| News from Washington |
| IRS Provides Tax Relief for Victims of Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, Landslides and Mudslides in California Victims of severe winter storms, flooding, landslides and mudslides in California beginning March 9, 2023, now have until October 16, 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 Oct. 16 to make 2022 contributions to their IRAs and HSAs. Read More |
| Bipartisan Senate Duo Reignites Efforts to Cap Private Insurance Insulin Cost at $35 A bipartisan Senate duo is working to reignite efforts to cap the cost of insulin for everyone with private insurance, rather than just Medicare. Updated legislation introduced by Sens. Raphael Warnock (D-GA) and John Kennedy (R-LA) would cap the price of insulin at $35 for everyone on private insurance, and would also extend that discount to the uninsured. Read More |
| HSA Compliance Corner |
| HDHP or HSA-Qualified Plan? Beware the $1,500/$3,000 Distinction! With the growing popularity of HSAs, the press continues to write about this financial opportunity. They state that a high-deductible health plan is coverage with a minimum deductible of at least $1,500 for a self-only or $3,000 for a family plan. But be careful–these deductible levels alone don’t define HSA-qualified coverage. Read More |
| What to Do if You Contribute Too Much to Your Health Savings Account What happens if you accidentally over-contributed to your HSA for 2022? You can avoid all taxes and penalties if you withdraw the extra money before the tax filing deadline (i.e., April 18). But don’t wait too long because you will need to contact your HSA administrator to withdraw the funds, which may involve some paperwork, and that might not happen immediately. Read More |
| The HSA Market |
| Most Patients Still Have a Choice of Health Plans A recent report found that 93% of employers offer a choice of medical plans. The most common plans offered are the PPO (91%) and HDHP (86%). A large majority (74%) contribute to their employees’ HSAs. Roughly half of employers offer some type of supplemental health care benefit, such as accident, critical illness, or hospital indemnity insurance. Read More |
| Should Three Reimbursement Accounts Be Consolidated into One? A leading thinker proposes transforming HSAs, FSAs, and HRAs into a single product. The idea is worth considering. A single account certainly would reduce employee confusion, potential duplication, and occasional disqualification from one plan because of another. And it would reduce complexity for a company that offers more than one program. But should it be done? Read More |
| HSAs & Retirement |
| 4 HSA Tax and Retirement Secrets You Need To Know One mistake Americans make is not maxing out their contributions to their HSAs to take advantage of all the tax benefits. Since you cannot make contributions past age 65, you’ll want to put as much savings as you can into your HSA before you reach retirement. There are virtually no drawbacks to maxing out your HSA contributions, especially if your employer matches funds. Read More |
| 3 HSA Benefits You Don’t Want to Miss Out On in Retirement An HSA offers a triple tax advantage when you save and invest money for your healthcare. As long as you use the money for healthcare, your distributions are tax-free. If you don’t need the money earlier, you can use it for both medical and non-medical purposes when you retire. Here are three ways you can use your HSA funds in retirement. Read More |
| Maximizing Your HSA |
| Everything You Need to Know About Health Savings Accounts A Health Savings Account is a flexible financial tool that serves you throughout every stage of your life. This account allows you to take control over your finances in a way individually tailored to your financial situation. There are many benefits of having an HSA and in order to get the most out of your account it is important to familiarize yourself with each. Read More |
| I Put All of My Medical Bills on My Credit Cards. Here’s Why Since my family is now enrolled in a high-deductible health insurance plan, we’re able to contribute money to an HSA. But I still make a point to use my credit cards for healthcare spending because my goal is actually to leave my HSA alone for as long as possible. The way I see it, as long as I can afford my medical bills, I might as well pay for them out of pocket and put them on my credit cards. That way, I can grow my HSA and score cash back at the same time. Read More |
| Consumer-Driven Healthcare |
| Two-Thirds of Patients Have Never Challenged a Medical Bill’s Accuracy Nearly two-thirds of patients say they have never challenged a medical bill with their physician, hospital, or insurance company, according to a recent report. People enrolled in HDHPs and Medicare Advantage plans were more likely to have questioned a bill’s accuracy than those with other health plans. Most who have challenged a bill said charges were reduced or removed. Read More |
| AHA: High Deductible, Short-Term Plans Are Driving Medical Debt Inadequate insurance coverage is one of the main causes of medical debt, American Hospital Association leaders say. AHA blames short-term health plans, health-sharing ministries, and high-deductible health plans for causing members to fall into debt when they discover they may be on the hook for large bills their plan doesn’t cover or can’t afford high deductibles and copays. Read More |