A New Leash On Life

Hi, my name is G.C. Maxwell, and my main focus is sharing the advantages of Health Savings Account-based health plans with businesses and individuals.  I work for Bernard Health in Nashville, and we're becoming an industry leader when it comes to helping people plan for expected and unexpected healthcare expenses. 

I have been a part of the team for more than two years now, and things are going great!  It is exciting being involved with such a rapidly expanding company.  Not to mention, it feels nice when you can take the stress and worries of healthcare needs off of people's minds.

Prior to Bernard Health, I worked as a Sales Rep for the Cintas Corporation in Nashville selling full service needs and products to businesses.  I earned my BS from Miami of Ohio University where I also met my wonderful wife Kristen.

There are many ways to structure a health plan, and I have seen it all.  One thing that I have seen lately is companies putting in a "Gap Plan" or "Bridge Plan" in to help cover some of their employees medical expenses.  I have nothing against this add on to a plan, but I believe that there are better strategies out there, such as a Health Savings Account-based plan instead. 

1. The Gap Plan might not cover everything you think it will.  Your traditional gap plan will cover some of the deductible expenses.  In many cases, it will only cover hospital costs up until the deductible is met.  So if you get put into the hospital, this is great to have in place, right?  Yet, what a lot of people do not realize is that gap plans do not cover things like lab work, chemotherapy, x-rays, er visits, and mental health.  Health Savings accounts cover all of that and then some as long as it is a qualified medical expense.

2. Save the money you spend on a Gap Plan and put it towards HSA contributions.  Since you cannot have an HSA and a gap plan at the same time, implement a company HSA for your employees and instead of paying a premium that goes up each year with a gap plan, put the money into their Health Savings Account.  If your employees don't spend the money, it rolls over to the next year and they get to keep it. With a gap plan, they do not get any money that they could save; plus with premium increases each year makes it tough to fix your costs under a gap plan. 

3. Your employees will be able to save tax-free.  With a gap plan, employees do not get a separate account as I mentioned above.  The only time an employee see the benefit with a gap plan is if something bad happens and they get put in the hospital.  With an HSA, they see the benefit right away, and they can choose to set aside more money from their paycheck tax-free to accumulate in their HSA over time if they do not use it.

Okay... so you have a Health Savings Account and you are about to turn 65, what do you do?  How much can you contribute to your HSA as you evaluate your over 65 health insurance options and the days count down toward your birthday?  These are both very good questions that I received recently from one of my Bernard Health clients, and the answers are not as confusing as you might think.

1.  According to IRS guidelines, anyone who is over 65 and either (a) receiving Social Security Benefits or (b) enrolled in Medicare Part A, may not contribute to their individual HSA.  The person can still keep the account and use it tax-free for medical expenses they incur, but as soon as the account is empty that is it.

2. The maximum amount that a person can contribute is $3,050 for individual and $6,150 for individual+spouse, individual+child, or family.  If the person is over the age of 55, they can contribute an extra $1,000 a year as a catch-up contribution.

3.  So what if someone turns 65 and enrolls in Medicare Part A in June? What is the maximum amount they can contribute to their Health Savings Account that year?  If the person has a spouse, then they can contribute 5/12 of the $6,150 which would be $2,562.50.  And since they are over the age of 55, they can contribute 5/12 of the $1,000 catch-up contribution as well which is $416.67.  That is a total $2979.17.

So as you can see, your birthday month determine the maximum amount a person turning 65 can contribute that year.  It might initially seem confusing, but it is actually pretty clear once you think about it.  If you have questions about group health insurance, Medicare, Health Savings Accounts, you can contact an expert at Bernard Health by calling 615-528-3399 or visiting our store at 720 Thompson Lane.  We'd be glad to help!

I love to talk with everyone I know about Health Savings Accounts and why they are a core part of Bernard Health's mission.  The team on the group health insurance side of Bernard has been preaching about these HSA plans for years, and I always like to find others out there who share our beliefs.  

Below are 3 quick clips from Mark Baker, an HSA specialist from Golden Rule Insurance company speaking on behalf of HSAcenter.com.  He sums up some the most important aspects of Health Savings Account-based health insurance plans concisely.  Listen to what he has to say, but also know that there are many more benefits to these plans that go beyond what Mark mentions.  Contact Bernard Health today to find out how you can start saving today!

