| News from Washington |
| Manchin Proposes Dramatically Scaled Down Version of Build Back Better Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) laid out a dramatically scaled down version of President Biden’s “Build Back Better” plan that he says he could vote for under the special budget reconciliation process. The Senator clarified he hasn’t made any formal counter proposal to the White House but is sketching the outlines of a proposal that he could support along with the rest of the Senate Democratic Caucus. Read More |
| Biden Renews Call to Let Medicare Negotiate Drug Prices, an Effort That Has Stalled in Congress In his State of the Union address, President Joe Biden called for capping insulin prices at $35 a month for all Americans, as well as allowing Medicare to negotiate prices with drug manufacturers. But it’s uncertain whether lawmakers will revive efforts to pass Biden’s domestic agenda and whether lowering drug prices will be included. Read More |
| $35 Insulin Cap Is Welcome, Popular, and Bipartisan. But Congress May Not Pass It Anyway. Democrats in the Senate are primed this month to make their first attempt at salvaging one of the most popular elements of President Joe Biden’s stalled Build Back Better plan — the proposal to cap insulin costs at $35 a month. It might not go well, even though the idea of helping millions of Americans with diabetes afford a crucial medicine has immense public support and even bipartisan adherents. Read More |
| HSA Studies & Analysis |
| State of HSAs – 2022 HSAs are a unique account with many different characteristics that can vary depending on the provider. We wanted to provide a snapshot of some of the key characteristics to consider when evaluating an HSA provider. We hope that understanding these three metrics will help consumers evaluate HSAs. Read More |
| HSA Industry Best Practices |
| Health Savings Accounts: Don’t Leave FICA Savings on the Table Clients frequently are either misinformed about or unaware of the ins and outs of how saving on FICA taxes through an HSA program works — not to mention the many other benefits they and their employees are missing out on. How to fix that? By setting up an HSA program as part of the client’s Section 125 cafeteria plan benefit offering. Read More |
| The Future of the HSA industry: How to Remain Relevant in the “Age of the Investor” HSAs have reached nearly $93 billion in total assets, of which $30 billion are in investments. Tomorrow, the future of the HSA will be powered by the embedded investing experience, which will empower consumers with investment choices and a user experience that offers personalized investing guidance. In order to remain competitive, administrators will need to Modernize, Monetize, and Control their HSA investment features. Read More |
| The HSA Market |
| Why HSAs Are the Most Tax Advantaged Savings Accounts in the U.S. To make healthcare more affordable, the federal government has put in place a few medical-related subsidies and tax breaks. One of these initiatives is the HSA. Even though HSAs don’t lower the cost of healthcare directly, the tax benefits of an HSA are enormous and can work powerfully in an individual or family’s favor, especially in years when they’re hit with unexpected out-of-pocket healthcare costs. Read More |
| HSAs & Retirement |
| Do the Payroll Tax Benefits of an HSA Really Matter Over the Long Haul? People who understand how Health Savings Accounts work and their tax advantages versus other retirement accounts can generate more spending power in retirement without diminishing their lifestyles today. That’s a great way to craft a more secure financial future. Here’s how leveraging an HSA can increase your spending power in retirement. Read More |
| 2 Accounts You Should Invest in Beyond Your 401(k) A 401(k) is a great tool to help you save for your later years. But ultimately, you should consider contributing to both an IRA and an HSA as a supplement to your 401(k) after you’ve earned your employer match. Both accounts offer benefits a 401(k) simply can’t, and there’s little downside to spreading your retirement funds around to take advantage of them. Read More |
| Maximizing Your HSA |
| 3 Ways to Squeeze More Money Out of Your HSA Health savings accounts have been around for nearly two decades, but it’s only in recent years that people have really begun to understand their full potential. Many now use HSAs as another retirement account, but if you’re going to do this, you need to know how to squeeze every dollar out of them. Here are three tips that can help. Read More |
| How I Use My HSA While Shopping on Amazon to Save Money on Healthcare Items Many of your basic healthcare needs, such as vitamins and pain relievers, can be bought on Amazon. The online retailer even allows you to use HSA and FSA debit cards. When you shop on Amazon you need to look for products that say FSA or HSA eligible. You can even narrow down your search to only list HSA/FSA approved products. Read More |
| Consumer-Driven Health Care |
| Useful Tricks to Help You Save Money from Your Expensive Medical Bills Medical bills can be extremely expensive, and it can be difficult to find ways to save money on them. However, there are a few tricks that you can use to help reduce the cost of your medical expenses. In this blog post, we will discuss some of the best ways to save money on your medical bills. We will also provide tips for negotiating with healthcare providers and health insurance companies. Read More |
| 12 Household Items That Are FSA and HSA Eligible Most people know that you can use HSA money for hospital expenses not covered by your insurance, but many are unaware you can buy everyday household items with HSA funds. If you ever need to reduce spending from your main bank account, there is a wide range of products you can buy with an HSA card or get reimbursed even years later. There are way more eligible items than you likely realize. Read More |
| The 6 Best Places to Buy Prescription Glasses Online Using Insurance, HSA, or FSA Money There are now many online glasses retailers that can provide a seamless, convenient, and affordable shopping experience. Some other things to take into consideration when shopping online for glasses are whether the retailer accepts insurance and FSA or HSA dollars. All of the following places either accept insurance or provide you with the info to help you get a reimbursement. Read More |
| Non-Profit Drug Maker Will Provide Insulin for No More Than $30 a Vial Civica Rx, a non-profit generic drug maker backed by hospitals, insurers and philanthropies, announced on March 3 that it plans to manufacture and sell insulin for no more than $30 a vial. It is expected to be available as soon as early 2024, pending federal approval. Read More |