| News from Washington |
| DOL Pushes Back on Fiduciary Rule Challenge The Department of Labor answered one of two open lawsuits in the federal courts challenging the Retirement Security Rule on June 14. The regulator’s first response in court argued that the new rule is compliant with existing case law and is substantially different from a 2016 regulation that was vacated by the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals. Read More |
| Court Upholds ACA’s Free Preventive Services Mandate Health insurers nationwide must continue to provide certain preventive services like cancer screenings and behavioral counseling at no cost, a federal appeals court ruled June 21. However, the appellate panel said the requirement won’t apply to the companies who challenged it, and it asked a lower court to review the legality of other no-cost preventive services. Read More |
| Compliance Corner |
| It’s Wedding Season. How Is Your HSA Affected by Vows? A wedding triggers a lot of decisions, including what to do about medical coverage. Coverage decisions can also affect how much one or both spouses can contribute to a HSA in the year of the marriage. Here are some common–and one not-so-common–scenarios and how they affect their HSA contribution limits. Read More |
| Lost Your Eligibility Mid-Year? Time to Prorate Your Deposit. Even if you lost your HSA eligibility mid-year, you can still deposit 1/12 of the maximum contribution for your contract type for every month that you were eligible as of the first day of the month. You must deposit all funds by the deadline for filing your return (April 15 in most years). Read More |
| Understanding the HSA Tax Form 8889 HSAs can be immensely beneficial as health savings vehicles and retirement tools. But to make the most out of its benefits, you need to carefully report contributions and withdrawals on Form 8889. Here’s how to complete Form 8889. Read More |
| HSA Industry News |
| Health-E Commerce Announces Acquisition by H.I.G. Capital Health-E Commerce, the parent brand of the FSA Store and HSA Store, has been acquired by an affiliate of H.I.G. Capital, a global alternative investment firm. Prior to the sale, majority ownership was held by BPOC since 2019. There will be no changes to operations or sales or executive leadership at Health-E Commerce as a result of the sale. Read More |
| Market Trends |
| Younger Workers Shift to HDHPs, Prompting Employers to Offer Wider Options According to a report by Benefitfocus, 45% of Gen Z employees are participating in high deductible health plans (often paired with HSAs) this year, followed by millennials (43%) and Gen X (30%). Many employers are responding with a wider range of health insurance options to fit all life stages. Read More |
| HSAs & Retirement |
| HSAs’ Triple Tax Advantage Can Be a Plus for Retirement HSAs can be a significant vehicle to save for health care expenses in retirement, as their triple tax advantage makes them attractive ways to invest money toward filling in the gaps in Medicare coverage. HSAs can pay for health-care expenses not covered by employees’ health insurance during their working years and help retirees fill in the gaps in their Medicare coverage. Read More |
| Maximizing Your HSA |
| 3 Ways a Health Savings Account Can Improve Your Finances An HSA can help you stretch your health care dollars and build your retirement savings at the same time, as long as you’re eligible for one and you spend the money in your HSA on eligible expenses. Here’s a look at the benefits of HSAs and tips for opening one. Read More |
| How To Maximize Your Next Tax Refund Through A Health Savings Account In a landscape littered with complex tax laws and ever-rising healthcare costs, the HSA emerges as a beacon of financial prudence. By harnessing its triple tax advantage, individuals can minimize their tax liability, grow their savings and help secure their financial future. Read More |
| 5 Steps for Anyone to Become a Health Savings Account Millionaire Becoming an HSA millionaire is a bit more complicated than a 401(k) millionaire, but given enough time, the benefits are huge. You will likely need to have a few decades before you are eligible for Medicare to reach this significant financial milestone. But at least a few of the nearly 72 million Americans covered by an HSA should be well on their way. Read More |
| Consumer-Driven Health Care |
| Study Finds Mothers Pay More Out of Pocket When Pregnancy Crosses Two Calendar Years According to a new study, some women with high-deductible health plans pay their cost-sharing limit twice during pregnancies that occur across two health plan years, which are typically calendar years. That can result in some patients paying $1,310 more, on average, for similar maternity care services. Read More |