• Affordable Health Insurance
  
• Income Tax Savings
• Control Over Healthcare

It's time to celebrate!  AOL's Daily Finance recently published a list of the top selling/most expensive drugs on the market that are going to lose their patents within the next two years.  So what does this mean?

Well, if you take some of the prescriptions listed below and happen to have a consumer driven health insurance plan, you stand to save a lot of money when generic versions become available.  The pharmaceutical companies who currently own the patented brand name drugs are not happy about the potential $250 billion in sales at risk when the conversions start happening later this year.



If you have a Health Savings Account and take some of these drugs, then you could potentially cut you monthly costs by 90%.  That means more money in your pocket to save for rainy days down the road. 

At Bernard Health, our nurse on staff cannot wait to deliver the good news to some of our clients who take these drugs when the generic equivalents become available.  This news can have such a positive impact because it will ultimately drive down the cost of healthcare in the future!

It is no secret that I cold call for a living - representing Bernard Health to help companies learn more about Health Savings Account-based health plans is worth the occasional hang up.  When I do get a chance to share the tremendous advantages companies can realize by transitioning away from traditional copay based health insurance plans, I'm able to help companies save signicant money on group health insurance costs.  With that said, I never know what I might come across when I call on companies in the Nashville area.  I have seen and encountered many different situations, but recently one company took me by surprise.

I had been calling on this company for two years until they finally agreed to meet with me to see what I could do regarding their group heath insurance.  They had told me over the phone that many people have tried to help, but no one had succeeded.  The group had many health conditions and "felt stuck" because they were unable to change carriers to get lower pricing.  So essentially, their insurance was going up 20%-30% consistently over the last 5 years or so and they could nothing about it.
So I had a couple of preconceived notions of what I thought was going on, but when I was able to sit down with the company and learn a little bit more about their situation I was shocked!  They were paying an exorbitant amount of money on group health insurance for only six people.  It was honestly the highest I have ever seen!  And to top it off, their broker of 13 years has been doing them an extreme disservice.

The company had an extremely low deductible which causes their premiums to be higher, plus they have barely touched the health insurance plan in thirteen years because their health insurance broker advised against switching.  The company had never heard of Health Savings Account-based plans, which have been around since 2003.  Why had their previous broker advised against switching?  Was it because he stood to make more money if their health insurance premiums continued to increase? Was it because it was only a 6 person company and the broker had more pressing priorities? Regardless of the reason, the company was getting poor advice and their group health insurance plan needed a lot of work.

When I recommended a Health Savings Account-based strategy using their current health insurance carrier, they were very intrigued and all-in-all loved it.  I saved the group 30% in health insurance premiums and simultaneously improved their health plan.  The main reason why they saw so much value in the new plan was because employees and dependents who were really sick (diabetes and cancer) were going to spend less money in healthcare costs with the new plan.  Furthermore, the company understood that hopefully their premiums will not be raised as it had in past years because employees will make smarter decisions on how they spend their healthcare dollars.

At the end of the day, I am very upset that this group "felt stuck" all these years because they believed in a health insurance broker that was taking advantage of them the whole time.  I am not saying that this is common practice amongst the broker community - trust me, it's not.  There are a lot of honest and ethical brokers, but every industry has the occasional bad apple. 

"Cold calling is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you may get".  Yes this is true, but sometimes you can run across a group that really needs your help and it is truly a satisfying experience!

Lately, I have been seeing more and more companies want to switch from FSAs (Flexible Spending Account) to an HSA (Health Savings Account)-based group health insurance plan. Both FSAs and HSAs are tax advantaged accounts to use for qualified medical expenses, and the main reason for the switch is because an HSA is not a "use it or lose it" account like an FSA.  Any money left in individual HSAs will rollover year after year.  Health Savings Account-based health insurance plans just make sense, especially when compared to an FSA.  

Yet if you have an FSA currently with your group insurance health plan, there a few rules/considerations that you are going to have to follow if you want to completely transition to an HSA or if you want to consider other FSA options that are out there:

HSA/ Medical FSA Combined?
A person cannot have a medical FSA and HSA at the same time.  Due to IRS guidelines, it has to be one or the other.  For example, a company can offer two options: (1) an HSA-based health plan with a Health Savings Account or (2) a traditional health plan option with a medical FSA.  It would be up to the employee to choose which plan and direction they would want to go for the year, but they have to pick one or the other.

