Employee Benefit Plans

Health Savings Accounts (HSA’s)

Health Savings Accounts, or HSA’s, are becoming the most popular option in the new “consumer-driven health care” category. Monthly premiums are usually reduced significantly, because an employee must meet a relatively high deductible before insurance coverage begins. The premium savings realized by both the employee and the employer can be used to make pre-tax contributions to the HSA account.

The employee can then withdraw money from his or her HSA account as reimbursement for qualified medical expenses. Those include expenses which are not covered by health insurance or are otherwise subject to the plan’s deductible. There is no “use it or lose it” provision—the employee is allowed to roll over any unused HSA account funds into the next year.

HSA’s, or any other consumer-driven health plan, can only be effective if the employer focuses on the most critical component—employee education. Employees must be given the tools to improve their health and to become wiser consumers of health care. That’s why Health Promotion Programs designed and delivered by Benefits Alliance professionals are such an important part of a business’s employee benefit strategy.