|
|
|
| 
October 2006
|
HSA Market News: Volume 3, Number 10
HSA slow in some markets...Cigna eyes 300,000 CDHP lives...Aetna HRA costs rise 1%...United has 1.85MM CDHP lives...Humana picks First Horizon...Highmark expands HSAs...Aetna CDHP lives grow 49%...HSA limit hike clears hurdle...USHealth offers 6.15% on HSAs...Will Dems win stall HSAs?...BancorpSouth offers HSAs...Golden Rule launches NC HSA...Goldman sees 49MM in CDHPs...HSA premiums share to hit 3.6%...Certain employers favor HSAs...Employers can pay HSA fees...Employers save, then fund HSAs...and now...
|
|
HSAs SLOW OUT OF GATE IN SOME MARKETS
Sales of HSA-compatible high-deductible health plans vary greatly by company and by geographic area (HMN, December 2005), but have been especially slow in certain markets and for certain health plans around the nation.
|
|
CIGNA EYES 300,000 HSA, HRA LIVES IN 2006
Cigna (Philadelphia) expects to have about 300,000 HSA and HRA plan lives in 2006, up from about 100,000 in 2005, according to David Cordani, president of the company’s health segments.
|
|
AETNA FULL-REPLACEMENT HRA COSTS UP 1%
Aetna Inc. (Hartford, CT) reported that medical costs for full-replacement HRA plans have risen just 1% annually over three years for plans effective January 2003.
|
|
HOUSE COMMITTEE OKs INCREASE IN HSA CONTRIBUTIONS
The House Ways and Means Committee passed legislation that would allow HSA contributions up to the statutory limit—currently $2700 single, $5450 family—regardless of health plan deductibles. The legislation, introduced by Rep. Eric Cantor (R-VA), will also allow the transfer of funds from HRAs and FSAs to HSAs.
|
|
EMPLOYERS WITH LOW HEALTH COSTS ARE OPEN TO CDHPs
Employers with relatively low healthcare costs are more inclined to implement consumer-directed health plans than companies with higher healthcare costs, according to a survey from Towers Perrin (Stamford, CT).
|
|
USHEALTH STILL OFFERING 6.15% ON HSAs
USHealth Group Inc. (Ft. Worth, TX), a subsidiary of Credit Suisse First Boston, said it would continue to offer 6.15% interest on HSA balances for at least another year through the alliance it formed last year with First HSA.
|
|
HSAs TO STALL IF DEMOCRATS WIN CONGRESS, DAVIS SAYS
Efforts to make HSAs more flexible and attractive to families and to the chronically ill will stall if the Democrats take control of Congress in November, according to Bruce Davis, a health and benefits consultant with Findley Davies Inc. (Charlotte, NC).
|
|
UNITEDHEALTH HAS 1.85 MILLION HRA, HSA LIVES
UnitedHealth Group (Minnetonka, MN) had 1.85 million members in HRA and HSA-compatible high-deductible health plans as of Sept. 30, the company reported, up 75% from 1.06 million the same time last year. Through nine months of 2006, United added 675,000 HRA and HSA lives.
|
|
HUMANA PICKS FIRST HORIZON FOR INDIVIDUAL HSAs
Humana Inc. (Louisville, KY) said it has selected First Horizon Msaver (Overland Park, KS) to administer HSAs tied to the company’s individual high-deductible health plans beginning in the fourth-quarter.
|
|
HIGHMARK EXPANDS HSA PLAN OFFERINGS
Highmark Inc. (Pittsburgh), which already offers an HSA plan that requires individuals to complete a medical history before being accepted into the program, has launched another high-deductible plan option open to anyone regardless of the person’s medical condition. Both plans are HSA compatible, with PNC Financial Service Group acting a preferred trustee.
|
|
BANCORPSOUTH OFFERS HSA
BancorpSouth (Tupelo, MS) has begun offering HSAs to individuals with high-deductible health plans. BancorpSouth also offers HDHPs through its BancorpSouth Insurance subsidiary.
|
|
AETNA HSA, HRA LIVES GROW 49% TO 644,000
Aetna Inc. (Hartford, CT) said it had 644,000 members in HRA and HSA-compatible high-deductible health plans as of Sept. 30, up 49% from the same time last year. Consumer-directed membership accounts for about 4.3% of Aetna’s total commercial lives.
|
|
EMPLOYERS CAN PAY HSA FEES, RAMTHUN SAYS
Employers are permitted to pay account maintenance and other fees charged by HSA banks without triggering responsibilities and liabilities under ERISA, according to new government guidance, said Roy Ramthun, president of HSA Consulting Services (Lake Geneva, WI) and former special assistant for economic policy at the White House.
|
|
GOLDEN RULE LAUNCHES HSA PLANS IN NC
Golden Rule Insurance Co., a unit of UnitedHealth Group (Minnetonka, MN), will jump into the North Carolina individual market with a wide range of HSA-compatible and high-deductible plan options.
|
|
|
|
