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HOW BENEFITS BROKERS CAN EFFECTIVELY DISCUSS HSAS DURING OPEN ENROLLMENT

 * Lauren Hargrave
 * October 30, 2023
 * 11 min read



Open enrollment is here. Discover how benefits brokers can discuss health
savings accounts with their clients during open enrollment.

Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) might have launched 20 years ago, but there is
still ample confusion about how they work and the benefits they impart to both
employers and employees. Benefits brokers can help clear up this confusion by
providing effective communication and resources that say the right thing, in the
right way, at the right time.

In this post, we’ll give benefits brokers the tools to overcome the
communication challenges inherent to a health insurance marketplace that is
constantly changing. You’ll know how to talk about HSAs (hint: don’t refer to
them by their acronym), how to talk to employers and the types of resources that
can do a lot of the heavy lifting so that employees understand, enroll in, and
adopt their benefits this open enrollment. Let’s get started.


WHAT ARE THE COMMUNICATION CHALLENGES?

When it comes time for employees to choose health insurance, there are a lot of
products to choose from, especially supplemental savings and spending accounts,
which can be pre- or post-tax, depending on the type of the account. To add to
the confusion, some of the products have similar acronyms (e.g. HSA, FSA and
HRA), and employees can often mistake one for the other.

So when benefits brokers are talking about Health Savings Accounts and other
saving and spending accounts with their clients, one key point to make is to
differentiate this type of account from others. You can also help ease open
enrollment communications challenges by:

 * Highlighting the rules and benefits of the account in simple language
 * Speak to the concerns employers have
 * Provide resources that can be an ongoing source of truth for employers and
   employees alike

Providing ongoing resources helps to ensure trust of, and engagement in the
benefit account.


REFRAME HOW YOU TALK ABOUT HEALTH SAVINGS ACCOUNTS

To effectively communicate the value of an HSA, focus on the long term savings
value of the account, the healthcare and tax savings associated with an HSA, and
how an HSA can complement other flexible employee benefits.


EMPHASIZE THE LONG TERM SAVINGS

Instead of saying “it’s a more flexible FSA” or a “super-charged FSA,” describe
an HSA like a “401(k) for healthcare.”

When explaining what an HSA is, many benefits and HR professionals can refer to
it as a “more flexible FSA” or a “super-charged FSA”. But likening it to an
Flexible Spending Account is discounting some attributes of the HSA that make it
so valuable to employees and employers alike. Instead of using the FSA as a way
to explain what an HSA does, try using the 401(k) as your reference.

The key difference between an FSA and an HSA is that HSAs are owned by the
employee and the balance never expires. In addition, account holders are able to
invest their HSA balance and those investments grow tax-free. Therefore, the
long-term savings capabilities of the HSA and the ability to use it as a
retirement account liken it to the way the 401(k) functions and contributes to
the participant’s overall financial health. Referring to the HSA as a healthcare
401(k) is not only a more accurate depiction of how the account functions and
the benefits it imparts, but it helps frame the account in users’ minds as a
long-term savings vehicle.


HIGHLIGHT HEALTHCARE SAVINGS AND ZERO COST PREVENTATIVE CARE

Emphasize that High Deductible Health Plans cover 100% of preventative care,
pre-deductible, and highlight key aspects of coverage, such as wellness
checkups, vaccines, and prescriptions for chronic conditions.

Another aspect to the HSA that could benefit from a reframing is the High
Deductible Health Plan (HDHP). Since enrollment in this type of health insurance
plan is necessary in order to participate in the HSA, it can present a hurdle
for employees because the amount of the deductible can make them nervous.

When talking about the HDHP combined with the HSA, highlight that a long list of
preventative care is covered at 100% prior to the deductible being met. That
means well visits, prescriptions for chronic conditions, vaccines, insulin, and
more are covered with no out-of-pocket requirements under an HDHP. So employees
can save their contributions for larger, big-ticket health expenses and save
money on their monthly premiums at the same time.


DEMONSTRATE THE TAX SAVINGS

Show how HSAs reduce employees’ and employers’ tax burden and adds money to
employees’ pockets.