FSA Plan Year vs. Calendar Year

If you decide that your company wants to offer a medical FSA, then make sure you think clearly about if you want the FSA contribution election to be on a "Plan Year" or "Calendar Year."  A plan year means that a person would make their elections based on the group medical plan period.  So if your group health insurance plan renews in May, then an employee would make their FSA elections for May 1st through April 30th.  A calendar year election means that contributions would be from January 1st to December 31st.  

I recommend always going with a "Plan Year" FSA because it makes things a lot easier if you every want to adjust the health plan. You cannot cancel an FSA mid-year for an HSA.  And of course you would have a "Calendar Year" FSA if your group plan renews on January 1st.  

What if you want to rollover your FSA into a new HSA?
Well, if your company did not have an FSA before September 21, 2006, then do not even think about it.  If that is the case, then you will never be able to roll over your account. Check out the rules in more depth on the IRS website.

Are there any FSA's that will work with an HSA-based health plan?
Yes, there are two types of FSA's that you can have with an HSA: A Limited Purpose FSA and a Dependent Care FSA.  

• Limited Purpose FSA: Set aside money pre-tax that an employee can only use on dental and vision expenses.  You will lose any money that is not spent during the year.  Also, a company can rollover a medical FSA into a Limited Purpose FSA mid-year in order to be able to have an HSA as well with the same group health plan.  
• Dependent Care FSA: Set aside tax advantaged money that an employee can use on child care expenses.  This included baby-sitting, day care, and general purpose day camps.  The same rules apply that any money not spent will be lost.  Yet, a popular option is to offer the Dependent Care FSA with a Health Savings Account-based plan because they compliment each other very well.  

Whew, that is a lot of information that I just put on you.  It is obvious that when it comes time to think about your group health insurance plan that there are a lot of things to consider and you need to know all of the facts so that you do not end up in trouble in the future.  If you have any further questions about how your Tennessee group health insurance plan options, then give Bernard Health a call.  We will assess all of your options so that you can make the best decision for your company and employees.

Recently, I was talking to another health insurance broker who was wanting to learn more about Health Savings Account based health insurance plans.  She was from Texas and was inquiring about one of my groups who is based here in Tennessee.  The group in question has has what is called a "Plan Year Deductible."

The broker was familiar with neither Health Savings Accounts nor Plan Year Deductibles because she mentioned she does not see those types of plans in Texas.  Basically, a Plan Year Deductible (also referred sometimes as a Contract Year Deductible) is distinct from a Calendar Year Deductible in that it doesn't reset on January 1 of each new year.  Instead, it runs a full year from the effective date of your health insurance plan.  So if your effective date is May 1st, that means your plan year deductible will be applied May 1st- April 30th, and it will reset on May 1st of the following year. 

Since the broker from Texas was only familiar with a Calendar Year Deductible (January 1st- December 31st), she was worried about whether a plan with a Calendar Year Deductible would be Health Savings Account eligible.  Well, the simple answer is, yes - it would still be eligible  There are several rules to consider when setting up a Health Savings Account based health insurance plan, but as long as it is a High Deductible Health Plan (HDHP) then it doesn't matter how your deductible calendar is structured.

So I know the information above is a topic that you have dying to learn about all of your life, and now you know.  Last thing: be sure to check to see if your health insurance carrier offers a Plan Year Deductible before you try and choose a health plan.  Bernard Health is always glad to help your company assess it's health plan options.

Well... it's a new year, and what better time could there be to get a refresher on what's causing a rise in demand for Health Savings Account based health insurance plans? The video below, brought to us by TheBalancingAct.com, highlights for the average consumer why it is a great idea to consider Health Savings Accounts as a vehicle to limit healthcare costs and provide tax savings:


My favorite part about these interviews is that they give the viewing audience two different perspectives.  (1) Obviously, we know that Craig Koehan from Msaver is going to be pro Health Savings Accounts, because that is what he does for a living (and who could blame him!), but they also decided to interview (2) Sandy, a mother of two, to get her perspective on switching her health insurance to an HSA-based plan.

