One of the top companies that act as administrators for employee benefits programs, PayFlex Systems USA, Inc. (PayFlex) announced that it’s launching even better Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) than those that have come before. The new HSA offers more control and support for the employers that are offering these types of accounts as a benefit to their employees, by making the accounts even more flexible and putting more control directly in the hands of the employers. The new Health Savings Account gives employers and other HSA plan holders the ability to choose the financial institution where the savings portion of the account are deposited, where before there was typically a designated custodian. The new Health Savings Account option offered by PayFlex also puts more control in the hands of the banks and financial institutions managing the savings account because these institutions can now opt to use PayFlex to enhance their own HSA offering.
PayFlex HSA Plan Benefits
The main reason the new type of Health Savings Account is beneficial is that it offers a comprehensive option to administering HSAs including account reconciliation, an investment platform, an integrated reimbursement payment solution, an easy-to-use consumer Web interface, debit cards to access the Health Savings Account funds, IRS compliance management and call center support. Consumers can now pay their bills online and receive online account statements as well.
Health Savings Accounts Change Healthcare
According to the Towers Watson – National Business Group on Health Survey, 83 percent of the companies surveyed have already changed or plan on making changes to their healthcare plans. Individuals, the self-employed and employers are all looking for ways to reduce increasing healthcare costs, which experts say are increasing by more than twice the amount of inflation. Sixty-one percent of the companies that said they are making changes to their health plan intend on adding a Health Savings Account to their plan. According to the CEO of PayFlex, Robert Natt, managed care changed the healthcare landscape in the ‘80s and Health Savings Accounts have the ability to make the same changes to healthcare now. And maybe Natt is on to something because it was not too far back that President Obama proposed Health Savings Accounts as part of the healthcare reform his administration has been trying to tackle since he was sworn into office.
Power to the Account Holder
Handing over more control to employers is not the only platform that the new PayFlex HSA offers. It is also providing more power to the account holders – the consumers. First, it is making more educational information available to teach consumers about the importance of the account and how to maximize its benefits. Second, it provides the consumers with more options, through a suite of tools, to control the account and make it fit their needs even better.
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