The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has announced the Health Savings Account (HSA) maximum contribution amounts, and qualified high deductible health plan (QHDHP) deductible and out of pocket limits for 2015. Since I have provided basic guidance on “all things HSA” in a previous post, I thought I would provide some advanced HSA guidance in this week's blog, along with the recently announced 2015 IRS maximums.
For 2015, the maximum allowable HSA contributions are:
– INDIVIDUAL Coverage (self only): $3,350
– FAMILY Coverage (self plus 1 or more dependents): $6,650
Ordinarily, I try to couple a picture with the content of my post, creating a theme of sorts. This week, my selected picture IS the essence of the blog post. The picture is a chart provided by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) showing the slowing of health care spending from 2002 to 2013, by nearly 90%. One of the factors contributing to the slow down in health care spending cited in this post (titled appropriately – Whats Causing Health Care Spending to Slow?) is the growth in popularity and implementation of so called high deductible health plans with accompanying tax preferred spending accounts.
French novelist and critic – Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr – famously said – “the more things change, the more they remain the same”. Based on recent news in Nebraska, relative to the roll out of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), aka Obamacare, I am going to reverse Mr. Alphonse Karr's famous quote to say – “the more things remain the same, the more they change”! If you're not in Nebraska, keep reading because this weeks blog post addresses the allowance of what now amounts to a nearly three year delay of several key provisions* of the ACA…for some.
Barely more than a month ago, the White House granted a two year extension to the previously announced one year “transition relief”.
Since the “birth” of so called Consumer Driven Health Plans (CDHP) in the mid 90;s, opponents have argued that CDHP;s merely shift health care related costs from employer to employee. This is simply not the case, and health insurer/administrator Cigna's eighth annual “Choice Fund Experience Study” offers quite the opposing view, buttressed by empirically derived facts. Over the course of CDHPs evolution, I have learned a great deal from many of the pioneers and trailblazers of CDH, including the “father of HSAs” (John Goodman), and the “Godmother of CDH” (Regina Herzlinger). And studies like Cignas provide sound data and efficacy to once again advance the fact that CDH LOWERS HEATH CARE COSTS without sacrificing care or coverage!
I am often asked by HR professionals, CEO's, CFO's, Executive Directors, etc. the following question – “what should I be telling my employees about the Affordable Care Act (ACA)”? Between the 2,700 pages of the actual law, and the thousands of pages of regulations and guidance released to date, the question is very relevant, and extremely important. While I firmly believe folks occupying roles with the aforementioned titles should receive a thorough initial overview of the ACA, and ongoing guidance and updates; rank and file employees need only get the absolute critical aspects. So you might ask – “what are the critical aspects”? My list of employee centric, critical aspects is based on the following questions/criteria…
Within just the past decade or so, Workplace Wellness has become an industry within an industry. In fact, as a benefits broker/consultant, I get as many calls from Wellness program vendors as I do from insurance companies, seeking new client opportunities. Recently I came upon an article that made some interesting points relative to Workplace Wellness programs, and the potential outlay of employer dollars in the interest of reducing health care related claims costs. Here are some thoughts for readers and stakeholders to ponder:
On average, U.S. citizens consume about 2,700 calories per day.
Healthy food costs significantly more than unhealthy food.
Despite numerous reports of the “closing” of the Affordable Care Act's (ACA) public health insurance exchanges/marketplaces on March 31, 2014, THEY'RE ACTUALLY STILL OPEN FOR BUSINESS! Media reports stating that “the exchanges are closed” are simply inaccurate. Much like group health insurance plans, ACA marketplace/exchange plans have two (2) enrollment periods:
Open Enrollment – which ran from 10/1/13 – 3/31/14 in the inaugural year of the launching of the public marketplaces / exchanges. IMPORTANT: The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced on March 26, 2014 that it would extend the open enrollment deadline for consumers…
On March 5, 2014, the White House announced a two-year extension to the previously announced one-year transition relief allowing individual and small group insured members to “keep the plans they liked”. In other words, delay the implementation of several Affordable Care Act (ACA) provisions for another two years. This extension is subject to the same stipulation affecting the initial one year delay announced on 11/14/13, which is that both insurers and States must allow and approve of the relief/delay.
IMPORTANT: On March 24, 2014, Bruce R. Jamge, CPCU, CIE, Nebraska;s Director of Insurance, issued a notice which indicated, in part – “…
Anyone that has ever played the game Jenga or any other stacking game appreciates the challenge, if not the risk, associated with removing individual pieces of a constructed mass. If just a single piece is yanked out of the construct, the entire design crashes down, leaving a mess of pieces, and nothing resembling the original design. Approaching its 4th anniversary, the Affordable Care Act (ACA), or Obamacare, is gradually turning into a great big game of Jenga! Ironically, a law that was passed on a 100% partisan, party-line basis is now being attacked directly and indirectly, from both sides of the aisle, democrat and republican alike.
Last week (March 5, 2014), the IRS and the Department of Treasury (DOT) released FINAL rules related to some very important Affordable Care Act (ACA) requirements addressing health insurance plan reporting. These reporting requirements (originally set to take effect at the end of this year, but delayed one year along with the employer mandate) affect employers with 50 or more full-time employees (including full-time equivalents) starting in early 2016 for plans in force during the 2015 calendar year (regardless of anniversary or ERISA plan date). Reporting is voluntary for 2014/2015, although it might not be a bad idea to consider a “dry run” in preparation for the 2016 requirement.
