| News from Washington |
| Many Preventive Medical Services Cost Patients Nothing. Will a Texas Court Decision Change That? A federal judge’s ruling in Texas has thrown into question whether millions of insured Americans will continue to receive some preventive medical services, such as cancer screenings and drugs that protect people from HIV infection, without making a copayment. It’s the latest legal battle over the Affordable Care Act and is almost certain to be appealed. It is not yet clear what all this means for insured patients. A lot depends on what happens next. Read More |
| HSA Compliance Corner |
| Can Your Employer Correct a Mistaken Contribution to Your HSA? Maybe Sometimes employers can make a correction to mistaken contributions to your Health Savings Account. Historically, there were very limited circumstances in which companies could recover funds deposited in error. Then, in 2018, the Internal Revenue Service issued a Private Letter Ruling outlining some specific situations in which honest mistakes could be corrected. Read More |
| HSA Industry Best Practices |
| 5 HSA Funding Strategies Companies Can Employ to Help Boost Employee Saving Many companies help employees fund their HSAs. Two common funding methods are providing annual lump sum deposits or making deposits with each paycheck. Employers can also consider three other approaches that, depending on their situation, may make their HSA offering more attractive. Read More |
| The HSA Market |
| Trends in 2021 Employer Sponsored Health Plan Costs, Coverage Employer-sponsored health plan costs rose in 2021, but access to employer-sponsored insurance also increased as more private-sector businesses offered coverage, according to a new report. As access to employer-sponsored insurance grew in 2021, so did costs. In addition, high-deductible health plans were more common. The share of employees enrolled in an HDHP increased from 52.9 percent in 2020 to 55.7 percent in 2021. Read More |
| How Voluntary Products Can Be an Ally in Building HSA Balances An emerging trend is employees’ increasing interest in using voluntary benefits to manage personal financial risk. Employees are analyzing this coverage to see how it fits into their strategy to mitigate or transfer risk. For an employee who owns and funds an HSA and incurs a covered claim, a payment from a voluntary plan may allow the account owner to retain a balance that continues to grow and can later be used to reimburse tax-free qualified expenses up and into retirement. Read More |
| HSAs & Retirement |
| Using HSA Investment Strategies in a Holistic Financial Plan Implementing an HSA investment strategy into the client’s retirement plan can help them in the future regardless of their medical needs. If the HSA is treated like any other investment account and maxed out each year, it can grow into a safety net that the client can use for medical expenses as they arise or save for retirement. It’s never too soon for early retirement tax planning. Read More |
| Do I Have Enough Cash to Cover My Own Health Care Needs in Retirement? Here Is the Simple Math to Figure It Out Using the 4% rule of retirement withdrawals, baby boomers would need a nest egg of $393,750 to cover just their estimated $15,700 in annual healthcare costs. Add in inflation — which could hike the cost of today’s $100 medical charge to $164 in 20 years — and boomers will want to consider how they can save more to handle not only their health care costs but all their other retirement expenses, too. Read More |
| How to Manage Unpredictable Retirement Healthcare Expenses A recent report showed that the number one fear for people in the age group of 50 to 79 is managing the costs of healthcare. For people in their 30s and 40s, who are decades away from retirement, it’s still the second-most important concern. Here are a few proven strategies that could help you manage your health expenses more effectively. Read More |
| 11 Unexpected Things Medicare Doesn’t Cover Medicare offers health care coverage to almost 64 million people and accounts for $917 billion in 2020. With such a large amount of money spent, many people think that the program covers all health care costs for seniors and those with disabilities. Unfortunately, that’s not the case. Common medical expenses like dental, vision, and medical care outside the U.S. are generally not covered. Read More |
| Maximizing Your HSA |
| HSAs vs. FSAs: Strategies for Married Couples and Domestic Partners Confused about HSAs and FSAs? In this post, I’ll explore the most common scenarios for using these accounts when married or in a domestic partnership so that you can maximize savings and stay in the good graces of the IRS. If used properly and with thoughtful consideration, HSAs and FSAs can be great resources to save you money today and increase savings for the future. Read More |
| 4 Things Employees Need to Know About HSAs and FSAs Flexible spending accounts (FSAs) and health savings accounts (HSAs) continue to be valuable tools for individuals and families who are looking for ways to save on their health and wellness needs. Both accounts are widely utilized; however, widespread adoption does not equal widespread understanding and engagement. To help employees take full advantage of the benefits that are available to them and get more mileage from their health care dollars, here are four things to communicate during open enrollment this year. Read More |
| Consumer-Driven Health Care |
| What Is A High-Deductible Health Plan? A high-deductible health plan is health insurance with lower premiums but higher out-of-pocket costs when you need care. HDHPs are designed to safeguard against catastrophic out-of-pocket costs for covered treatment and services. You can often pair an HDHP with a Health Savings Account which allows you to put pre-tax dollars aside to pay for qualified medical expenses, including deductibles, copayments, coinsurance and other health care costs. Read More |