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A summary of the articles included in the February 2022 edition:
- Are Target Date Funds a Good Fit for HSAs?
- First Dollar Raises $14 Million in Series A Funding Led by Blue Venture Fund
- 2022 Poised to be Another Benchmark Year for HSAs
- Employers Push for Renewal of Expired Covid Telehealth Waiver
- HSA Employee Survey Shows That Interest in Health Savings Accounts is on the Rise
Are Target Date Funds a Good Fit for HSAs?
Target date funds have been growing in popularity over the past couple decades, due in part to their use in employer-sponsored retirement plans such as 401(k)s. Another employer-sponsored program that is gaining popularity is the HSA-eligible health plan and the corresponding health savings account (HSA). Familiarity amongst employers with target date funds offered through their 401(k)s may be leading some to want them included among their HSA investment options as well. However, this raises the question of whether target date funds make sense as investment options for savings vehicles such as HSAs, where participant usage can vary widely from that of 401(k)s.
First Dollar Raises $14 Million in Series A Funding Led by Blue Venture Fund
First Dollar announced it has closed a $14M Series A funding round led by Blue Venture Fund, a unique collaboration among Blue Cross Blue Shield (BCBS) companies, the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, and Sandbox. Blue Venture Fund is joined in the round by existing investors Next Coast Ventures and Meridian Street Capital.
2022 Poised to be Another Benchmark Year for HSAs
With more than 31 million health savings accounts holding nearly $93 billion in assets as of midyear 2021 per Devenir Research, HSAs and their place in the market have continued to evolve at a rapid clip. And while health insurance and HSA confusion still exists for both employees and employers, more and more individuals and businesses are harnessing the win-win benefits HSAs offer.
Gone are the days of HSAs serving primarily as a transactional 12-month spending account. From more employers offering contributions to employee HSAs to more accountholders investing at least a portion of their HSA dollars, the health savings account of 2022 has come a long way in the nearly 20 years HSAs have been in existence.
Employers Push for Renewal of Expired Covid Telehealth Waiver
Employers and health-care organizations are pushing Congress and the IRS to waive deductible requirements for telehealth services for 32 million people with some employer-sponsored plans.
An emergency Covid-19 policy expired Dec. 31 that enabled people with high-deductible plans and health savings accounts (HSAs) to get telehealth coverage without first having to meet annual deductibles. Some people who had been receiving care at little or no cost by computer or telephone are now receiving bills.
HSA Employee Survey Shows That Interest in Health Savings Accounts is on the Rise
Though it may be a bit premature to declare that HSAs are finally in vogue, these saving vehicles—first introduced 2003—are no longer the mystery they once were to the average U.S. employee. HSAs have grown increasingly popular over the last several years after languishing in relative obscurity for over a decade. The total amount of HSA assets has more than doubled in the last four years, while the number of HSAs has done the same in just three.
Corporate Insight recently conducted a survey of over 1,200 digitally engaged HSA participants. We found that HSAs represent an increasingly valued (if still not fully utilized) resource—one that benefits administrators would be well advised to educate themselves on.