| News from Washington |
| Republicans Take Control of House Republicans will take control of the House of Representativesafter results released more than a week after a brutal election night give them what is projected to be a narrow edge in the next Congress. The GOP took a slim lead after the Associated Press called a House race in California to bring Republicans to the 218 seats needed to take control of the House. Read More |
| Alliance to Fight for Health Care Submits Stakeholder Letter Urging Congress to Keep Telehealth Affordable for Working Families An alliance of more than 350 firms and industry groups under the banner of the Alliance to Fight for Health Care is lobbying Congress to include a provision that would allow high-deductible health plans to cover telehealth visits before patients reach their deductibles. The group submitted a letter to House and Senate leaders calling on Congress to take action before the current rule expires on December 31. Read More |
| US to Keep COVID Public Health Emergency Through January The COVID-19 public health emergency will remain in effect until at least mid-January, after the Biden administration did not notify states and health providers of any plans to lift it. The Department of Health and Human Services promised to give stakeholders 60 days’ notice if it intended to let the public health emergency expire. That deadline was November 11. Read More |
| HSA Compliance Corner |
| Can You Reimburse a Non-Dependent Adult Child’s Expenses Tax-Free? If your adult child remains covered on your medical plan but no longer qualifies as your tax dependent, can you reimburse the child’s qualified expenses tax-free from your Health Savings Account? A reasonable interpretation of the existing rules may lead people in this situation to fund multiple family members’ HSAs up to the statutory family limit for a family contract. Read More |
| HSA Industry News |
| HSA Bank Acquires Health Savings Accounts from Inland Bank and Trust HSA Bank announced that it has acquired the HSAs of Inland Bank and Trust. Under the agreement, approximately 4,800 accounts, including an estimated $15.5 million in deposits, have transitioned from Inland Bank and Trust to HSA Bank, subject to regulatory approval and customary closing conditions. Read More |
| Investor’s Business Daily Names 13 Best HSA Accounts for 2023 Health Savings Accounts are powerful savings and investing tools. But to take full advantage of these accounts, savers should evaluate HSA accounts and select one that fits their needs. The good news? Our list of the 13 Best HSA Accounts for 2023 can help. And employees and self-employed workers can pick from numerous account administrators, regardless of which HSA plan your employer offers. Read More |
| HSA Best Practices |
| Employees Perplexed by HSAs? Using Targeted Messaging Is Key to Enrollment Here are tips on how to communicate the value of Health Savings Accounts to employees. Employers should use targeted communications to address employees’ specific needs. Early career employees have different needs than an executive getting ready to retire. Employers should group their population by HSA ability levels with the goal of helping their employees’ level up their HSA behavior over time. Read More |
| The HSA Market |
| HSA Contributions Grew This Year Despite Rising Prices, Tough Investment Markets Though the past 10 months have been an incredibly difficult period in the financial markets, Health Saving Accounts are alive and well. In fact, HSA contributions and withdrawals picked up significantly in the first half despite a down market, according to a midyear study by Devenir Research. Another piece of good news is that contribution limits are going up for 2023. Read More |
| Employees a Take Closer Look at Consumer-Driven Plans as High Inflation Persists Increasing financial and job insecurity are forcing employees to consider their employer-sponsored benefits choices, especially their personal strategies around consumer-driven health options such as HSAs and FSAs. One-fourth of survey respondents have a consumer-driven account, and nearly half of this group say economic uncertainly is having an impact on how much they plan to contribute. Read More |
| Maximizing Your HSA |
| 3 HSA Secrets to Make the Most of the Super Savings Account A Health Savings Account is one of the most versatile and tax-advantaged accounts detailed under the IRS tax code. Using an HSA can save you on income tax, FICA tax, and capital gains tax, and you can often withdraw funds from the account tax-free as well. If you’re eligible for an HSA, be sure you’re making the most of it. Here are three HSA secrets you can use to maximize its benefits. Read More |
| Missed HSA Awareness Day? Here Are 4 Tips to Make the Most of Your Account If you haven’t already, you may want to consider opening a Health Savings Account. HSAs can be a great savings and retirement vehicle for those who qualify. Here are some tips on how to get the most out of your HSA account this year. Read More |
| If Your Plan Started After January 1, Don’t Overlook This Savvy Contribution Tip! Contributions to a Health Savings Account are always tracked on the calendar year. If you became eligible after January 1, don’t think that you must prorate your contribution limit. You may have an attractive alternative. To maximize your tax savings, you need to consider promptly whether you want to increase your contributions through your company’s Cafeteria Plan before the end of 2022. Read More |
| The Top 10 HSA Misconceptions, and 2023 HSA Rules Do you hate paying taxes and fear high medical insurance co-pays and procedure costs? Then a Health Savings Account should definitely be part of your investing/saving toolbox. Sadly, a lot of misinformation is circulating about HSA plans, HSA contribution limits for 2023 and other HSA rules. Here we clear up 10 misconceptions about how HSA plans work and the advantages of funding an HSA account. Read More |
| Put Money in Your Pocket, by Rethinking Medical Coverage A few years ago my employer introduced some modeling tools so we could compare the overall cost of the various plans. I started modeling the scenarios. In every scenario I modeled, the HDHP had lower overall out-of-pocket costs. I couldn’t find a single scenario in which the deluxe plan had lower overall costs. In my mind I had always thought that I was better-protected with the deluxe plan. Instead, I was simply paying more money each year. Even better – the HDHP made me eligible for an HSA. Read More |
| Consumer-Driven Health Care |
| 10 Surprising Things You Can Buy With Your HSA If you have a Health Savings Account, you may have built up a nice nest egg, especially since HSAs have the ability to roll over from year to year. While it’s perfectly fine (and smart!) to let the funds keep building, there’s also quite a few items that you can use your HSA money on that you might not have known about. Here are some surprising things you can buy with your HSA money. Read More |
| The Future of MedTech Defined by Healthcare Consumerism Healthcare consumerism is becoming more than just a buzzword, with medical technology executives signaling that the trend is starting to influence their company’s strategic planning, according to a new report. Patients are now approaching their healthcare the way they might book a trip or shop on Amazon, and healthcare needs to answer that call. Read More |
| How TikTok Became Gen Z’s Top Healthcare Resource Could a 60-second TikTok video be a more direct path to healthcare than a trip to the doctor? A recent study found that one in three Gen Z users consult TikTok before their doctor for health advice, most commonly seeking out insight from social media influencers on the social media platform around topics such as anxiety (55%), depression (49%) and weight loss (44%). Read More |
| Amazon Launches New Virtual Health Service Amazon launched Amazon Clinic on November 15. The clinic will operate as a “virtual health storefront” offering users access to third-party telehealth providers. The announcement comes on the heels of broader restructuring within the company and while it waits for federal approval of its $3.9 billion One Medical acquisition. Read More |