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  Drew's Corner

Employee Benefits & Finance

Health Savings Account vs. Flex Spending Account

9/8/2016

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What are the key differences of an HSA and an FSA?  Below are some key items to make sure your employees are educated on.  

Contribution Limits
HSA: $3,350 Ind / $6,750 Family
FSA: $2,550

Ownership and control
HSA: You
FSA: Your Employer

Funds Rollover
HSA: Forever
FSA: Up to $500 annually, if adopted by the plan. 

Funds Invested
HSA: Yes
FSA: No

Earnings grow tax-free
HSA: Yes
FSA: No earnings

Contribution changes allowed
HSA: When you want
FSA: No

Withdrawals for non-medical expense
HSA: Allowed at age 65, taxed as income
FSA: Not allowed

Reimbursement Deadlines
HSA: At any time
FSA: Within 90 days of plan year-end
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SmarterHSA Blog #4: Is an HSA the Ultimate Retirement Account?

8/20/2016

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For a majority of consumers, an HSA is viewed as simply a savings account for medical expenses that provides some tax benefits.
 
When taking a closer look, an HSA can be much more than that.  When utilized intelligently, the HSA can provide the best benefits of a 401 (k), 403 (b), or Traditional/Roth IRA combined.
 
An HSA has a triple tax advantage:   
 
1. Your contributions to an HSA are tax deductible
2. Your account grows tax free
3. Withdrawals for qualified medical expenses are tax-free
 
*In addition, if you contribute to your HSA through a payroll deduction, you do not pay FICA taxes (Social Security and Medicare) on the contributions. 
 
The Health Savings Account allows for tax-free contributions, tax-free growth, and tax-free distributions! 

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SmarterHSA Blog #3: Traditional PPO vs. H.S.A Plans with a High Deductible

8/12/2016

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​​Comparing a Traditional, Co-Pay style health plan to a High Deductible Health Plan (HDHP) can be confusing for employees. There is a perception that Co-Pay plans are richer, more comprehensive than a HDHP. While this can be the case, there is often more to the story.  
There are basic questions that employees can ask themselves to help determine the best plan for them:
  1. What is the portion of the premium that you will pay for each plan?
  2. What is the out-of-pocket max that you will pay for health costs on each plan, before the insurance carrier covers everything?
  3. What is your best case scenario (no healthcare usage--just premium paid) vs worst case scenario (high healthcare usage—premium paid + out-of-pocket max) for each plan option?
  4. Is your employer making a health savings account contribution?  This amount can be subtracted from the out-of-pocket max for the HDHP.  For example, if I am covered as a single under a $2,000-100% ($2,000 out-of-pocket max) HDHP, and my employer is contributing $1,000 annually to my Health Savings Account, my out-of-pocket max for the year is now $1,000.   
Like most things involving health insurance, selecting the correct plan can be a confusing process for employees.   Keep these items in mind as you begin to prepare for open enrollment.  
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SmarterHSA Blog #2: Start with the Basics 

8/5/2016

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SmarterHSA Blog: Start with the Basics

With high deductible health plan (HDHP) election at an all-time high, it’s critical that your employees know how to make best use of an H.S.A.  How do you educate them?  It’s best to do so in a series of communications, both in-person and electronically.   
​ 
Giving employees a base knowledge of the basics is important, regardless of how long a HDHP/H.S.A. program has been offered to them at your organization.  We have seen a lot of confusion about the basics of an H.S.A. over the past couple of open enrollments, so it’s important to not take the basics for granted. 

What are some of the key items that we would consider good starting points?
  1. Key differences between traditional plans and high deductible health plans (HDHP).
  2. Explain to them what makes a health plan “health savings account eligible/qualified”.
  3. The general concept of a health savings account.
  4. This is your money.  You do not lose it when you change jobs.  You do no lose it if you don’t use the funds during a particular calendar year.

I will go into more detail about these items, but this is a good reminder to start with the basics.  Keeping the message simple and concise has worked for us when educating employees.

As always, your feedback and comments are appreciated. 
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SmarterHSA Blog: Welcome 

8/2/2016

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Welcome to the SmarterHSA Blog.  Thank you for taking some time to check in!  

Health Savings Account (H.S.A) participation by consumers continues to climb.  As of 2016, there are more than 18 million consumers participating in an H.S.A qualified health plan.  Despite the rapid increase in H.S.A participation, there remains a large education gap among employers and employees in how to make best use of these great products.
 
Over the course of the next several months we will be releasing simple, easy to understand content about H.S.A’s, and help you and your employees take advantage of all that a Health Savings Account has to offer. 
 
Please reach out with any questions or comments.  I am looking forward to hearing your feedback.

​Andrew
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