2020 Small Group Proposed Rates (Employers size 2-50 employees)

Blue Cross 5.70%
Blue Plus 7.00%
HealthPartners, Inc 6.01%
Medica Insurance Company 4.97%
PreferredOne Community Health Plan 3.00%
Sanford 1.94%
UnitedHealthCare 8.87%

Official 2020 rates will be released on Oct. 1st.
Expect the final rates to fall within a couple of percentage points. 

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Minimal changes to the Health Savings Account contribution limits for 2020:

​HSA contribution limit(employer + employee)
Self-only: $3,550 
Family: $7,100

HSA catch-up contributions(age 55 or older)
$1,000

HDHP minimum deductibles
Self-only: $1,400 
Family: $2,800

The things holding back the growth of the HSA as a retirement vehicle are aplenty: misconceptions, incorrectly structured health plan designs, lack of employee education, and lazy health brokers.  The HSA is not a new concept… in fact, they have been around since 2003.
 
When compared to a 401 (K), Traditional IRA, and Roth IRA, the Health Savings Account is better as a retirement vehicle, both in the short and long term.  There is no other account on the market that allows for tax-savings on contributions, growth, AND distributions (when used for medical, dental, long-term care, vision, Medicare premium).  At age 65, you can use the HSA for anything (you pay income tax), just like your IRA. You can invest the funds in your HSA in the exact same way you can your other retirement accounts. For the most savvy investor-you can even pay for medical bills out of pocket, and reimburse yourself tax-free down the road (even 30 years later!). 
 
Why isn’t your financial advisor telling you this?  They don’t make any money when you and your employees put your money in an HSA.  They want you to have as much free cash as possible to put into accounts that they do make money: IRAs, 401 (k), stocks, bonds, and cash value life insurance.
 
Why isn’t your current benefit broker/advisor/consultant/agent telling you more about the HSA?  In order to do a great job with this approach, it requires much more work on their end.  The easiest route for brokers is to have you renew “as is” with your traditional copay plan, or to keep the HSA option available without educating anyone on it (group meeting once per year, and a benefit packet).  They get paid the same whether they do a great job or a poor job.  This is not doing you any good, and it’s a disservice to your employees.
 
One of the main concerns for employees when it comes to Health Savings Accounts is they are tied to a less than appealing term- “high deductible health plan”.  In order to have an HSA, you need to be enrolled in a HDHP or high deductible health plan. This term is only accurate from a technical sense. The problem with this term is that it is misleading and causes people to fear having to pay huge amounts out of pocket for medical bills.  When plans and contributions are structured correctly, this couldn’t be further from the truth! I often see the exact opposite… traditional copay plans have much higher out of pocket exposure and premium costs than said “high deductible health plans”. Our team doesn’t ever use the term HDHP when talking with employers and employees because it is often an inaccurate, confusing, and misleading adjective. 
 
If you and your employees aren’t fully leveraging the power of a Health Savings Account, it’s time for a change.
 
We achieve great results for our clients with our consulting program:
 

1. Lower health insurance premium
2. Lower out of pocket medical cost risk
3. Happier and more engaged employees
4. Stabilized benefit budget 

 
These results can be achieved whether you are fully-insured, self-funded, or are considering moving to a reference-based pricing model. 

Thank you reading, please comment below with any comments or questions. 

An HSA Bank survey of more than 300 health plan professionals found that the majority (71 percent) believe Americans don't understand their health plan coverage, signaling there is significant work to do when it comes to educating health plan owners on their healthcare options.
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HSA Bank conducted the survey at a national conference to gauge industry sentiment on key issues focused on the U.S. healthcare system from the state of the industry to healthcare reform.

Specific to Health Savings Accounts (HSAs), the survey found that 45 percent of health plan professionals believe that consumer understanding of their health plan coverage changes for the better when consumers have an HSA-based plan vs. a non-HSA-based plan.
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"The findings reinforce the premise that consumer-directed healthcare makes Americans better healthcare consumers improving the way they manage their health and healthcare spending, due to a greater understanding of their plan," said Chad Wilkins, EVP, Webster Bank, Head of HSA Bank.  "Although there is significant improvement that needs to be made to Americans' understanding of healthcare, we are optimistic that HSAs and CDH plans, when combined with ongoing education and tools that compare cost, quality and value, can close this gap."  

2018 HSA Limits Announced The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has released the 2018 annual contribution, deductible, and out-of-pocket maximum limits for Health Savings Accounts (HSA) and HSA-qualified health plans.

The 2018 amounts for HSA-qualified plans are:

2018 Minimum Deductibles

• Individual — $1,350 (2017 limit is $1,300)
• Family — $2,700 (2017 limit is $2,600)

2018 Maximum Out-of-Pocket

• Individual — $6,650 (2017 limit is $6,550)
• Family — $13,300 (2017 limit is $13,100)

2018 Maximum Annual Contribution Limts

• Individual — $3,450 (2017 limit is $3,400
• Family — $6,900 (2017 limit is $6,750)
• "Catch-up" amount for 55+ account holders is $1,000 (unchanged) 

A recent study done by Employee Benefit Research Institute illustrates the continued confusion surrounding the health savings account. 

Here are some of the most alarming stats from the study:

• 63% of employees said they don’t know the benefit of an HSA
• 50% don’t know how to predict current or future out-of-pocket healthcare expenditures and can’t select the best savings vehicle or rate
• 46% of HSA accountholders don’t know they can use HSA funds beyond the immediate plan year, and
• 61% of HSA accountholders were unaware they could invest HSA funds.​​

The study also highlighted some of the contradictions between what employees said they wanted or needed, and how they acted.
For example, although 70% of employees said they’d like to take a more active role in their healthcare decisions, just 50% intend to conduct more due diligence when purchasing healthcare in 2017.

HSA contribution limit(employer + employee)
Self-only: $3,350
Family: $6,750
Self-only: +$50
Family: no change

HSA catch-up contributions (age 55 or older)*
$1,000
No change**

HDHP minimum deductibles
Self-only: $1,300
Family: $2,600
Self-only: no change
Family: no change

HDHP maximum out-of-pocket amounts(deductibles, co-payments and other amounts, but not premiums)
Self-only: $6,550
Family: $13,100
Self-only: no change
Family: no change

* Catch-up contributions can be made any time during the year in which the HSA participant turns 55. 
** Unlike other limits, the HSA catch-up contribution amount is not indexed; any increase would require statutory change.