| Read the latest news about Health Savings Accounts and consumer-driven health care. |
| News from Washington |
| Sen. Manchin Says He Can’t Support Biden’s $3.5 Trillion Spending Plan Sen. Joe Manchin, a key moderate Democrat from West Virginia, said on September 12 that he can’t support President Biden’s $3.5 trillion spending plan. Manchin also said he would look at adjusting the tax code first if he were writing the bill from scratch. Read More |
| Democratic Leaders Betting Manchin Will Back Down in Spending Fight Democrats are racing ahead with a $3.5 trillion spending package that would boost funding for social programs and raise taxes despite rumblings from Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) that he might not support legislation with that price tag. Democratic leaders are betting they can pressure Manchin to back down on his push for spending that’s closer to $1.5 trillion or $2 trillion. Read More |
| House Democrat Says She’ll Oppose Parts of $3.5T Spending Package Rep. Stephanie Murphy (D-FL), a prominent moderate House Democrat, indicated that she is planning to vote against the provisions under consideration in the House Ways and Means Committee’s markup of portions of Democrats’ $3.5 trillion spending bill, citing concerns about the legislative process. Read More |
| Democrats See $3.5T Spending Goal Is Slipping Away There’s a growing realization among Democrats that their plans for a $3.5 trillion spending package to reshape the nation’s social safety net and to tackle climate change will have to be slimmed down because of anxious centrists worried about the 2022 midterms. Read More |
| Senate, House Democrats Split Over Taxes in $3.5T Package A rift is starting to emerge between the chairmen of the two tax-writing committees on Capitol Hill over the size and details of Democratic plans to pay for President Biden’s broad economic agenda. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden (D-OR) and House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal (D-MA) are taking different approaches to laying out the funding mechanisms designed to fuel a $3.5 trillion Democratic-only bill. Read More |
| HSA Studies & Analysis |
| Health Savings Accounts Used Least by People Who Need Them Most: Poll Tax-free health savings accounts can make it easier for Americans to pay for future health expenses, but most older adults aren’t using them. A new poll found that while nearly 1 in 5 people weren’t confident that they could afford their health costs, only about 12% of people had a health FSA and just 45% of people who qualified for an HSA because of their health plan’s high deductible had opened one. Read More |
| Devenir’s Credit Union HSA Update: 6/30/2021 As of June 30, 2021, total HSA assets held at credit unions totaled $2.08 billion, up 9.6% year-over-year. There are now 850 credit unions holding HSA assets (17% of credit unions), up from 843 credit unions three years ago. 48 credit unions each held at least $10 million in HSA assets. Read More |
| HSA Industry News |
| Lane Health Awarded Prestigious Alegeus Performance Excellence (APEX) Award for Innovation Lane Health announced that they have won an Alegeus Performance Excellence (APEX) award for innovation. The innovation category recognizes exceptional results in innovative health benefit solutions that grow business and improve the lives of consumers. Lane Health launched a Health Savings Account (HSA) solution in 2020. Read More |
| HSA Industry Best Practices |
| FSAs, HSAs, HRAs: What Employers Need to Understand Employees are more attuned to health benefits, which means more employees may switch health plans or go into a health plan for the first time next year. Almost all health plans offer add-on accounts — health FSAs, HSAs, or HRAS. You need to know how these accounts differ so you can communicate about them to employees. Here are the basics. Read More |
| The HSA Market |
| CDHPs Remain Popular But Waning as Sole Option, Says Large Employer Survey CDHPs were created to bend the cost curve and they remain popular with fully and self-insured employers alike. But results from the 2022 Business Group on Health employer survey indicate that CDHP dynamics are changing. This article explores the reasons for this shift. Read More |
| HSAs & Retirement |
| 70% of People Don’t Save Money for Future Healthcare Costs — Do You? Nearly three in 10 adults 50 to 80 years old say they earmark savings specifically for future health costs, and 40% said they’d have enough money to pay for these expenses without setting any money aside for it, according to a new study. Another 27% of participants said they can’t afford future healthcare costs at all. This poses a significant problem for retirees, many of whom are on fixed budgets. Read More |
| How to Plan for Health Care Costs Medical expenses are a fact of life in the U.S. — so is the hardship many Americans experience paying those bills. Whether you’re just starting your career or preparing for retirement, there are ways to plan ahead to cover health care costs. For those who qualify, look into a tax-advantaged Health Savings Account or a Flexible Spending Account. Read More |
| 4 Ways to Manage Retirement Health Care Costs Health care in retirement is a big-ticket item. The totals are daunting, but you can take steps to keep costs as low as possible with the right planning, good insurance choices and a healthy understanding of your conditions and coverage. Try these strategies — now and in retirement — to help control your health care bills. Strategy #1 – Take advantage of an HSA. Read More |
| Maximizing Your HSA |
| IRS: Cost of Home Testing for COVID-19 Is Eligible Medical Expense; Reimbursable Under FSAs, HSAs The Internal Revenue Service reminds taxpayers that the cost of home testing for COVID-19 is an eligible medical expense that can be paid or reimbursed under health FSAs, HSAs, HRAs, or Archer MSAs. That is because the cost to diagnose COVID-19 is an eligible medical expense for tax purposes. Read More |
| Consumer-Driven Health Care |
| Amazon to Launch In-Person Medical Care in 20 Cities E-commerce titan Amazon is aiming to expand its business operations into in-person medical care, with plans to establish centers in over 20 U.S. metropolitan areas by year end. The company announced in March that its virtual and in-person care is currently available to employees in Washington D.C. and Baltimore, as well as its home state of Washington. Read More |