| News from Washington |
| Compromise Struck to Preserve Obamacare’s Preventive Care Mandate The Texas conservatives challenging Obamacare’s preventive care mandate have reached a tentative compromise with the Justice Department that preserves free coverage for a range of preventive care services. The agreement, which still needs approval from the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, keeps coverage intact nationwide while the case proceeds. Read More |
| EBSA Says It Will Propose Fiduciary Rule in August The Department of Labor’s “Spring Regulatory Agenda” includes proposed rules, which have been closely watched by the adviser community, which would address when a person offering employee benefit investment advice, including rolling over 401(k)s, is serving as a fiduciary and is therefore subject to stricter regulations under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act. Read More |
| HSA Compliance Corner |
| How Does the Six-Month-Retro Rule Affect HSA Funding? Part 1 Medicare can be confusing, as anyone who has attained age 65 can attest. Medicare has a quirky rule that backdates Part A coverage. How does it affect how much you can contribute during your final year of Health Savings Account eligibility? Read More |
| House Committee Proposes a Permanent Telehealth Solution The House Ways and Means Committee recently marked up and approved a bill that would permanently permit insurers and employers to cover telehealth services below the deductible on HSA-qualified plans. What does that mean? Read More |
| HSA Industry News |
| Benefits Aggregator Hub Adds In-House HSA Hub Retirement and Private Wealth, a division of Chicago-based Hub International Ltd., announced the launch of an in-house HSA for plan sponsors to offer participants. The investment account will work in partnership with HSA Bank. The Hub RPW team will provide employers and employees access to the HSA and customized fund lineups. Read More |
| The HSA Market |
| New Bill Would Expand Pool of Individual Health Coverage Shoppers The House is preparing to vote on a bill (H.R. 3799) that supports the use of employer cash to pay for workers’ individual health coverage. For advisors helping clients with their finances, the bill could mean that more clients would opt for their own individual health coverage, rather than employer-sponsored coverage. A vote could come as early as this week. Read More |
| At Least 1.7M Americans Use Health Sharing Arrangements, Despite Lack of Protections A new report finds that more than 1.7 million Americans participate in health care sharing ministry plans, higher than previously realized. The total membership numbers are likely even higher. A state agency collected data from 16 sharing plans across the U.S. but identified five other plans that did not report their data. Read More |
| HSAs & Retirement |
| 1 Amazing Retirement Savings Account I Wish I’d Heard of Sooner I’ve made an effort to save for retirement throughout my career. When I was younger, I contributed to the 401(k) plan my employer sponsored at the time. I then switched over to an IRA when I became self-employed. But I also recently started saving for retirement in a Health Savings Account. And I sorely regret not doing so sooner. Read More |
| Maximizing Your HSA |
| 4 Reasons Why Having an HSA Will Make You Rich Health Savings Accounts are an often overlooked financial tool that can help you build wealth and achieve financial security. HSAs are investment goldmines that effectively give millions of people access to another traditional 401(k). While primarily designed to cover medical expenses, HSAs offer numerous advantages that can contribute to your long-term financial success. Read More |
| Consumer-Driven Health Care |
| Men Have Lower Life Expectancy Than Women, Less Likely to Seek Preventive Care Most men could do a better job of taking care of their health. Research shows men are less likely than women to get the preventive care they need and ultimately have a lower life expectancy. But a simply yearly check up could change that. Doctors say a long, healthy life starts with prevention, a lesson more men could benefit from. Read More |