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| Jan 2005 Volume IV, Issue 1 | Editor: Melissa Vinson, CFCI |
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Have you seen our latest website?Check out our latest website: myHSAtoday.com. It provides HSA information for the individual, the Plan Service Provider, and the Employer. President Bush's RemarksClick here to read what the President had to say about HSAs at the closing of the White House Economic Summit. DataPath EventsDPI-125 Basic Software Training mySourceCard™ / CMS Software Training DataPath 105-HRA / Defined Contribution Concept Seminars DataPath-COBRA Education / Training Seminars General Information about DataPath Seminars DataPath Websitesdpath.com DataPath Web
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Watson Wyatt Survey: Education Critical in HSA MarketIn a press release on January 11, 2005, Watson Wyatt Worldwide released the results of their survey on Health Savings Accounts (HSAs). In the survey of nearly 1,000 individuals with health insurance, they found that only 29 percent have heard of HSAs, and only 33 percent of those who had heard of HSAs felt they completely or mostly understood how they worked. Ted Chien, global director of group and health care consulting at Watson Wyatt, commented that "educating employees on the risks and rewards of HSAs will be critical to their success" Our latest website, www.myhsatoday.com, addresses this lack of knowledge by providing information to plan service providers (PSPs), employers, and employees. In addition to explaining how an HSA works, it educates the viewer on HSA benefits. PSPs will find it an invaluable tool to educate employers when marketing HSAs or to educate employees when putting HSAs into operation. Click here to read entire article. Survey: HSAs Show Early GrowthHealth Saving Accounts (HSAs) are off to a fast start, according to a survey based on responses from 29 members of Washington-based trade association America's Health Insurance Plans. The responding companies reported that HSA / HDHP products covered 438,000 people by the third quarter of 2004. Only 40,000 medical savings accounts were established in 1997 when they were first introduced into the marketplace, and in ten years they have failed to reach the same level of market penetration that HSAs now have. Click here to read entire article. Final Rules Released on Portability of Health CoverageThe U.S Department of Labor issued a Press release (Release Number 04-2450-NAT) announcing the release of final and proposed HIPAA regulations. These rules were drafted by the U.S. Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Treasury. The final regulations become applicable on the first day of the first plan year starting on or after July 1, 2005. Click here to read entire article. Use-It-or-Lose-It Rule Stays!As it stands now, the "use-it-or-lose-it" rule requiring unused health FSA amounts to be forfeited at the end of a plan year.will stay. Much discussion has gone on during the last couple of years to eliminate this rule or to modify it by limiting the forfeited amount to only the excess of $500.. In response to a request by Senator Grassley (Chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance) that the Treasury modify this rule, a letter from John W. Snow, Secretary of the Treasury, stated that the Treasury does not have sufficient legal authority to change the rule. The Treasury has also concluded that the rule's elimination would "impact other important health care priorities", citing an estimation by their economists that the number of Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) would possibly be reduced by up to ten percent. Click here to read entire article. HHS To-Do List for HIPAAThe Department of Health and Human Services Semiannual Regulatory Agenda (69 Fed Reg. 72119, December 13, 2004) included several HIPAA items. Some of the items on the Agenda were met with the recently published final and proposed HIPAA regulations. (See article above.) Other items relate to Administrative Simplification. Click here to read entire article. Recent IRS ReleasesAs always this time of the year, the IRS has been extremely busy releasing new items. Some of these are as follows.
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| LEGAL DISCLAIMER:
Material contained in this newsletter is not legal advice, and should
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