I was not shocked that Sandy loves her family's Health Savings Account.  She mentions how she loves the control she has over her expenses, and that quite frankly she has saved thousands of dollars over the years on premiums.  Bernard Health helps businesses, families, and individuals adopt the best possible strategy for managing expected and unexpected healthcare expenses.  Give Bernard Health a call today to learn more about how your business or family can be more prepared.

As the holiday approaches, I am glad to say that I have just finished another successful enrollment meeting for one of my group health insurance new clients.  The reason I am cheerful about this enrollment meeting is because it was very clear after walking out of the meeting that Bernard Health is adding a lot of value to this client's current group health plan.

One of the main reasons  this company hired Bernard Health was the extra support we could provide with their Health Savings Account- based health insurance plan.  Last year, the company switched to a full replacement company HSA, and they received some push back from employees after their former broker tired to explain how everything worked.  This year, I was able to demonstrate how Bernard Health could help the company and employees by providing education and a framework for understanding how HSAs work.  Based on our history of success, they decided to work with us after see what we were capable of.

As for the 2011 renewal, the company's plan design stayed the same.  They kept the same HSA plan that they had last year and took the renewal as is.  So in fact the only thing that changed is that the premiums went up.

The reason why I think that it was such a good enrollment even though costs went up and the plan stayed the same is because the employees really felt like they were getting more this year.  I was able to clear up some misconceptions they had about health savings account-based plans and talk about how they truly work while pointing out some benefits that they didn't know they really had in the first place.  Also, having a Bernard Health nurse on staff to price shop medications and procedures really resonated with the employees and got them excited about the potential to save money.

The quote of the day came from an employee who said, "Wow, I really like this year's plan is a lot better than the one we had last year!"  As I stated before, nothing changed as far as the plan was concerned only that the cost went up.  This particular employee though felt like he was getting a lot more this year which in turn made him think that it was a completely different health plan.  That is why I love working for Bernard Health; helping people see the complete picture and get excited about health insurance is a very gratifying feeling.

Getting an annual premium increase on your company's group health insurance plan is almost a given any more.  When faced with increased costs,  it is amazing how many companies out there feel like the only thing they can do every year is off-set the increase by doing two things:

1. Raising the deductible
2. Raising the dollar amount of copays for services

This is what the majority of companies do, and quite frankly, there are so many other ideas out there that can reduce your overall costs and provide a better benefit for you employees.

Yes, if you know me by now, you know  I'm going to tell you that the strategy that companies should focus on will include adopting a Health Savings Account-based health plan.  Not only will these plans cut your premium costs 20-40%, but they will provide a better benefit to your employees if explained correctly.

For example, I have just recently helped a company in that was facing a 23% renewal increase on their group health insurance plan in Nashville, Tennessee.  They already had a high deductible plan with copays and a very high out-of-pocket expense.  Their current broker recommended a strategy that involved raising the copays and increasing the deductible and out-of-pocket expenses even more, which reduced their premium increase to 10%.... instead of 23%.  Yes, the broker did his job by helping get the cost down, but the plan design was extreme, and it would leave any individual paying thousands upon thousands if anything happened to them.  

I was able to recommend a Health Savings Account strategy and reduce their increase to only 3% while increasing the deductible by only $500.  This new plan that I showed them was better than their original plan - not only was it 20% cheaper, but the managers all admitted that it was a better plan that would save them money.  Plus, now they could have a tax advantaged company HSA to pay for medical expenses that they never had before with the copay plan.  It was a huge success, saving the company and the employees thousands not only in premiums, but in potential medical bills if anything ever happens.

I am biased towards the Health Savings Account-based plan because it's almost always the best strategy for companies looking for ways to manage healthcare expenses. It's what I specialize in, and it's a great option for affordable group health insurance.  As illustrated by the above example, Health Savings Account based health plans can add a tremendous amount of value to an organization by helping the bottom line and improving the well being of employees.  This is Bernard Health's goal with any company that we help.

Wow, it was a busy October and November!  I can't complain because I have been able to help several businesses realize their potential with Health Savings Accounts, improving their balance sheets and structuring affordable and effective health plan strategies for their companies.  

