| News from Washington |
| Biden Signs Bill Ending National COVID-19 Emergency President Biden signed a GOP-led resolution on April 10, bringing an end to the national emergency over the COVID-19 pandemic. The White House said it was already planning to wind down the national emergency and public health emergency around COVID-19 on May 11, giving states the go-ahead to begin winding down the measures enacted under the emergencies. Read More |
| IRS Announces Tax Relief for Victims of Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds and Tornadoes in Tennessee Victims of severe storms, straight-line winds and tornadoes in Tennessee from March 31 to April 1, 2023, now have until July 31, 2023, to file various individual and business tax returns and make tax payments, the Internal Revenue Service announced. Among other things, this means that eligible taxpayers will have until July 31 to make 2022 contributions to their IRAs and HSAs. Read More |
| HSA Compliance Corner |
| “Mr. HSA” Finalizes 2024 HSA Projections — More Big Changes Coming I am now finalizing my projected HSA amounts for 2024. Most of the amounts are even higher than I predicted back in February. I am projecting that the HSA amounts will once again see large increases, on top of last year’s historic jump in the amounts. This is good news for HSA owners as the contribution limits will once again rise much more than in prior years. Read More |
| Can You Reimburse Non-Qualified Expenses from an HSA? If So, How? Many Americans are confused about Health Savings Accounts vs. Health FSAs. The two plans offer similar immediate tax benefits, though an HSA offers much more flexibility. The flexibility around distributions is a two-edged sword. Yes, you can withdraw funds from an HSA for non-qualified expenses. But you must know the rules to remain compliant with federal tax law. Read More |
| HSA Industry News |
| Fidelity’s Health Business Booms as Americans Pile into HSAs Fidelity reported a 27% increase in the number of its funded HSAs, to 2.8 million, as of Jan. 31, and more than $16 billion in total HSA assets, up from nearly $14 billion a year earlier. Its health business is now being used by more than 1,600 employers across the country to offer HSAs, health and welfare administrative services, voluntary benefits and Medicare. Read More |
| Benefits Platform Elevate Raises $28M in Growth Funding Elevate announced that it has raised $28 million in growth funding, further enhancing its capabilities, including AI, as well as its go-to-market strategy and customer acquisition. Elevate previously raised $12M Series A in October 2021 and the new funding round brings its total funding to $43M. Read More |
| HSA Best Practices |
| Concerned About Employee Wellbeing? 4 Ways an FSA or HSA Can Help Benefits professionals and plan administrators can assist employees in managing their mental well-being by educating them about the many ways FSA and HSA funds can be used to address mental health challenges. Here are four considerations HR and benefits professionals can help employees understand when it comes to using tax-free FSA and HSA dollars to maximize their mental health support. Read More |
| The HSA Market |
| Americans Continue to Save for Future Medical Expenses Devenir’s recent report showed that HSAs continue to grow as millions of Americans are saving money to reimburse current and future qualified expenses, making it a little easier on family budgets to pay medical plan cost-sharing and purchase qualified dental and vision services. Read More |
| Employees Turn to Health Savings Accounts to Manage Healthcare Costs Employees—particularly in younger generations—are investing in HSAs to manage their healthcare spending and find their employer-sponsored health plans are not enough to protect them from high costs or complicated care, according to research conducted by Fidelity in the last two years. Read More |
| HSAs & Retirement |
| Threat of Social Security Depletion Emphasizes Importance of HSAs, Proponents Say With Social Security’s trust fund projected to be depleted by 2033, and the cost of health care expenses continuously increasing, proponents of Health Savings Accounts say these “triple-tax–advantaged” accounts are the most powerful way for people to pay for health care expenses in the future. Inflation is also driving up the cost of health care and prescription drugs. Read More |
| Maximizing Your HSA |
| HSA Balances Are Growing. Here’s Why You Should Open an HSA If You’re Eligible An HSA is a good way to make healthcare as affordable as possible because it lets you save for healthcare in a tax-advantaged manner. All told, there’s lots to be gained by participating in an HSA if you’re able to do so. And you don’t need an employer to sponsor one for you. So if your health insurance plan is compatible with an HSA, go out and open a plan on your own if the company you work for doesn’t make one available. Read More |
| 3 Signs You’re Not Making the Most of Your HSA Participating in an HSA can really work to your benefit. Putting money into an HSA is a smart move, so if you’re doing that already, congrats. But you may not be getting the most benefit out of your HSA if you’re: (1) not maxing out your contributions; (2) taking withdrawals for every medical bill; and, (3) not making catch-up contributions once you’re eligible. Read More |
| 10 Huge Medical Expenses That Are HSA-Eligible, Including Labor and Delivery HSAs have become increasingly popular in recent years as a tool to help with the high costs of healthcare. But not everyone is clear on what products and services are HSA-eligible. It’s always a good idea to check with your plan provider if you’re not sure what’s allowed. But here are 10 common expenses that are generally covered. Read More |
| Consumer-Driven Healthcare |
| Consumers More Satisfied with Traditional Plans than High-Deductible Plans, Research Finds Consumers with high-deductible health plans are not as satisfied with their coverage as those with traditional plans. However, satisfaction levels among HDHP enrollees almost doubled when tenure with their health plan went from less than one year to three or more years. HDHP enrollees were more likely than traditional plan enrollees to report that they had a choice of plan. Read More |
| Cash Prices Often Lower Than Negotiated Rates, Study Finds A hospital’s cash prices and commercial negotiated rates tend to reflect a predetermined and consistent percentage discount from its chargemaster prices, a study reported in Health Affairs found. “Hospitals have full discretion to set their chargemaster prices, which, on average, are more than four times the actual cost of care delivery,” the study says. Read More |