HSA News for August 26, 2019
Here is the lates news in HSAs by Mr. HSA, Roy Ramthun.
HSA Industry News
DirectPath Integrates GoodRx’s Pricing Data Into Its Portal
DirectPath has integrated GoodRx’s pricing data into its member portal, thus enabling its members to access prescription cost information and comparative cost information about medical procedures and treatments. Having the information in hand can help people save up to 80% on medications and an average of $340 on out-of-pocket spending on procedures and treatments.
The HSA Market
As HDHPs Grow in Popularity, Some State Officials Want to Rein Them In
Connecticut State Sen. Martin Looney filed or co-sponsored several bills this year that aimed to crack down on HDHPs, including one that would have outright banned the policies. The ban bill never made it to a public hearing, let alone any kind of vote, but that may change next year.
Maximizing HSAs: Legislative Priorities and Tools for Consumers
Watch this video where Roy Ramthun, "Mr. HSA," Ben Morris, President of UMB Healthcare Services, and Kevin McKechnie, Executive Director of the American Bankers Association HSA Council, discuss challenges facing both providers and consumers, where they foresee the industry moving in the future, and recent legislation and government guidance related to HSAs.
Healthcare Costs for Families With Employer Coverage Up 67% Since 2008
Healthcare costs for families with employer coverage have risen twice as fast as wages and three times the rate of inflation over the past decade, according to a new report. In 2018, an average family of four with an employer plan spent $4,706 on premiums and $3,020 on cost-sharing. That’s an increase of 67% in costs over 10 years.
Could Next Year Be the Beginning of the End of Traditional Employer-Sponsored Health Insurance?
The same type of transformation that turned traditional pension plans into employee-directed 401(k)s may be coming for employer-sponsored health plans. Under a new rule from the IRS and other federal agencies, any employer can give employees pretax compensation to buy individual market health insurance instead of providing a traditional employer-sponsored group health plan starting in 2020.
HSAs & Retirement
HSAs Can Be a Tool in Planning for Retirement Health Needs
While 401(k) plans, IRAs and taxable investment accounts can help individuals meet their retirement planning needs, HSAs are a savings vehicle specifically designed to save for medical expenses that occur during working years as well as in retirement.
HSA and Retirement: How to Use Your HSA
When you get ready to retire, there’s a good chance one of your biggest expenses will be health care. If you qualify, you might be able to use an HSA as a sort of “retirement account” to help you continue to grow your wealth. Here’s what you need to know about using an HSA as part of a retirement strategy.
Preparing for Retirement? An HSA Can Help
Whether you are a baby boomer nearing retirement, a Generation X’er in the middle of your career or a millennial just starting out, an HSA can help you prepare for retirement, no matter what stage of planning you are in. Below are three benefits HSAs offer that can make preparing for retirement easier.
HSAs & Medicare
Age 65 Planning
The population of Americans who've celebrate their 65th birthdays can be divided into four groups. And two of the four are adversely affected by conflicting federal program rules at the intersection of Medicare and HSAs.
Seniors Deserve Access to HSAs
An overwhelming number of American voters polled (82 percent) believed that seniors on Medicare should be able to keep contributing to their HSA if they already have one. In addition, 82 percent say seniors on Medicare should have the option to purchase an HSA if they want one.
Why Expanding HSAs to Medicare Beneficiaries Needs to Happen
One of the most common misconceptions surrounding Medicare is that it is free to beneficiaries. Just like any other type of health insurance, Medicare beneficiaries are subject to out-of-pocket expenses in the form of deductibles, monthly premiums, and coinsurance costs. But current law prohibits Medicare beneficiaries from using HSAs to pay these costs tax-free.
Maximizing Your HSA
4 Things You Might Not Know About HSAs
HDHPs are becoming increasingly common, and few people like them, but they've given us one good thing: the HSA. You probably know that these accounts can help you save money for medical expenses, but that's not all they do. Here are four things everyone should know about HSAs.
What's the Difference Between an FSA and an HSA?
Healthcare is a major burden for Americans of all ages. Thankfully, there are special accounts that allow you to pay for healthcare in a tax-advantaged fashion. Two popular choices in this regard are FSAs and HSAs. But while some might confuse the two, they're actually very different.
Consumer-Driven Health Care
Employers Are Helping Clear the Haze on Health Care Prices
Until recently, detailed health care pricing information was simply unavailable. Consumers with health insurance might not have cared anyway. Their employers, however, care a lot. Employers are fighting back against high medical costs, in part by harnessing increasingly powerful databases to identify who the bad actors are in health care.
A Growing Number of Doctors Take Only Cash, Not Insurance
More doctors are switching to direct primary care because they are fed up with insurance company red tape and want to work directly with patients to meet their needs. More patients are signing up for DPC plans because the prices are transparent, their doctor is always available, and paying cash for medical care and prescription pills is actually saving them money.
Shopping Abroad for Cheaper Medication? Here’s What You Need to Know
If you are planning to cross the border for your medications, or get them through an online pharmacy abroad, here are two things you should know. First: It is technically illegal. Second: It is unlikely you will be prosecuted.
Food Shopping at the Drugstore? Don’t Be Surprised When It Happens
Shifting prescription drug purchasing habits of consumers over time will rob the brick and mortar stores of their highly profitable and irreplaceable foot traffic. Finding new ways to allure traditional and new customers to their stores will be needed to offset the decline in insurance-covered prescription drug sales.