Pub. 5 2015-2016 Issue 4

8 O V E R A C E N T U R Y : B U I L D I N G B E T T E R B A N K S - H E L P I N G C O L O R A D A N S R E A L I Z E D R E A M S FEATURE ARTICLE KEVIN BOYLES VICE PRESIDENT, BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT ASCENSUS, INC. Solving the Puzzle of HSAs In this article, we’re going to expand your knowledge about the various aspects of health savings accounts (HSAs) and the benefits available for your banks’ customers. HSAs can do more than most people realize and there are myths and misconceptions about them. Although HSA technically stands for “health savings account,” there are a number of other meanings that can be associated with these tax-preferred savings accounts due to their versatility and usefulness for your customers. HSAs offer a great opportunity to save for immediate or future medical expenses, which is why they are called health savings accounts. HSAs were created to pair with high deduct- ible health plans (HDHPs) to achieve several different objectives. • Lower employers’ costs associated with providing health coverage to employees, as well as incentivize smaller employers to offer health coverage. • Change howAmericans use the health care system, with the goal of making people more conscious of the healthcare costs. • Create an opportunity for individuals to accumulate savings to pay for future med- ical expenses, particularly in retirement. Every year, more large employers migrate their employees to HDHPs and millions of Americans have to learn howHDHPs andHSAs coordinate. These plans can be beneficial, but the ed- ucationsurrounding them often is lacking, to say the least, so employees struggle with the transition. In addition, many employers are potentially looking to send their employees directly to the healthcare exchanges to pur- chase their own health insurance by providing “defined contribution” dollars in lieu of offering health insurance. From 2013 to 2014, the number of people covered under these plans increased from around 14 million to over 17 million. With that number steadily rising, it’s time for financial organizations, like your bank, to get involved in helping your customers, and your employees, get the HSA education they need. HSA = Honestly Staying Around When HSAs first came into existence in 2004, there was a lot of concern because many people did not think that they would exist for very long. Many institutions used the uncer- tainty surrounding HSAs as an excuse not to get involved in offering these accounts to their customers right away. The early HSA adopters benefited from hesitancy in the market as HSAs grew exponentially right out of the gate and the growth rate has not slowed down. In 2008, when President Obama took office and began discussing the ideas related to universal healthcare that eventually formed into The Affordable Care Act (ACA), a stated goal was to eliminate HSAs. The new system would remove the need for HSAs, much like how the process works in Hawaii today. HSAs offer a great opportunity to save for immediate or future medical expenses.