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March 26, 2008
The Entrust Group Unveils Health Savings Account Product
The Entrust Group, a self-directed retirement account provider has announced the launch of their Health Savings Account product -- The Entrust Self-Directed HSA. Like other HSA products, the Entrust Self-Directed HSA can be used to pay for current or future qualified medical expenses, when combined with a high deductible health care plan. In addition, since the funds in the account can be self-directed, the account holder may invest their savings into many types of non-traditional assets, including real estate, notes, mortgages, private placements and more.
"A self-directed HSA allows the account holder a larger choice of investments," said Hubert Bromma, founder of The Entrust Group.
"The great thing about the Entrust Self-Directed HSA is that the account holder can invest the funds in the manner in which they choose, and potentially earn more with the funds in this health care account. The process is easier than most people imagine."
With the Entrust Self-Directed HSA, account holders can:
-- Fund the account with pre-tax dollars,
-- Take distributions for qualified medical expenses on a tax-exempt basis
-- Direct the funds into investments that the account holder chooses and
-- Generate investment growth that is tax-deferred
"This product is a natural fit for us," said Bromma. "It enables us to help ease the concerns of our clients as they relate to health care costs in retirement. Most people probably will shoulder the majority of their healthcare costs during retirement, and this product is set up to help people save for both current and future healthcare costs."
Posted by Wiley Long at 10:14 AM | Comments (0)
March 20, 2008
HSA for America Releases 2008 Edition of 'The Complete Consumer's Guide to Health Savings Accounts'
HSA for America has released the 2008 edition of their popular guide to Health Savings Accounts called "The Complete Consumer's Guide to Health Savings Accounts." This comprehensive 36 page report explains how Health Savings Accounts work, what insurance plans can be partnered with an HSA, how to choose the best plan, and strategies to help consumers maximize their savings and tax benefits.
The vast distribution of past editions of this guide has proven to be an asset to those seeking to be fully informed about Health Savings Accounts. This report is available free of charge to anyone interested in learning more about Health Savings Accounts.
Click here to download your free copy of The Complete Consumer's Guide to Health Savings Accounts.
"As people look for ways to lower their health insurance premiums and reduce their taxes, the interest in Health Savings Accounts has continued to soar," says Wiley Long, President of HSA for America. "With all the confusion that exists for consumers attempting to make the best health insurance decisions for themselves and their families, it is more important than ever to provide a resource with complete and accurate information to dispel the confusion. There seems to be a lack of understanding about how Health Savings Accounts work, even among bankers, insurance agents, CPAs and other financial advisors. This guide will help people understand how they can use an HSA to lower both their taxes and their health insurance premiums, and at the same time build a second retirement."
Medical bills will be a large expense to the typical retiree. By establishing a fund now that can be used to pay for future medical expenses, one can make their retirement dollars go much farther.
"Because an HSA is the only investment tool that gives a tax-deduction now, along with tax-free withdrawals later, it is actually the first retirement vehicle that should be funded," Long added. "Medical bills will be a large expense to the typical retiree. By establishing a fund now that can be used to pay for future medical expenses, one can make their retirement dollars go much farther."
"The Complete Consumer's Guide to HSAs" offers a thorough explanation of the many benefits that come with an HSA plan. This guide provides step-by-step instructions on how to choose the best HSA-qualified health insurance plan, how to enroll, and how to establish a Health Savings Account. There are also strategies to maximize the potential tax benefits and future savings. The guide also includes information about all the little-known expenses that can be paid by an HSA, including alternative medical care, over-the-counter medication, and maternity expenses.
Posted by Wiley Long at 09:40 AM | Comments (0)
March 16, 2008
Important Tax Filing information for those with Health Savings Accounts
The IRS has recently released an updated version of Publication 969 for use in preparing tax returns for the 2007 fiscal year. Publication 969 pertains to tax favored health accounts, including information regarding Health Savings Accounts, Health Reimbursement Arrangements, Flexible Spending Accounts, Archer Medical Savings Accounts, and Medicare Advantage Medical Savings Accounts.
The updated document reflects the new 2007 limits for Health Savings Accounts and incorporate changes made by the Tax Relief and Health Care Act of 2006 which took effect in 2007.
Among these changes were the elimination of the annual HDHP deductible cap on Health Savings Account contributions and the addition of the “last month rule” which treats individuals who become HSA eligible on Dec 1st as being HSA eligible for the entirety of the tax year. There is also updated information on qualified HSA distributions from Flexible Spending Accounts and Health Reimbursement Arrangements, distributions from IRAs, and instructions on how to properly report any 10% tax penalties on 1040 forms.
To read IRS Publication 969, click here.
Posted by Wiley Long at 02:05 PM | Comments (0)
March 12, 2008
Mangrove Announces Health Savings Account Product Launches
Mangrove Employer Services, a leading software and services provider of web-based Human Resource Management, Payroll, Benefits Administration and Self Service solutions, announces the launch of its new Health Savings Account and Health Reimbursement Account programs.
Mangrove Employer Services teamed up with an experienced and trusted partner, Evolution Benefits, the technology leader in electronic benefits payment services, in 2007 to provide this new offering.
Their combined solution will provide one centralized, standardized process for Health Savings Account and Health Reimbursement Account administration, a debit card stacking ability, and a flexible, streamlined approach for the participant. It will also complement Mangrove's very successful, existing Flexible Spending Account (FSA) program that experienced 85% growth from 2007 to 2008.
Mangrove Employer Services has also partnered with The Bancorp Bank, an industry leader in Consumer-Directed Healthcare Initiatives, for its HSA offering. A valuable Mangrove partner, The Bancorp Bank will serve as the trustee for the Heath Savings Accounts and provide enrollment services, account documentation, check processing, and access to investment services via its partners.