Yes, this is the busiest time of the year for us, but myself and my colleagues at Bernard Health have realized that more and more companies are interested in what we have to say, and many are taking steps to finally take control of their group health plans.  With a Health Savings Account-based health plan, companies can educate their employees to make smarter health care decisions and lower their total financial exposure, while simultaneously decreasing the likelihood of future premium increases.  Basically, that means that companies save more money over the long run!

As far as educating your employees, that might seam like a daunting task, but Bernard Health can take control  and point your employees in the right direction with some of our helpful tools and demonstrations during enrollment meetings.  Most employees walk away saying, "This new Health Savings Account plan is so much easier to understand compared to my old plan." Bernard Health simplifies everything for your employees and makes the new plan easy to understand. 

I can't give away all of our secrets, but just know that everything we do at Bernard Health is geared to streamline your current processes and usher you into the new wave of group health insurance.  Gah I love this stuff!

One of my Bernard Health group health insurance clients in Nashville came to me with a very good question: What happens if one of my employees puts too much money into their Health Savings Account? Well first things first, the maximum amount that an individual can contribute in 2010 and 2011 is $3,050 a year.  The maximum amount that a family can contribute is $6,150.

Before I said anything else, I assured my client that he doesn't need to worry.  If an employee accidentally puts too much into his account over the course of a year there is a way out. According to the IRS, a person can take out the excess money they contributed to their Health Savings Account before filing for taxes without any penalty.  Keep in mind though that if they earned interest off of the over contribution that they would have to take out that excess interest amount as well.

What if the employee did not catch it in time?  Well, as with many things in life, there is a penalty. The IRS will impose a 6% excise tax on the entire amount that is over the limit.  It's important to be vigilant, but it should give you peace of mind to know you can reclaim any money contributed beyond that annual limit.  While individual HSAs are a terrific fit for many families, it's important to understand how they work.  

It should be no surprise to you if you have been reading my blog that I often mention how fast Health Savings Accounts are growing across the country.  I have reported before that the last figures showed in May of 2010 that Health Savings Accounts have surpassed the 10 million account mark. Oh Yeah!

One of the major players in the Health Savings Account Market is HSA Bank.  Last month they release a statement that they were about to surpass 1 Billion dollars in HSA assets.  That huge amount is spread out through 500,000 accounts that have been opened with the bank.  

Also, another bank that is coming on strong with Health Savings Accounts is Chase.  This banking giant reported a 30% increase from last year in HSA's.  That boils down to 115,000 more accounts and $220,000 more in assets than what they had last year.  

The proof is right there in front of us.  People want Health Savings Accounts, and I don't see the demand slowing down any time soon.  Right now we can barely keep up with this rapid growth!

For most companies, it is that time of year again: time to review your health insurance.  About 70% of companies in Tennessee renew their health plan on January 1st.  So what plans do you have for this year?  Are you going to keep things the same, or maybe play around with your copays if you get an increase in monthly health insurance premiums?  Well, I'm here to tell you that no matter what your health plan intentions might be, you would be doing your company a disservice if you did not check out the fastest growing health plan the country has ever seen. Yes, I am talking about Health Savings Account-based plans.

My company, Bernard Health, helps companies formulate an effective roll-out strategy for adopting a Health Savings Account-based plan.  We also can increase your enrollment if you currently offer this type of plan but have low participation in the option.  Bernard Health's average first year Health Savings Account enrollment for our clients is 81%, compared to the national average of 7%.  Simply put, the more employees you get to choose the company HSA, the more you save on health insurance premiums (upwards to 20% to 40%).  We can help maximize those savings. 

Companies still invite us to help them do their analysis of health insurance costs even if they have a long standing relationship with their health insurance broker.  This is because we only specialize in Health Savings Account-based plans, and we have ideas and support tools that no one else has.  We know these plans better than anyone and can start saving your company money today.  It can't hurt for your company to generate new ideas and look at ways to greatly improve the overall group health plan on many levels.  

One of my clients has to move their Health Savings Account health plan to another health insurance carrier because the carrier no longer offers group health insurance coverage in the state of Tennessee.  The process of having to change insurance carriers brought up a good question that they asked me: do we have to change our Health Savings Account carrier too?

