| News from Washington |
| Bipartisan Pair of Senators Unveils Bill to Lower Insulin Costs Sens. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Susan Collins (R-ME) unveiled legislation aimed at lowering the cost of insulin, seeking a bipartisan breakthrough on one of the highest-profile examples of high drug prices challenging patients. The legislation would cap patients’ out of pocket costs for insulin at $35 per month, and includes provisions seeking to incentivize drugmakers to lower the overall price of insulin. Read More |
| Schumer Will Put Legislation to Cut Insulin Costs on Senate Floor ‘Very Soon’ U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer on Wednesday said he will put bipartisan legislation on lowering insulin costs to a vote on the Senate floor “very soon.” In the narrowly divided Senate, Schumer will have to get at least 10 of the chamber’s 50 Republicans to support the bill, assuming all 50 of the Democratic caucus members line up behind it. Read More |
| HSA Studies & Analysis |
| The HSA Option: Allowing Low-Income Americans to Use a Portion of Their ACA Subsidy as a Health Savings Account Contribution The HSA option would allow enrollees to have another way to access their subsidy for an exchange plan. Many enrollees with incomes below 200 percent of the federal poverty level would have access to thousands of dollars in their HSAs each year if they selected the HSA option. This would allow enrollees much greater control over how to use the funds to best meet their preferences and needs. Read More |
| HSA Industry Best Practices |
| Education Empowers Employees to Better Leverage Benefits: A Look at the HSA As employers prepare for the 2023 benefits enrollment period, they have the opportunity to provide their employees with tools to help mitigate financial stress and improve the financial well-being of the modern workforce; particularly when facing precipitous economic inflation and a predicted recession. Let’s dig deeper into the HSA to demystify the advantages and disadvantages involved to provide clarity for driving increased and informed adoption and utilization. Read More |
| The HSA Market |
| Employers Prepare Benefits and Policy Responses to Abortion Ruling, SHRM Survey Finds Many employers are prepared to revisit employee benefits and leave policies in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court overturning the Roe v. Wade decision, a new survey shows. Nearly one-quarter of organizations agree that offering an HSA for employees’ travel-related expenses to receive abortion services/reproductive health care in another state will enhance their ability to compete for talent, while 18 percent disagree and 58 percent neither agree nor disagree. Read More |
| HSAs & Retirement |
| Watch Out, 401(k)s: HSAs Are the New Retirement Sheriff in Town Saving a portion of your salary in a 401(k) is one of the best ways to set yourself up for a happy retirement. But 401(k)s aren’t the only game in town when it comes to retirement planning. An HSA is designed to offer tax savings on medical expenses. But you can take advantage of all those tax savings and turn it into an incredible retirement account. Read More |
| Can I Have a Health Savings Account and Medicare? You can use money you’ve already accumulated tax-free in the account for eligible medical expenses at any time. After you turn 65, you can even withdraw money tax-free from an HSA to pay your Medicare premiums. But you can’t contribute to a health savings account after you enroll in Medicare. Read More |
| A Current House Bill Could Affect HSAs and Medicare Beneficiaries Many Americans are unaware that if you decide to work past 65. once you start Medicare, you can no longer have any contributions to your Health Savings Account. A bill in the House of Representatives could change that and allow continued contributions to an HSA when enrolled in Medicare. Read More |
| Maximizing Your HSA |
| When Does the IRA-to-HSA Rollover Make Sense? When Is It Ill-Advised? If you’re eligible to fund a Health Savings Account, you can execute a rollover from an IRA once in your lifetime. It’s not a complicated process, but there are rules to follow and penalties for failing to execute the rollover properly. And it’s not advisable in some situations. So be sure you understand the benefits and potential pitfalls before you act. Read More |
| Consumer-Driven Health Care |
| 6 Random Amazon Products You Can Buy with Your FSA or HSA Card Long gone are the days of only using your FSA or HSA card to purchase pharmacy prescriptions or pay doctors’ copays! You can actually use your FSA or HSA to shop some of your favorite beauty, health and wellness products at Amazon. Obviously, not all of your favorite products will be FSA or HSA eligible on Amazon — but it’s super easy to find out. Read More |