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January 2007
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HSA Market News, January 2007; Volume 4, Number 1
Is Bush plan good for HSAs?...Contributions drives HSAs...WellPoint sees CDHP savings...HSAs are complex, Gellert says...Harvard Pilgrim HSA lives...Excellus sees little HSA uptake...HealthPartners: 30k HSA lives...BCBS-NC eyes CDHP gains...United has 1.9 MM HSA lives...Cigna CDHP lives to double...Cigna expands small group HSAs...Horizon BCBS: 12k CDHP lives...Western Health launches HSA...Destiny adds PPO options...Premera covers generics...ACMI expands HSAs to AZ...PayFlex acquires FlexAmerica...Zions Banks sees HSA savings...American Kentucky adds HSAs...and more...
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IS BUSH HEALTH PLAN A BOON TO HSAs?
President Bush’s latest healthcare proposal, which calls for standard tax deductions for $7500 individuals and $15,0000 for families who purchase their own health insurance, could be a boon for HSA-compatible high-deductible health plans.
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COMPLEXITY, COST TREND HOLD BACK HSAs, GELLERT SAYS
The complexity of HSA-compatible high-deductible health plans and other consumer-directed insurance products is among the key reasons why the plans aren’t catching on, said Jay Gellert, chief executive of Health Net (Woodland Hills, CA), which has more than 10,000 HSA plan lives.
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EXCELLUS SEES LITTLE HSA PLAN UPTAKE
Excellus Inc. (Rochester, NY) has just a couple of thousand enrollees in HSA plans, according to chief executive David Klein, who noted that the benefits of high-deductible insurance products aren’t rich enough to win business in the heavily unionized New York state market. “We have a lot of first-dollar coverage,” Klein said.
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BCBS-NC EXPECTS CDHP GAINS IN 2007
Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina (Durham, NC) has seen relatively slow uptake in its consumer-directed product line, but 2007 could mark an inflection point, according to according to Bob Greczyn, chief executive.
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CIGNA EXPANDS SMALL GROUP HSAs TO CA, CT, NH, NJ, NY
Cigna Corp. (Philadelphia), which expects to double consumer-directed health plan lives to 600,000 in 2007 (HMN E-Mail Update, Jan. 8), has expanded its small group HSA plan offering to five more states: California, Connecticut, New Hampshire, New Jersey and New York.
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HORIZON BCBS-NJ HAS 12,000 CDHP LIVES
Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey (Newark, NJ) has a total of about 12,000 consumer-directed health plan lives, the vast majority of whom are in HSA plans, according to Bill Marino, chief executive. Growth in CDHPs is slower than the company expected. CDHP “potentially could be a sea change, but it just takes a while to take hold,” he said.
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WESTERN HEALTH LAUNCHED HSA PLAN
Western Health Advantage (Sacramento, CA), a not-for-profit health plan, announced the introduction of an HSA-compatible high-deductible health plan.
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DESTINY HEALTH LAUNCHES PPO DUAL OPTION IN WISCONSIN
Destiny Health Plan (Chicago) announced the availability of a traditional PPO plan option along side the company’s HSA and HRA plans for employers in Wisconsin. Destiny said it is making the more traditional plan option to help make the transition to HRA or HSA plans easier.
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PREMERA HDHPs COVER 130 GENERICS BEFORE DEDUCTIBLE
Premera (Mountlake Terrace, WA) said it would offer HSA-compatible high-deductible health plan members first-dollar coverage of 130 generic drugs used to treat high cholesterol and high blood pressure.
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AMERICAN COMMUNITY EXPANDS HSA PLANS TO ARIZONA
American Community Mutual Insurance Co. (Livonia, MI) has expanded its HSA plans to Arizona, having already launched the product in seven other states last year. The other states are Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, and Ohio.
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PAYFLEX ACQUIRES FLEXAMERICA
PayFlex Systems USA Inc. (Omaha, NE) has acquired FlexAmerica Inc. (Bethesda, MD), which has over 1000 employers utilizing its HSA platform.
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ZIONS BANK SEES $5 MILLION SAVINGS FROM HSA PLAN
Zions Bancorporation (Salt Lake City, UT) said that it reduced employee benefit costs by $5 million in the fourth quarter of 2006 “as a result of lower medical costs” in the company’s HSA-compatible high-deductible health plan. Zions revealed the figures in its fourth-quarter 2006 earnings press release. Zions has annual revenues topping $2 billion.
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AMERICAN KENTUCKY BANK LAUNCHES HSAs
American Kentucky Bank (Mayfield, KY) announced the availability of HSAs with the help of HSA Clearing Corp. (Lake Geneva, WI). HSA Clearing helps banks initiate and administer health savings accounts.
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