Benefits Buzz
Choosing the Right Consumer-Driven Health Plan for Your Clients
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As healthcare costs continue to rise, consumers are becoming increasingly responsible for out-of-pocket expenses, regardless of their health plan type. By pairing every health plan with a consumer-driven account, your clients will not only save money but also provide their employees with a better way to manage their healthcare spending.
With so many different types of plans available, how do you know which one is right for your clients? We’ve put together a helpful guide to explain how each plan works and the differences between them.
Health Savings Account (HSA)
Employers who are seeking to minimize the cost of providing health benefits by offering a high-deductible health plan (HDHP) will generally offer an HSA. Since compliance requires less paperwork, they can often save on administrative costs. HSAs offer employees a broader value proposition: the ability to pay for current or future expenses without fear of forfeiting dollars, triple tax advantage, and investment growth potential.
Health Reimbursement Arrangement (HRA)
An HRA can be a good first step to encouraging employees to take a consumer-driven approach to their own healthcare. An HRA is a fund set up by the employer. The employer sets aside a certain amount of money each year for employees to use for medical expenses not covered by their health plan, such as deductibles or coinsurance. Only the employer can put money into the HRA. They may be designed in many fashions to suit the specific needs of the employer and employees. It is one of the most flexible types of employee benefits plans, making it very attractive to most employers.
Flexible Spending Account (FSA)
FSAs do not require participation in an HDHP, so they are most frequently offered in conjunction with traditional health plans. Traditional health plans limit out-of-pocket expenses for participants making it easier for an employee to estimate annual medical expenses by calculating projected copays, deductible amounts, coinsurance, etc. FSAs truly are a “spending” account, in that participants are expected to spend the funds by the end of the plan year, though certain plans may have features that allow for added flexibility.
Limited Purpose FSA (LPFSA)
An LPFSA is offered with an HSA and pays for eligible vision and dental expenses only. Like a health FSA, the full annual election is immediately available to the employee on day one of the plan year, even though funds have not yet been withdrawn from future paychecks.
Dependent Care FSA
A Dependent Care FSA lets employees use pre-tax dollars to pay for eligible expenses related to care for a child, disabled spouse, elderly parent, or other dependent who is physically or mentally incapable of self-care, so the employee can work, or if married, for a spouse to work, look for work, or attend school full time.
Commuter Benefits
A commuter account is an employer-sponsored benefit program that allows employees to set aside pre-tax funds in separate accounts to pay for qualified mass transit and parking expenses associated with their commute to work.
Deliver the Employer Experience and Business Results Your Clients Need
Flex is committed to providing you with unique offerings that help your clients control costs and keep their employees happy, healthy, and engaged. Our innovative and flexible Consumer-Driven Health Plans can help your clients attain their goals.
Convenient, Stackable Debit Cards
- A single debit card is leveraged for all accounts
- Provides easy, immediate, thought-free access to funds
- Eliminates confusion by automatically paying for eligible expenses from the right account based on the plan rules in place
Next Generation Member Portal and Mobile App
- Offers employees convenient anytime, anywhere access to their account
- Powerful self-service capabilities plus education and decision support tools
- Employees can view real-time balances and transactions, submit claims, access plan details, view important account alerts, and much more
Employee Engagement Tools
- Real-time administration platform automatically sends event-triggered alerts and notifications via text and email that keep employees informed about their account
- Resources and decision support materials available to educate your employees and help them get the most value out of their account
Investment Capabilities
- Convenient self-directed mutual fund HSA investment options managed by Devenir
- Easy online transfers between investment account and HSA cash account
- Online access to account history, fund performance, statements, portfolio re-allocation, planning tools, and more through the [Insert Company Name] [Member Portal]
Simplified Employer Access
- Quick and easy access to employee status, debit card status, enrollee lists, contributions, payroll reconciliation, and much more
Looking for a Consumer-Driven Health Plan for your client?