contributions are always based on the size of the contract, not how many family members covered on the plan are HSA-eligible. For example, if you cover at least one family member besides yourself, you can contribute up […]
HSA Studies and Analysis Only 1 HSA Provider Rated ‘High’ Quality by Morningstar. Here’s WhyOnly one out of the 11 HSA providers reviewed in Morningstar’s annual report card earned a “high quality” rating and just three others received “above average” ratings. Low interest rates for client cash holdings and higher relative fees for custody and […]