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October 2005
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HSA Market News October 2005;; Volume 2, Number 9
’06 HSA lives to top 2 million...Minimum deductible to rise 5%...Florida offers HSA plans...CDHP premiums to double...Chart: FL HRA, HSA plans...Aetna HRA, HSA lives double...Cigna expands HSA plans...CDHC poses risk, official says...Interest rate key, Horizion says...M-Care picks Benny card 8 Independent taps Amisys...U.S. Bancorp retails HSAs...National City retails HSAs...Exante adds mutual funds...HSA Banks adds regional VPs...Guardian has 30,000 lives...WageWorks tapped by NFP...ConnectYourCare names VP...Employers cite HSA complexity...Members of all ages pick HSAs...Correction: Intel...and more...
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HSA LIVES TO TOP 2 MM BY 1/1/06
Membership in HSA-compatible high-deductible health plans will top 2 million on Jan. 1, 2006, according to the soon-to-be released HSA Data Pak and Action Guide.
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’06 HSA MINIMUM DEDUCTIBLE TO RISE 5%
As expected (HMN, August), the minimum deductibles for HSA-compatible high-deductible health plans will rise 5% to $1050 single, $2100 family in 2006, the U.S. Treasury Dept. announced, up from $1000 single, $2000 family in 2005.
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FLORIDA OFFERS HSA PLANS
The state of Florida is offering its 360,000 employees, retirees and dependents the option of an HSA-compatible high-deductible PPO health plan administered by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Florida in 2006 as well as HSA-compatible HMOs from AvMed, UnitedHealth and Florida Health Care Plans.
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CDHP PREMIUMS TO DOUBLE, SURVEY SAYS
Milliman (Seattle) said that premium revenues from consumer-directed health plan options will make up 5.2% of total premiums in 2006, compared to 2.5% in 2005, according to the company’s annual survey of fully insured HMOs and PPOs.
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AETNA HRA, HSA LIVES DOUBLE TO 433,000
Aetna Inc. (Hartford, CT) reported that it had 433,000 lives in its HealthFund family of HRA and HSA-compatible high deductible health plans as of Sept. 30, more than double the 214,000 it had a year earlier.
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GUARDIAN HAS 30,000+ HSA, HRA LIVES
Guardian Life Insurance Co. (New York) has a total of more than 30,000 lives in HRA and HSA-compatible high deductible health plans, including more than 25,000 in Illinois and more than 5000 in the mid-Atlantic region, according to Rick Viesta, vice president, group medical. The bulk of the lives are in HRA plans, which Guardian offers in a joint venture with defined contribution health plans pioneer Destiny Health (Chicago).
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CIGNA EXPANDS HSA PLANS TO 51-200 EMPLOYEE GROUPS
Cigna Corp. (Philadelphia) announced that it would begin offering its Choice Fund HSA-compatible high deductible health plans to employers with 51 to 200 employees in eight states and Washington, DC.
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U.S. BANCORP MARKETS HSAs AT RETAIL BRANCHES
U.S. Bancorp (Minneapolis) has begun marketing HSAs directly to individuals and small businesses through its banking branches, 24-hour call center, and online at www.usbank.com.
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NATIONAL CITY OFFERS HSAs AT RETAIL
National City Corp. (Cleveland) is another bank that has begun marketing HSAs directly to individuals through the company’s branches, 24-hour call center, and its www.nationalcity.com web site. Minimum opening deposit is $50. Last year, National City became the preferred provider of HSA custodial services to Medical Mutual of Ohio.
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EMPLOYERS WORRY OVER HSA PLAN COMPLEXITY, COST
The two primary reasons why employers remain reluctant to offer HRA or HSA-compatible high deductible health plans are the complexity of the consumer-directed concept and plan pricing structures, according to a survey conducted by the Council of Insurance Agents & Brokers (Washington).
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CDHC POSES DISINTERMEDIATION RISK, SHOWALTER SAYS
Consumer-directed healthcare poses “a significant disintermediation risk” for managed care organizations driven by the prospect that financial institutions can greatly simplify transactions, said Michael Showalter, vice president of consumerism, Cigna Corp. (Philadelphia).
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M-CARE PICKS EVOLUTION BENEFITS FOR DEBIT CARD
M-Care (Ann Arbor, MI), a not-for-profit health plan owned by the University of Michigan, will offer the Benny debit card from Evolution Benefits (Avon, CT) as part of its HSA-compatible high-deductible health plan offering.
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EXANTE ADDS MUTUAL FUND INVESTMENT OPTIONS
Exante Financial Services (New York), a UnitedHealth Group company, said it will offer HSA banking customers a broad array of mutual fund options for members with account balances of more than $1000.
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HSA BANK ADDS REGIONAL VPs, NATIONAL BROKER
HSA Bank, a division of Webster Bank N.A. (Waterbury, CT), said it has beefed up its management team with the addition of three regional vice presidents (double what it had previously) and the creation of a national broker position.
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