With companies looking to stem rising health care costs, J.P.Morgan has recently issued a report titled “Best Practices forImplementing a Health Savings Account Program.”
The white paper provides a step-by-step guide for employers thatwant to offer an HSA program to employees. Credit unions' interestin offering HSAs to their members has grown in the last couple ofyears.
According to the report, a growing number of companies are findingthat the addition of an HSA option to their health care benefitsmenu provides a practical solution to health insurance challenges.By year-end 2008, there were an estimated three million HSAs withdeposits of over $3 billion, and the number of HSA accounts isexpected to quadruple by 2012.
“HSAs provide an affordable health insurance option and continue togrow in popularity,” said David Josephs, head of consumer-directedhealth care at J.P. Morgan. “This report shares the lessons learnedin areas that have resulted in successful programs for many of ourclients and provides a framework to ensure that a company's benefitoffering is competitive in the marketplace and offers the bestvalue for both the employees and the company.”
To meet short- and long-term goals, the report suggests thatcompanies design plans that are simple to understand, easy to use,provide 100% coverage for preventative care services, offer a lineof credit to cover any unexpected medical expenses, includeemployer contribution and promote employee education on health carecosts.
In addition, companies should plan for future design modificationsand incentives for positive behavior changes.
“Employers that contribute to HSAs demonstrate their commitment toan HSA program, which can be further reinforced by developingprograms to engage and educate employees about the spending andsaving advantages of HSAs,” stated the report.
The report also found that communication is key to success. Anemployee communications plan rolled out in advance of the actualenrollment period allows employees time to fully understand the newbenefits.
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