ENERGI BUZZ - June 2009
5/4/2010 2:46:21 PM
E
mployers and Health Savings Accounts (HSAs)
Many of the benefits of choosing a Health Savings Account (HSA) over a traditional health insurance plan can directly affect the bottom line of an employer’s benefit budget. For instance:
• HSAs are dependent on a high deductible insurance policy, which lowers the premiums of the employee’s plan.
• All contributions to the HSA are pre-tax, lowering the gross payroll and reducing the amount of taxes the employer must pay.
• Employers may contribute to HSAs.
• HSAs capture the attention of employees by shifting payment responsibility.
• Employers incent employees by funding an HSA based on the employee’s collaboration in the healthcare and wellness components.
Some reasons employees benefit from HSAs are:
• Their contributions are pre-tax.
• Interest and other earnings on HSAs are tax-free.
• Withdrawals for qualified medical expenses are tax-free.
• No year-end loss – HSA balances grow from year to year.
Healthcare Reform
President Obama is committed to working with Congress to pass comprehensive health reform this year in order to control rising healthcare costs, guarantee choice of doctor, and assure high-quality, affordable healthcare for all Americans. The Administration believes that comprehensive health reform should:
• Reduce long-term growth of healthcare costs for businesses and government
• Protect families from bankruptcy or debt because of healthcare costs
• Guarantee choice of doctors and health plans
• Invest in prevention and wellness
• Improve patient safety and quality of care
• Ensure affordable, quality health coverage for all Americans
• Maintain coverage when individuals change or lose a job
• End barriers to coverage for people with pre-existing medical conditions
To find out more about the progress made on healthcare reform, see www.healthreform.gov.
Many of the benefits of choosing a Health Savings Account (HSA) over a traditional health insurance plan can directly affect the bottom line of an employer’s benefit budget. For instance:
• HSAs are dependent on a high deductible insurance policy, which lowers the premiums of the employee’s plan.
• All contributions to the HSA are pre-tax, lowering the gross payroll and reducing the amount of taxes the employer must pay.
• Employers may contribute to HSAs.
• HSAs capture the attention of employees by shifting payment responsibility.
• Employers incent employees by funding an HSA based on the employee’s collaboration in the healthcare and wellness components.
Some reasons employees benefit from HSAs are:
• Their contributions are pre-tax.
• Interest and other earnings on HSAs are tax-free.
• Withdrawals for qualified medical expenses are tax-free.
• No year-end loss – HSA balances grow from year to year.
Healthcare Reform
President Obama is committed to working with Congress to pass comprehensive health reform this year in order to control rising healthcare costs, guarantee choice of doctor, and assure high-quality, affordable healthcare for all Americans. The Administration believes that comprehensive health reform should:
• Reduce long-term growth of healthcare costs for businesses and government
• Protect families from bankruptcy or debt because of healthcare costs
• Guarantee choice of doctors and health plans
• Invest in prevention and wellness
• Improve patient safety and quality of care
• Ensure affordable, quality health coverage for all Americans
• Maintain coverage when individuals change or lose a job
• End barriers to coverage for people with pre-existing medical conditions
To find out more about the progress made on healthcare reform, see www.healthreform.gov.
