“3 ways to help employees understand the value of their HSAs,” by Timothy Hayden, Employee Benefit News

“High-deductible health plans are on the rise as a growing number of employers turn to consumer-directed health plans to try to curb costs — the portion of employees enrolled in HDHPs rose from 26.3% in 2011 to 39.3% in 2016, according to the latest statistics from the National Center for Health Statistics. Employers that have gone the HDHP route typically offer a qualified plan that includes a health savings account to help pay for qualifying medical expenses tax-free. But there’s a great chance that if you offer a high-deductible health plan with a health savings account, your employees aren’t crystal clear on the benefits of their HSA. Here are three sure-fire ways to help workers understand the value of these savings accounts.

“Employees should be encouraged to contribute the maximum to their HSAs: $3,450 for individuals; $6,900 for families. They should also understand what ‘qualified medical expenses’ are: generally, payments for prescriptions (not over-the-counter drugs), imaging, medical equipment, doctor visits and other out-of-pocket expenses that insurance doesn’t cover. In addition, HSAs can be used for COBRA coverage, long-term-care insurance, health insurance while receiving unemployment compensation, and insurance while eligible for Medicare (other than for Medigap), all tax-free.”

LTC Comment (from Damon V. Moses, Administrative Coordinator, Center for Long-Term Care Reform):

A primer on how HSAs can be useful for retirement planning, investing and paying for long-term care insurance premiums.

3 ways to help employees understand the value of their HSAs

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