HSA News for July 12, 2021
HSA news is compiled weekly by Mr. HSA, Roy Ramthun.
News from Washington
Biden Signs Executive Order Targeting Anticompetitive Practices in Big Tech, Health Care
On July 9, President Joe Biden signed an executive order that the White House bills as an effort to target anticompetitive practices in tech, health care and other parts of the economy while boosting workers' wages and consumer protections. The sweeping order includes 72 actions and recommendations that the White House says "will lower prices for families, increase wages for workers, and promote innovation and even faster economic growth."
HSA Studies & Analysis
Getting the Most Value From HSAs
A study by MetLife found that employees who owned an HSA were 22% more likely to feel as though their benefits helped reduce financial stress overall than employees without one. Compared to employees without an HSA, employees who owned an HSA were 22% more likely to say they felt better in general—physically, financially, mentally and socially.
HSA Industry Best Practices
The Engagement Imperative: Tracking Your HSA Progress
The best benefits teams know that robust metrics and analytics tools are key to developing a high-performing program. By taking time to understand how employees are using their HSAs, organizations can evaluate their approach and identify opportunities for improvement. The exact metrics a benefits team should track will vary from organization to organization, but here are some of the most crucial.
The HSA Market
Health Reimbursement Account vs. Health Savings Account
Two types of accounts for saving pretax dollars to pay for healthcare expenses are available to many employed and self-employed people. Either an HRA or an HSA can cover expenses such as health insurance co-pays and qualified services that may not be covered by a health insurance policy. The following table delineates the differences and similarities between the two accounts.
Consumer-Driven Health Care
Telehealth Use Drops for 3rd Straight Month as Patients Return to In-Person Appointments
Telehealth utilization fell nationally for the third straight month, according to a new report. The decline in telehealth utilization appears largely to be driven by the shift back to in-person visits at hospitals and other healthcare settings.
Hospitals Often Charge Uninsured People the Highest Prices, New Data Show
A Wall Street Journal study of thousands of prices at hundreds of hospitals revealed that many charge top prices to patients who must pay cash out of pocket compared with the prices the hospitals have negotiated with insurance companies.
Childbirth Highly Susceptible to Surprise Medical Bills
Nearly one in five newborn hospitalizations or childbirth deliveries have at least one surprise medical bill, especially if cesarean delivery or neonatal intensive care services are provided, according to a recent brief from the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Use of Preventive Care Services Declined Despite Expanded Coverage
For the privately insured, Medicare, and uninsured populations, the prevalence of the use of preventive care services declined for many services examined. Of the more prevalently used preventive services, the increase occurred immediately following the passage of the Affordable Care Act and then remained stable or declined over time.