If you have clients who have recently adopted high-deductible health plans with health savings accounts, now is not the time to relax. Educating employees about HSAs should continue after the end of open enrollment and well into the new plan year.
Here's why: Many employees have spent years making copayments at the doctor's office or pharmacy without being aware of their total medical costs. Those who are new to HSAs and HDHPs may be confused about how to manage their health care spending. Often, human resource managers are also learning about HSAs right along with the employees they serve.
Encouraging and supporting your clients in ongoing communications can help employers achieve higher employee satisfaction. And you'll demonstrate your value as a trusted broker and resourceful adviser.
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Start early
I have found even with a successful open enrollment, participants can forget or misplace account details by the time their new coverage begins. That's why early in the plan year is a good time for a second wave of communications to make sure employees have opened their new accounts and are using them to pay for doctor's office visits, prescriptions or medical tests.
Rely on HSA custodian
Using tools and information provided by HSA custodians, brokers and agents can provide well-timed education to help employees become comfortable with their new plans and accounts.
For example, March and April would be an obvious period to reinforce the tax advantages of HSAs. The HSA custodian may have a ready-to-go newsletter or e-mail that can be sent to your clients on the latest rules regarding tax deductible contributions.
If not, check the IRS's website for important information – such as contributions for 2010 can be made as late as April 18 this year – that can serve as useful reminders for human resources representatives.
Communication tips
- Host question-and-answer sessions for employees over lunch in the first months of their HSA eligibility. Encourage participants to share how they've used the accounts successfully.
- Post answers to frequently asked HSA questions on your website, or provide that information to employers for use on their intranets.
- Share interactive tutorials, brochures and other ready-to-use communications supplied by the HSA custodian with your clients.
- Send your clients news articles that discuss consumer-directed health care and how employees can take advantage of their health accounts.
- Check organizations like the Employee Benefit Research Institute and America's Health Insurance Plans, which periodically issue reports and studies about the benefits of HSAs and rising adoption rates.
Don't let last year's open enrollment fade into memory. It's important for brokers to persuade employers to embrace a strategy of ongoing education. If done correctly, employers can achieve a dramatic increase in HSA effectiveness and employee satisfaction.
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