HSA News for January 11, 2021
HSA news is compiled weekly by Mr. HSA, Roy Ramthun.
News from Washington
Democrats Win Control of Senate After Victories in Georgia
Democrats have won control of the Senate after securing victories in two runoff races in Georgia, effectively giving the party full control of the government under President-elect Joe Biden. Each party will now have 50 seats in the Senate, but Vice President-elect Kamala Harris will cast the tie-breaking votes, giving Democrats control of the Senate for the first time since 2014.
With New Majority, Here’s What Democrats Can (and Can’t) Do on Health Care
The Democrats’ new congressional majority puts a variety of health policy ideas suddenly into reach, even if big structural changes remain unlikely. A series of tweaks bolstering the Affordable Care Act stands the best chance of passage. But structural overhauls like “Medicare for all” face a much tougher road.
HSA Compliance Corner
Deductible of $1,400 = HSA-Qualified Plan? Not Necessarily! Be Careful!
You must be covered by an HSA-qualified health insurance plan to open and contribute to an HSA. But the health plan's deductible amount doesn't by itself determine whether the plan makes you eligible to fund an HSA. You need to make sure the other plan features meet the requirements to ensure that you can enjoy the tax benefits of an HSA.
HSA Industry News
Itamar Romanini Joins HSA Consulting Services Team
Roy Ramthun and Paul Verberne from HSA Consulting Services welcome Itamar Romanini as their new partner. Itamar brings over 20 years of industry experience in the HSA and CDH space, ranging from operations and technology, to strategy, sales and marketing.
UnitedHealth Group's Optum to Buy Change Healthcare for $13B
UnitedHealth Group's Optum unit has agreed to buy Change Healthcare for $7.84 billion in cash plus about $5 billion in debt, the companies said on January 6. The acquisition will strengthen the insurer's portfolio of healthcare technology services and capabilities.
The HSA Market
5 Benefits and Health Care Trends That May Surprise You in 2021
The benefits of HSAs are more widely understood today than they were a decade ago, when they were still in their infancy. That could lead to an even greater surge of employers turning to HSA-eligible HDHPs as a way to increase savings and offer more diversified health care options that cater to individuals looking for a benefits plan that offers short-term and long-term upside.
Why More Companies Will Think of Benefit Plans as ‘Health Hubs’ in 2021
In some cases, employees with HDHPs are inadvertently getting the message they should be avoiding care altogether to save themselves and their family money. And they’re engaging with their benefit plan sporadically. It’s incumbent on all of us to recognize that our employees are consumers, as well, and provide them with an end-to-end healthcare journey that’s a true continuum.
HSAs & Retirement
Sorting Through the Medicare Part A Six-Month Retro Rule and HSAs
Be sure that you understand the implications of enrolling in Social Security after age 65 because of the possibility of retroactive enrollment in Medicare Part A so that you don't overfund your HSA. You can adjust your contributions prospectively or correct excess contributions after the fact to comply with the HSA contribution limits.
Maximizing Your HSA
Do This With Your HSA Instead of Stockpiling Cash
If you're not using your Health Savings Account to its maximum, here's a video with pointers to help you take full advantage of your HSA.
Magnify Your HSA by Letting It Sit for 30 Years
Like IRAs, HSAs can be invested in stock index funds and other things with handsome long-term rewards. Let the HSA compound, tax-free, preferably for a long, long time. What you will have, in effect, is a super-IRA to pay for retirement living.
Planning for Long-Term Care (LTC) Expenses? Consider an HSA Strategy
HSAs are a very powerful planning tool that offer triple tax savings for healthcare expenses. What many people don’t realize is that they can act as a “self-insured” long-term care strategy. Contributions are made with pre-tax dollars, earnings grow tax-free and you can withdraw the funds tax-free for qualified medical expenses – either now or in retirement.
How to Prioritize Your 401(k), Roth IRA, and HSA Contributions in 2021
There's no risk of over-funding an HSA. If you don't use the money for medical expenses, you can use it to supplement your other retirement savings. In 2021, you can contribute up to $3,600 to an HSA if you have an individual health plan or up to $7,200 if you have a family health plan.
Consumer-Driven Health Care
Survey Finds Most People Don't Think High Deductible Health Plans Save Money
High deductible health plans aren't saving members as much money as hoped, according to a new survey. The survey found that 46% of people with an HDHP said their health costs actually increased and 41% said they stayed the same. Even so, 43% believe HDHPs are more cost-effective than other types of plans.
Hospitals Forced to Be More Transparent About Pricing. Will That Save You Money?
Hospitals are facing the new year with new requirements to post price information they have long sought to obscure: the actual prices they negotiate with insurers and the discounts they offer their cash-paying customers. Yet there is disagreement on whether posting the prices for hospital services and procedures will actually curtail prices and create better-informed consumers.
Many Health Plans Now Must Cover Full Cost of Expensive HIV Prevention Drugs
Starting this month, most health plans must begin to cover the drugs that prevent HIV infection--Truvada, Descovy, and a newly available generic version of Truvada--without charging consumers anything out-of-pocket. Some plans already began doing so last year.
Amazon, JP Morgan, Berkshire Hathaway Health Care Venture to Disband
A high-profile joint venture from three of the country’s biggest-name companies aimed at lowering health care costs is disbanding after three years, a sign of how complex and difficult to disrupt the U.S. health care system is. The company, called Haven, was a joint venture of Amazon, JP Morgan Chase and Berkshire Hathaway and was announced with much fanfare at the beginning of 2018.