Blog
Time to Decouple Eligibility from HSA-qualified Coverage
“[M]ost employees face financial responsibility far greater than the statutory minimum annual deductible of $1,400 for an HSA-qualified plan, but another part of the plan design (perhaps copays for office visits and prescription drugs) disqualifies them from opening and funding a Health Savings Account. This bill, if passed, would extend the benefits of this financial.. Read more
A Health FSA May Enhance Your HSA Strategy
“You’d have to withdraw $24,000 from a taxable account or pay about two-thirds of the average Social Security payment during those 14 months that your Health Savings Account continues to fund all your medical expenses tax-free. When you’re in your 70s or 80s and living on a fixed income in a volatile financial market, an.. Read more
Account Owners Have More Options during Pandemic
“A Health Savings Account balance won’t help you pay your mortgage or grocery bill during an economic emergency. At least not directly and without penalty. But you can use your accumulated balances to pay for qualified expenses, thus preserving scarce personal funds to purchase other items.” William G. (Bill) Stuart Director of Strategy and Compliance.. Read more
An Update on ICHRAs
“Large employers (51 or more employees) who want to transition employees from group to nongroup coverage are discouraged to find that the nongroup plan designs are far less attractive than what they can purchase as a large group.” William G. (Bill) Stuart Director of Strategy and Compliance April 2, 2020 Last summer, the Trump Administration.. Read more
A Menu of Options to Help People Cope with the Pandemic
“For a family with $5,000 of out-of-pocket expenses and a 25% to 34% marginal tax rate, the savings of between $1,250 and $1,700 may equal a mortgage payment of four or more car payments. That’s welcome money in these difficult times.” William G. (Bill) Stuart Director of Strategy and Compliance March 23, 2020 The COVID-19.. Read more
Looking Back a Decade on Two Landmark Healthcare Events
“Too many [employers], though, take a surprisingly cavalier attitude toward their medical spend. In many cases, the cost of medical care is one of a company’s top three or four expenses. But whereas managers scrutinize the purchase of new equipment and raw materials, the cost to rent or own and upgrade their facilities, and employee.. Read more
Health Savings Accounts and Chronic Conditions
“Employers with a particular high-cost claims category among its employee population – perhaps behavioral health, substance abuse, lower-back ailments or repetitive-motion injuries – could work with their insurer to remove cost barriers for treatment without disqualifying employees from making or receiving Health Savings Account contributions.” William G. (Bill) Stuart Director of Strategy and Compliance March.. Read more
Sorting through Tax Forms
“All contributions made through your employer’s Cafeteria Plan are labeled employer contributions. This figure includes not only contributions that your employer agreed to make when you enrolled, but also your pre-tax payroll deductions. Don’t worry about the aggregation. It’s all your money. Health Savings Account contributions vest immediately, regardless of the source.” William G. (Bill) Stuart.. Read more
Democrats Debate Medicare-Based Reform Proposals
“The growing premium differential between Medicare and private insurance would prompt more people eligible for the Public Option or Medicare Buy-in to enroll in Medicare. That would off another round of disproportionately higher private premiums, which would exacerbate the problem. In the insurance industry, we call this phenomenon the death spiral.” William G. (Bill) Stuart.. Read more
Why the Cadillac Tax Had to Go
“It defies logic to argue that employee salary deferrals – compensation that employees choose to take in the form of tax-advantaged funds to reimburse their personal financial responsibility for care – fall within any logical definition of premium.” William G. (Bill) Stuart Director of Strategy and Compliance January 23, 2020 The budget deal to which.. Read more
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