Jill Kelly, Senior Vice President of Bancorp Bank, stated, "We are pleased to partner with Mangrove to service their new HSA and HRA programs. Leveraging our banking services for the administration of the Health Savings Accounts, these consumer friendly solutions provide easy access to Mangrove's customers' funds as they are needed."
For Mangrove, an industry leader in COBRA compliance administration, Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA), Retiree and Leave of Absence billing, the addition of a Health Savings Account offering was a natural expansion.
Brian Meharry, President of Mangrove Employer Services, commented, "More and more consumers want greater involvement and control with their Health Care options. Our emergence into this HSA program, with such experienced partners, is in direct response to our customers' needs and a rapidly changing marketplace."
Meharry continued, "Mangrove advances its position in the market by providing our existing customers and prospects a single source for these dynamic products, all under one service model supported by leading edge technology."
Posted by Wiley Long at 12:51 PM | Comments (0)
March 07, 2008
Health Savings Account Owners Get New Tool to Compare Prices
You can buy almost anything online these days, but try shopping the Internet for an MRI, strep throat test or even an annual physical exam and you'll run into roadblocks. Health Savings Account owners know the frustrations and are always looking for better ways to shop for health care.
A new Twin Cities company called Carol is trying to change that with a Web site that gives Health Savings Account consumers a "care marketplace" to search for medical services, compare quality and price, and make appointments.
Carol joins an effort to transform the U.S. health care system by putting consumers in charge and letting the market do its work.
"We want to let consumers define value," said Tony Miller, Carol's founder and chief executive officer. "We don't have care competition in the marketplace today."
The free site, which went live in January, generates revenue from health care providers who become "tenants" on the site. When a consumer sets up an appointment with a clinic or doctor on Carol.com, the provider pays the site a fee.
While limited to about 30 providers in the Twin Cities area at its launch, the company is adding others and plans to serve a second U.S. market sometime this year, Miller said.
Health care experts said Carol will face challenges in getting enough doctors and health plans to participate. But they said it goes farther than previous efforts to use the Web to enhance medical choice, and they praised its ease of use.
Instead of going through a list of doctors or clinics, users tell the site what they're looking for by clicking on parts of the body.
For instance, if a consumer clicked on "entire body," then "annual exam," and chose a routine physical for women age 40-64, the results page would show six different options ranging from $207 to $335. After selecting a number of options, consumers can click "compare" and see exactly what each exam would entail. They can also read a description of the doctor or clinic's philosophy and link to ratings by MN Community Measurement, a nonprofit that measures health care performance in Minnesota.
Consumers who have insurance can type in plan information to have Carol.com estimate their out-of-pocket cost.
Miller said Carol is sensitive to consumer privacy, allowing people to search the site without registering, and it won't market to individual consumers even if they do register.
"The fact that they have a basic set of providers and prices and care packages is very impressive," said Greg Scandlen, president of the advocacy group Consumers for Health Care Choices, which lobbies against government regulation of the health care market.
But Dr. Sidney Wolfe, director of Public Citizen's Health Research Group, said the site is nothing more than advertising, and he hoped it wouldn't catch on.
"Among physicians, there's a belief that health care is too critical ... to be left to the usual marketplace," he said.
If the site becomes more comprehensive, Carol.com would be most useful to people with high-deductible plans, Health Savings Accounts or those without health insurance, said Elizabeth Boehm, an analyst with Forrester Research who studies the health care customer's experience.
She was skeptical of the site's prospects because many people's choices are limited by their HMO.
"(Price is) just not what drives people to make their health care choices," Boehm said. "The challenge for a site like this is that while conceptually it's good ... the reality is there are only a small group of customers looking for that."
But Miller said consumers are starting to realize that choosing cheap health care might come back to haunt them in the form of higher premiums or other increased costs. And he thinks there are plenty of people like him who might want different options for care and are willing to pay more out-of-pocket to get what they want.
He said his idea for Carol came in part from his own experience with a heart condition for which he was told he needed surgery. A second professional recommended medication, which Miller, 41, said worked.
"I had the wherewithal and some of the contacts to help me navigate and find answers in the health care system. Most consumers don't have that," said Miller, a partner in the venture capital firm Lemhi Ventures, which has invested $25 million in Carol.
Park Nicollet Clinic, one of the bigger providers in the Twin Cities with nearly 700 doctors, was one of the first to embrace the Carol idea. Chief executive David Wessner said the clinic was already looking at ways to deliver value to patients and wasn't afraid to reveal prices.
"We just think there really is a crisis in value in health care. One of the things that helps us address that crisis is to package high value services and start to be willing to compete on that," Wessner said.
Psychiatrist Ronald Groat said Carol is important because it makes health care "more visible and transparent to someone who's looking for help."
Health Savings Account owners stand to benefit from sites like Carol.com. As more and more tools become available to compare and shop for health care services, the marketplace will respond!
Posted by Wiley Long at 10:41 AM | Comments (0)
March 04, 2008
HSA Administrator Exante Bank Names New President
Kelvin Anderson has been named president of Exante Bank, a Health Savings Account administrator affiliated with UnitedHealth Group.
Anderson takes over at the Minnetonka-based bank -- just ahead of Exante's and its parent company's Exante Financial Services' name change to OptumHealth Bank and OptumHealth Financial Services. The name change became effective March 3.
Anderson replaced Dean Mason, who left the company to pursue other interests.
Anderson was most recently chief operating officer and chief financial officer of both Escrow bank USA and Capmark Bank, which are based in Salt Lake City.
Exante Bank has more than $540 million in assets and more than 1.3 million in Health Savings Accounts. Their affiliation with UnitedHealth Group has greatly increased the HSA accounts.
Posted by Wiley Long at 08:02 AM | Comments (0)