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June 2006
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HSA Market News June 2006; Volume 3, Number 6
MCO HRA, HSA lives grow...Aetna makes doc prices public...Most brokers have sold HSAs...Chart: MCO HRA, HSA lives...United has 1.75 MM CDHP lives...Raise HSA limits, Ignagni says...Voluntary insurers eye gains...Health Net taps CareGain...Patelco offers HSA claims tool...10% of HSAs aren’t funded...First HSA has 17,000 accounts...Consumers want info on choices...Consumers want to customize...Cantor to modify HSA bill...MA bill seeks cost transparency...and more...
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MOST BROKERS SOLD HSA PLANS FOR 2006-07
About 68% of insurance agents and brokers have sold HSA-compatible high-deductible health plans with coverage effective in 2006 or 2007, according to research from the Council of Insurance Agents & Brokers (Washington).
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AETNA TO EXPAND PRICE TRANSPARENCY
In a leap of faith, Aetna Inc. (Hartford, CT) has announced that it would provide its members in 15 markets with online access to the prices charged by more than 70,000 local physicians for various services.
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UNITEDHEALTH HAS 1.75 MILLION HSA, HRA LIVES
UnitedHealth (Minneapolis) said it had 1.75 million lives in HRA and HSA-compatible health plans, up 75% from June 2005. Of the total, 710,000 are in HSA plans and 1.045 million are in HRA plans.
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PATELCO OFFERS HSA CLAIMS REVIEW TOOL
Patelco Credit Union (San Francisco) is offering its HSA plan members a tool that reviews, identifies and corrects medical claims that charge members with out-of-pocket fees that are “more than what is generally reimbursed for the same or similar care.”
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BROKER SAYS 10% OF HDHP MEMBERS AREN’T FUNDING HSAs
Custom Benefit Solutions (Northville, MI), an independent insurance broker, estimates that about 10% of its clients’ members enrolled in high-deductible health plans aren’t funding their HSAs, according to Tom Rogala, president.
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IGNAGNI CALLS FOR HIGHER HSA CONTRIBUTION LIMITS
Karen Ignagni, chief executive of America's Health Insurance Plans (Washington), urged lawmakers to increase HSA contribution limits to allow consumers to contribute an amount equal to the out-of-pocket limit of their high-deductible health plan.
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39% OF VOLUNTARY INSURERS EYE GAINS FROM HSAs
About 39% of voluntary health insurance carriers said they expected increased sales in products like limited benefit medical plans, hospital indemnity plans and long-term care insurance because of the growing penetration of consumer-directed healthcare, according to a survey from Eastbridge Consulting Group (Avon, CT).
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CONSUMERS WANT HELP WITH CHOICES, STUDY SHOWS
When it comes to healthcare information, the number one thing that consumers want is “clear information” to help them choose the benefits that are best for them, according to a survey from WageWorks (San Mateo, CA).
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CANTOR REPORTEDLY TO MODIFY HSA BILL
Rep. Eric Cantor (R-VA) will reportedly modify a bill to expand HSAs that he introduced earlier this year (HMN, May 2006) because of potential tax implications.
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MA HEALTH REFORM BILL CALLS FOR COST TRANSPARENCY
The Massachusetts Health Reform Act, which will require all residents in the state of have health insurance, calls for an expanded state-sponsored web site containing cost and quality information on physicians and hospitals.
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HEALTH NET TAPS CAREGAIN FOR CDHP TOOLS
Health Net (Woodland Hills, CA) will offer its consumer-directed health plan members access to online disease management and cost comparison tools along with connectivity to pharmacy benefit management companies and financial institutions through an information technology platform from CareGain (East Windsor, NJ), the companies announced.
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HUMANA EXPANDS INDIVIDUAL HSA PLANS TO UTAH
Humana Inc. (Louisville, KY) announced that it had rolled out its HumanaOne line of health insurance products to individuals in Utah, including plans with HSA options. Humana now offers the HumanaOne line in 21 states; the product line was launched in Illinois in 2002.
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