HSA compatible Health Insurance plans are a great tool for employers that want to be creative. There are currently some drawbacks to HSAs that keep many people from enrolling into them, the biggest one being that HSA plans are designed where employees have to pay for all of the services, up to the deductible amount, at the negotiated rate. Yearly preventative services are the exception to this. The #HSA Act would change that to include many other health services BEFORE the deductible, making it much cheaper for the employee.
The HSA Improvement Act includes other benefits
Another part of this Act would be to offer “pre-deductible” coverage for things like services and medication that manage chronic conditions. Having that in place would definitely help #employees with their medical issues that are ongoing. Instead of having to pay everything out of pocket for those chronic issues, there might be a smaller copay, encouraging employees to get the help they need for themselves or their families.
#Telemedicine, #TeleHealth, #Ehealth, and other second opinion services may also be offered
The passage of this Act would make it so #employers can offer “excepted benefits” for things like #TeleHealth and #TeleMedicine to employees with an HSA plan, not currently available. #TeleHealth and Ehealth would also be available for spouses and dependents under this ruling. Years ago when the telemedicine began, I brought it on for some of our larger groups, thinking that employees would use it. I had to cancel it after a few years, since our agency was paying for it, and no one was using it. That was back in pre-ObamaCare days. Over the last few years, the whole #Ehealth industry has exploded, and the usage is way up. Many of the major carriers offer some sort of it, with their larger policies. Many of the #Voluntary carriers like #Aflac and #Colonial also offer a version of it.
The biggest champion of the Bipartisan HSA Improvement Act is Rep. Mike Kelly from Pennsylvania, @MikeKellyPA.
Brauer Insurance is on the cutting edge of any changes in the #HealthInsurance industry. We champion #SmallBusiness with Employee Benefit strategies. www.brauerinsurance.com (877) 421-4325