health savings accounts
Posted May 24th, 2018 in Employers, Producers, Individuals
Why employees should max out their HSA contributions
Most people don’t think about an HSA as a savings account. Instead, they think of it as an account used to set aside money, tax-free, to pay for healthcare expenses. While this is true, the reality is an HSA is much more than a bank account. It’s a long-term savings vehicle.
Posted May 1st, 2018 in Employers, Producers, Individuals
On April 26, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced relief for taxpayers with family coverage under a High Deductible Health Plan (HDHP) who can contribute to a Health Savings Account (HSA).
Posted March 27th, 2018 in Employers, Producers, Individuals
On Monday, March 5, 2018, the IRS published Internal Revenue Bulletin (IRB) 2018-10 that contains Revenue Procedure (Rev. Proc.) 2018-19.
Effective for calendar year 2018, the family contribution limit for Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) has been lowered to $6,850 from the previously set amount of $6,900.
There has been no change in the individual contribution limit of $3,450 or the catch-up contribution limit of $1,000 for calendar year 2018.
Posted March 13th, 2018 in Producers, Employers, Individuals
The Idaho Test – Last Thursday, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) shot down the state of Idaho’s plan to allow for the sale of health insurance plans which don’t comply with the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Idaho officials wanted less expensive plans to be available for purchase in their state, but these plans could use medical underwriting and wouldn’t have to cover all ten of the essential health benefits.
Posted February 20th, 2018 in Producers, Employers, Individuals
Congress keeps finding ways to include certain healthcare provisions into federal spending bills. A temporary spending bill passed in January included a suspension or delay of the Cadillac Tax, health insurer tax and medical device tax.
Posted January 30th, 2018 in Producers, Employers, Individuals
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act was signed into law on December 22, 2017. It has been making headlines for many reasons over the past few weeks, but some parts of the law aren’t receiving as much attention – such as the provisions pertaining to the use of the Chained Consumer Price Index for Urban Consumers, also known as the Chained CPI.
Participating members of Blue Cross Blue Shield plans in IL, MT, NM, OK & TX now get direct access to their HSA from Flex
Posted December 19th, 2017 in Producers, Employers, Individuals
The state of Maryland passed a law known as the Contraceptive Equity Act which is scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2018. The law requires fully insured health plans issued in the state of Maryland to cover male sterilization procedures (i.e. vasectomies) as preventive care without any copay, deductible or other cost-sharing requirements for the member.
The Health Savings Account (HSA) market has grown rapidly in the past decade. More than 21 million people currently have an HSA and there’s still plenty of opportunity for growth. In fact, a recent report projects 30 million HSAs by the end of 2019.
Here are the top employer benefits of an HSA:
Posted November 1st, 2017 in Producers, Employers, Individuals
As you may have heard, the Trump administration discontinued funding for the cost-sharing reduction subsidies (CSR subsidies). Critics of this move believe it will create instability in the Exchange and individual marketplaces. Political efforts to restore the CSR subsidies are underway, but it appears Republican leadership has some demands as part of those restoration efforts.
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