HSA News for September 19, 2022
HSA news is compiled weekly by Mr. HSA, Roy Ramthun.
News from Washington
Biden: "The Pandemic Is Over"
President Biden declared the COVID-19 pandemic "over" in an interview with CBS' "60 Minutes" airing Sunday evening. "We still have a problem with COVID. We're still doing a lot of work on it ... but the pandemic is over," Biden said. Last month, the Biden administration extended the public health emergency declaration for COVID through October 13.
Amazon, Walmart Among Hundreds of Employers, Health Groups Urging Senate to Extend Telehealth Flexibilities
A group of 375 organizations, including Amazon, Google, and Walmart, sent a letter to the Senate urging lawmakers to act to pass legislation extending COVID-19-era telehealth flexibilities for another two years for both Medicare and commercial market patients, including allowing people with HSA-qualified plans to access telehealth coverage without first meeting annual deductibles.
Americans Give Health Care System Failing Mark: Poll
A new poll reveals that public satisfaction with the U.S. health care system is remarkably low, with fewer than half of Americans saying it is generally handled well. Only 12% say it is handled extremely or very well. Americans have similar views about health care for older adults.
HSA Compliance Corner
Can Mom or Dad Disqualify You from Funding an HSA? Surprisingly, Maybe!
Too few people understand that Health FSAs automatically cover spouses, even if the spouse isn't covered on the employee's medical plan. And only a fraction of that small faction know that a parent's benefits decisions may affect a young adult's eligibility to open and fund a Health Savings Account.
HSA Industry Best Practices
Help Employees Get More Value from Health Savings Accounts
Not sure if an HSA is right for your employee population? Recent trend data shows that HSAs appeal to both spenders and savers and can benefit employees throughout the course of their careers. Human resources professionals play an essential role in helping American families capitalize on the value of HSAs and protect the health and well-being of their families. Here are four simple ways to help your employees get even more value from their HSA.
HSA Industry News
First Dollar Collaborates with DriveWealth for Embedded Investing
First Dollar is collaborating with DriveWealth to power an HSA investing experience inside of their API-driven Health Wallet Platform. Consumers with HSAs will be able to invest in fractional shares and tap a cross-section of equities and ETFs from their individual health wallet dashboards.
The HSA Market
Inflation Is Driving Workers to Review Benefit Choices
According to new research, 70% of American employees surveyed expect to spend additional time reviewing their benefit selections because of inflation this open-enrollment season. 70% of employees want support from their employer to make the optimal benefits selections across retirement savings, health care, Health Savings Accounts, and voluntary benefits like critical illness or accident insurance.
HRAs: Do You Have the Right One That’s Tailored to Employees’ Needs?
HRAs come in many different shapes and sizes, allowing the plan design to be tailored specifically towards employees’ business needs. Choosing the right plan design for your HRA can be a bit of an art form. In general, an HRA constitutes other coverage and cannot be offered while contributing to an HSA. If the HRA will be offered alongside an HSA, there are five ways you can make it HSA-compatible.
HSAs & Retirement
How to Use Your HSA as a Retirement Plan
Whether you're in the early stages of your working years or you're nearing retirement, one of the biggest burdens that can dampen your golden years is healthcare expenses. But one tool that can help you save for healthcare costs in retirement is a Health Savings Account. In many ways, an HSA functions similarly to a traditional IRA or 401(k). But HSAs have major advantages over traditional retirement accounts.
Maximizing Your HSA
2 Reasons to Max Out Your HSA
HSAs are a special type of savings account that holds money put aside for medical expenses. Here's the neat thing about HSAs: They're funded with pre-tax money. Your annual contributions (up to limits allowed by the IRS) will be taken right off the top of your gross salary earnings. And the tax advantages don't stop there. Here's why you should contribute as much as you can.
Why Funding an HSA Is Really a No-Risk Prospect
You can pretty much bank on spending a lot of money on healthcare once you reach retirement. And while Medicare will sometimes pick up the tab for such services, other times it won't. That's why it's so important to save plenty of money for future healthcare spending. The best option is to fund an HSA. Not only do these accounts offer a world of tax benefits, but they also leave you with plenty of options for using up your money.
Young Professionals Could Avoid Six Figures in Lifetime Taxes With an HSA
Too many young professionals are leaving Uncle Sam an enormous tax gratuity. How are they doing this? By not taking full advantage of the triple tax benefits of an HSA. An early to mid-career professional with an HSA-qualified plan could be missing out on six figures of lifetime tax savings. With open enrollment for health insurance around the corner, it’s time to understand and utilize the benefits of your HSA.
Consumer-Driven Health Care
Deadlines for Using Up Flexible Spending Accounts Return
It’s especially important this year to check the balance in your health FSA and know the deadline for using it on health costs because the elastic rules adopted in the pandemic are expiring. The federal government let employers relax those rules during the pandemic to give workers more time to spend the money. But now the rules are set to return to normal, and some workers may have more cash than usual that must be spent in the coming months.
HRA or HSA? Which Is a Better Option if Your Company Offers You a Choice?
Many companies offer Health Savings Accounts and Health Reimbursement Accounts side-by-side during a plan year. When they do, which one is better? That's an individual choice, and an important one. Here's a guide to help each employee determine which option is better in his or her situation.
Here’s How to Weigh Whether a Health Savings Account Makes Sense for Your 2023 Insurance Coverage
As open enrollment season gets underway, you may find yourself having to decide whether a health savings account should be part of your 2023 medical coverage. Even if you spend what’s in your HSA on current health care expenses, you still benefit from the pretax contributions, which reduce your taxable income. If you pay your current health care costs out of pocket instead of withdrawing from the HSA, you can reimburse yourself down the road — just hold on to your receipts.