HSA News for March 1, 2021
HSA News is compiled weekly by Mr. HSA, Roy Ramthun.
News from Washington
House Democrats Pass Sweeping $1.9T COVID-19 Relief Bill
House Democrats passed their sweeping $1.9 trillion coronavirus aid package in a party-line vote early Saturday morning, advancing President Biden’s top legislative priority. The relief package now heads to the Senate, where Democrats are expected to amend it and send it back to the House for approval before unemployment insurance benefits expire on March 14.
Senate Parliamentarian Nixes Minimum Wage Hike in Coronavirus Bill
The Senate parliamentarian ruled against including a boost to the minimum wage in a $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief bill, arguing that it runs afoul of budget rules. The decision is a significant blow to progressives, who viewed the plan to increase the minimum wage to $15 per hour as one of their top priorities in the massive coronavirus relief plan.
Senate Mulls Changes to $1.9 Trillion Coronavirus Bill
The $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief plan is facing a potential woodchipper in the Senate as lawmakers consider making changes to the mammoth bill. But before Senate Democrats can pass the bill, they’ll need to go through an hours-long voting session where any senator will be able to offer an amendment. Any changes will require the coronavirus relief package to go back to the House.
HSA Studies & Analysis
COVID-19 Concerns Top EBRI’s 2020 Consumer Engagement Survey
Other findings from the survey include enrollment in consumer-driven health plans reached a record high in 2020, with 19 percent enrolled in such a plan. Nearly 70% of individuals were using their HSAs to pay for current out-of-pocket expenses, while 40% were saving for health care expenses in retirement. Almost 40% were using them to minimize taxes, and one-third were covering unexpected medical expenses.
HSA Compliance Corner
How Medicare's Retroactive Coverage Affects Contributions to Your HSA
When you enroll in Medicare Part A (voluntarily or involuntarily), your coverage may start retroactively up to six months. If you are contributing to a Health Savings Account, this could create a "gotcha" moment. Here's what you need to know about how to avoid one.
Shut Out of HSA Contributions Due to Health FSA Election? Maybe Not
Since the launch of Health Savings Accounts in 2004, the relationship between electing a general Health FSA and wanting to fund a Health Savings Account has been confusing and, for many people, disastrous. But recent clarification from the Internal Revenue Service and Department of the Treasury provides some potential relief.
How to Prevent Employees from Forfeiting FSA Money Without Losing HSA Eligibility
Recent IRS guidance confirms several ways that new relief for participants of health FSAs, added by the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021, can be offered by employers without negatively impacting an employee’s HSA eligibility. Employers generally have three options as they search for ways to encourage participation in their HSA-qualified health plans without disqualifying employees’ HSA eligibility.
Top 10 Issues Resolved in IRS FSA Relief Guidance
The IRS has issued much-anticipated guidance clarifying certain aspects of the FSA relief provisions enacted at the end of 2020. Three of the provisions may have potential impacts on HSA eligibility. These include changes to health FSA grace periods and rollovers, as well as revoking a health FSA election.
Silver Lining for Texas Winter Storm Victims – HSA Contribution Deadline Extended Until June 15, 2021
Individuals and businesses in Texas and Oklahoma will now have until June 15, 2021, to file their individual income and business tax returns and pay any taxes that were originally due before June 15, thanks to a recent IRS announcement. It also means that affected taxpayers will have until June 15 to make HSA contributions for 2020, as well as withdraw any excess contributions for 2020 without penalty.
HSA Industry News
WEX’s Health Division Strengthens Position as Industry Leader
WEX further solidified its leadership position in 2020 in terms of growth and services across its health division. WEX continued to capitalize on the continued momentum of the HSA market with growth of accounts and assets, with more than 6.5 million HSA accounts on the WEX technology platform, more than any other platform in the country.
Genius Avenue Partners with Vive Benefits to Offer an Optimized HSA
Genius Avenue has created an integration solution for Vive Benefits, enabling their existing offering to scale rapidly. Vive Benefits has created a new way of providing HSA benefits to employees, enabling users to utilize pre-tax dollars before accruing them while protecting individuals from personal bankruptcies due to unexpected out-of-pocket healthcare expenses.
The HSA Market
Alegeus Pushes The Amazon Model For Healthcare
Alegeus SVP Bryan Colburn says consumers need a single-point solution where they can access their plan and understand the financial side of their care, contribute to it for maximum advantage and secure their best possible pricing for their needs. Alegeus is building that single point around the HSA.
HSAs & Retirement
Retirement Uses for Your Health Savings Account
It has become ingrained in us that we should max out our 401(k) or similar plan as the best way to save for retirement. This is certainly good advice. But should HSA plans also be maxed out in a similar fashion? Here is a look at what these accounts are, who can open one, and how to make the best use of an HSA for your retirement if you are fortunate enough to have one.
Maximizing Your HSA
Transfer IRA Money to an HSA
Did you know you can make a one-time, penalty- and tax-free rollover of money from your IRA to your HSA? You can move funds from an IRA to an HSA only if you’re eligible to make contributions to your HSA, in other words, while you’re covered by a high-deductible health plan and otherwise eligible to have an HSA.
Consumer-Driven Health Care
High Deductibles May Encourage Smarter Patient Decisions About Low-Value Care Use
A new study provides evidence that high deductible plans cause working age employees to reduce spending for low-value care disproportionately relative to overall spending reductions. Results also suggest that these patients are reducing use of low-value care specifically. Together, these findings show the potential for high deductibles to incentivize smarter health care use and spending.
Hospitals Must Now Disclose Prices for Care, but It’s Still Hard to Comparison Shop: ‘The Randomness Is Stunning.’
Consumers in the Philadelphia area with high-deductible plans would have to pay from $330 to $1,500 at local hospitals for a simple MRI scan of their knee to find out how serious the source of their pain is. Those are the hard numbers culled from the arcane world of hospital prices that were recently released for the first time.
Consumerization of Healthcare: We See You, Amazon
Traditionally, health plan sponsors have had the biggest influence on where their members go for care and what medical services will be paid for. But that could be changing as individual consumers seek healthcare in new forms -- and pay for it themselves. According to health economist Jane Sarasohn-Kahn, high deductibles and co-insurance have forced patients to become consumers.