| Read the latest news about Health Savings Accounts and consumer-driven health care. |
| News from Washington |
| Pelosi Sets Thursday Vote on Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill The House will vote Thursday on the Senate-passed bipartisan infrastructure bill, pushing back an originally planned vote for Monday that Democratic moderates had demanded as part of a deal with Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA). Lawmakers will still debate the bill on the House floor on Monday, but the actual vote will be pushed to September 30. Read More |
| Schumer Announces Senate-House Deal on Tax ‘Framework’ for $3.5T Package Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-NY) announced on September 23 that the Senate, House and White House have reached a deal on a “framework” to pay for the massive human infrastructure spending package they hope to pass this fall under budget reconciliation. Read More |
| Manchin Fires Warning Shot on Plan to Expand Medicare Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) is firing a warning shot at progressives’ hopes of using a sweeping social spending bill to expand Medicare, arguing Democrats should first focus on shoring up the program. Read More |
| HSA Best Practices |
| Deploying Contribution Tools to Boost Health Savings Account Balances As defined-contribution retirement accounts have become the norm, companies have adopted two distinct strategies to boost employee balances: (1) matching contributions, and (2) negative (default) elections. Both strategies are credited with boosting employee engagement and retirement financial readiness. These same two approaches can boost HSA participation and contributions as well. Read More |
| HSA Investment Options and Best Practices Focusing employee education on the long-term impact of saving in an HSA, both from an investing and tax perspective, can help employees understand how to get the most from their HSAs and encourage them, when possible, to make the HSA a key element of their overall retirement strategy. Read More |
| Educate Your Patients About HSA Accounts As a physician, you often tangle with health insurance coverage issues and work with your staff to communicate resolution strategies to your patients. One healthcare financing tool that many of your patients have little to no knowledge of is an HSA. By utilizing these untaxed funds to pay for deductibles, copayments, coinsurance, prescriptions, and other approved costs, a person can potentially lower their overall healthcare expenses. Read More |
| The HSA Market |
| Half Of Americans Overwhelmed By Health Benefit Choices, Study Says Almost one in seven Americans has absolutely no plan for their future financial and health care needs, new research suggests. For long-term financial goals, nearly three in five are using a 401(k) or other retirement account and 31% are leveraging an HSA. But despite that, nearly three-quarters of Americans admitted they had no clue how 401(k)s, health insurance or HSAs worked when they got their first job. Read More |
| HSAs & Retirement |
| This Is the One Retirement Account I Would Recommend to Anyone Some retirement accounts provide tax savings today, while others are designed to limit your future taxes. If you want both — tax-deductible contributions now and tax-free withdrawals later — you have only one option. It’s called the Health Savings Account and it’s the one retirement account I’d recommend to anyone. Read More |
| Older Americans Are Missing Out on This Valuable Retirement Savings Plan Many seniors find that once retirement kicks in, healthcare becomes their greatest monthly expense, surpassing even housing. The good news is that people who save money in an HSA can access tax-free funds to cover medical care during retirement. The bad news is that more than half of older Americans aren’t taking advantage of the opportunity to fund an HSA. Read More |
| How to Use a Tax-Saving Health Savings Account in Retirement An HSA lets you save money in a tax-advantaged account and then withdraw cash tax-free to pay for qualified medical expenses. Often, the money is used while you’re working. But you can also use your HSA in retirement to help lower your out-of-pocket medical costs then. Doing so could help stretch your retirement savings, too. Read More |
| Maximizing Your HSA |
| Why You Must Consider Getting an HSA What many Americans don’t know is that if you have a regular paycheck, you can create your own tax-free bank account for medical expenses. All you have to do is get yourself an HSA. It offers tax-free benefits as long as you make purchases related to health and medical issues. Read More |
| Be Familiar With Values of Health Savings Accounts Since 2004 HSAs have been available to help save and pay for health care costs. They work with high deductible health insurance and are known for their triple tax benefits. Contributions can be deducted from income. Earnings are tax deferred while in the HSA account and, if HSA funds are used for qualified medical expenses, both the contributions and earnings are tax-free when distributed. Here are 5 other benefits of an HSA. Read More |
| The Misunderstood Health Savings Account Moving closer to year end, individuals will evaluate opportunities to reduce income tax exposure. While many are familiar with the tax benefits of IRAs and 401(k)s, one tax-favored account that is often misunderstood is the health savings account “HSA. ”HSAs, if used effectively, can be a powerful tax planning tool. Read More |
| Consumer-Driven Health Care |
| Before You Sign Up for Health Insurance at Work, Read This The fall open enrollment season for employees is upon us, which means millions of American workers will need to make a number of complex decisions when it comes to their benefit selections. To help navigate the maze of decisions, here are four tips to help maximize your workplace benefits. Tip #1: Don’t be scared off by high-deductible health plans. Tip #2: Tap into the power of HSAs. Read More |
| HDHP vs. PPO: Which Is the Right Choice for You? To find the right health coverage, you need to weigh the pros and cons of an HDHP vs. a PPO. The best choice for you depends on several factors, including your health, lifestyle, number of dependents, and financial situation. Those with HDHPs can contribute to an HSA — a benefit denied to PPO policyholders. HSAs have several financial benefits. Read More |