The quick answer is NO. The Health Savings Account and the health insurance plan are completely different entities that happen to work together when the time is right.  No insurance carrier can force you to choose a specific bank to get your Health Savings Account.  They might make suggestions if they own their own bank, but it is ultimately up to you were you choose to obtain your Health Savings Account.  Check out a recent post of mine that helps you navigate the HSA carriers to get the best choice for you or your company.

My client was very relieved that they didn't have to do anything to their Health Savings Account because they like the current bank they are using.  The one thing that I have to make sure on my end to maintain is that they receive a valid High Deductible Health Plan (HDHP) with their new insurance carrier so that they can keep their Health Savings Account.  That's it!  

And the great thing is that this company had such a great experience with the Health Savings Account-based health plan that they only want to review those types of plans when they make a change and are not interested at all in Traditional Plans.  It makes me happy that myself and my company Bernard Health could give them such a positive experience with Health Savings Accounts-based health plans that they don't want anything else!

I recently read an article from The State Journal out of West Virginia that highlighted the major benefits of Health Savings Account-eligible health plans for small businesses.  The article addresses the fact that this type of group health insurance might be the only affordable option for some small businesses, but that doesn't mean that the coverage is any less.  Most of the time the Health Savings Account-based plan offers a better benefit compared to a traditional plan.

The journal interviewed Mike Morris, senior vice president of Huntington National Banks, who had this to say, "I've been seeing a lot of small businesses or self-employed people showing interest.  The number one concern for small businesses in the state is providing healthcare, according to a recent Chamber of Commerce survey. This can be an alternative; perhaps that is why it is picking up some appeal."

The article also highlights that not only are the premiums cheaper, but the tax savings alone are another major draw to the Health Savings Account-based plan.  Also, there are many larger companies like Wal-Mart, Wendy's, and UPS that have adopted this strategy as well for their employees.

At Bernard Health we don't discriminate - every company, big or small, can benefit from a Health Savings Account plan.  Let us do our job and show you what we can do for you today!

Stephen Miller of the Society for Human Resource Management reports a huge success story regarding Health Savings Account-based plans and Boyne Resorts.  Boyne Resorts has 8,000 employees and the president Stephen Kircher reported first hand the tremendous impact Health Savings Account-eligible health plans had on his group health insurance plan.

It started in 2005 when Boyne decided to offer a Health Savings Account-eligible health plan option to employees. In the first year, only 30% of Boyne employees enrolled in the plan, but by 2007 the number had jumped to 70%.  Boyne Resorts president Stephen Kircher attributed the increase to improvement in communicating exactly how the company HSA plan worked.  When people understood the plan, they recognized its advantages. 

In 2009, the company went to a full replacement Health Savings Account-eligible health plan strategy. Why was this a smart move?  Well the next year the company saw a 21% overall drop in premiums!  The employees were becoming smarter with their healthcare purchases which drove down the overall cost.  Each family on the plan ended up saving $1,400 in premiums. The company walked away with some additional savings as well.  Without changing the Health Savings Account contributions, the company ended up pocketing an additional $800,000 in savings. 

The main thing that I would like to focus on from this story is the initial enrollment numbers and how they jumped up year after year.  The education aspect of helping your employees understand these plans is the most important part.  My company, Bernard Health, doesn't like to toot its own horn, but our average enrollment in the First Year with getting employees to choose the Health Savings Account-based plan is 81%.  

It all comes down to education, and we have worked very hard at crafting the perfect roll-out package for employers so that all of the employees understand and embrace this new cutting edge concept.

I have mentioned before in my blog about maximum contributions that a person can put in their Health Savings Account.  The contribution limits of $3,050 for an individual and $6,150 for family are pretty straight forward.  And don't forget about the $1,000 catch-up amount that you can contribute if you are 55 or older.

There is one tool that takes this concept one step further. KJE Computer Solutions, LLC has created a Health Savings Account Contribution Calculator to make things even easier for you. All you do is answer a couple of questions and it creates a report that you can see below.



The one thing that I find to be very beneficial is the calculator tells you your estimated tax savings.  In the example above, this person would save about $762 a year just by having a Health Savings Account and contributing into it.

Not only will you have affordable health insurance with a Health Savings Account-eligible health plan, but you will also see a tremendous amount of tax savings associated with the actual Health Savings Account as illustrated by the calculator.