HSAs help both employees and employers save on taxes. When an employer offers an
HSA and employees make pre-tax contributions, that lowers employees’ taxable
income and the employers’ FICA tax burden. In addition, when employers offer an
employee match, they can write off the matching funds as a business expense. To
show employers how much they can save when they offer their employees an HSA and
employer match, use our payroll tax savings calculator.

For employees, illustrate how they can add money to their pocket by reducing
their tax burden when they contribute to an HSA and save on taxes with tax-free
distributions now and in the future for qualified medical expenses. Use our HSA
savings calculator to highlight just how much participants can save and the
compounding effect of contributions made and saved over time, especially if
participants invest their HSA balance.


SHOWCASE HOW HSAS ARE PART OF A MODERN, FLEXIBLE BENEFITS PACKAGE

Discuss how HSAs are compatible with other types of health and wellness accounts
to drive more savings and engagement.

HSAs also complement a host of other benefit accounts like Lifestyle Spending
Accounts (LSAs), Medical Travel Accounts (MTAs), and Limited Purpose and
Dependent Care Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs) to give employees a
contemporary, competitive and flexible benefits package. All of these benefits
give employees the purchasing power to spend their benefits money on the
expenses that will have the greatest positive impact on their lives. The greater
the positive impact, the healthier, more productive and more loyal these
employees are likely to be.


FOLLOW THESE BEST PRACTICES TO COMMUNICATE THE VALUE OF HSAS

Now that we’ve talked about the “right thing” you should say, we’re going to
address the “right way” and “right time” to say it.


1. AVOID USE OF JARGON

Nothing turns an employee's eyes from focused to glazed faster than the use of
words they don’t understand. But jargon isn’t just exclusive, it’s ineffective
and it often fails to encapsulate exactly what something is or does. So when
talking about HSAs, it’s better to use simple language to answer the “what” and
the “how” questions about this account.

That means using the full benefit name: Health Savings Account either as much or
more than you use the acronym. It also means instead of saying, “triple tax
advantage” to refer to HSAs tax-favored status, explain the tax-related benefits
in terms of how they function. For example, you could say, “You won’t pay taxes
on the money you contribute to your health savings account and use to pay for
qualified medical expenses.”

By using simple language you can help employees see HSAs as less complex and
more user friendly. They are also more likely to feel comfortable signing on for
this type of benefit and confident in their decision to do so.

To help break down complex terminology, share our Glossary of HSA and Health
Insurance Terms with your clients and their employees.


2. KNOW YOUR CLIENTS’ MOTIVES

Before you can create your sales collateral aimed at employers, you have to know
what they’re looking for this year. Their concerns are meeting employees’
benefit needs while still containing costs. Inflation, employee turnover, supply
chain disruptions and more are putting pressure on HR teams to provide more with
fewer resources. In fact, 45% of employers surveyed by Aflac stated that
offering a competitive benefits package was the biggest challenge they faced
this year, yet a recent Lively survey of HR leaders found that 84% of
organizations have improved benefits in the past 12 months to attract and retain
employees.

In order to truly help employers achieve this goal, benefits brokers must help
companies choose cost-effective benefits that will have a large impact on
employees’ mental, physical and financial health. Benefits that are popular and
benefits for which employees can realize positive effects immediately. HSAs fit
this bill.

 * HSAs help companies save money. HDHPs typically have the lowest premiums of
   the health insurance plans and when paired with HSAs can help companies save
   thousands of dollars in FICA taxes.
 * HSAs help employees improve their financial, physical and mental health. They
   give employees a tax-free way to save and spend health care dollars and even
   save for retirement. This can lead to lower financial stress (thus improving
   their mental health), and better physical health because they both have a way
   to pay for the medical care they need, and are experiencing less stress so
   they’re less likely to have stress-related physical symptoms. This helps
   companies’ bottom lines because healthy employees are productive employees.
 * HSAs (especially HSAs that can be invested) are popular benefits and offering
   them can help improve retention and recruitment efforts.


3. HELP EMPLOYERS UNDERSTAND THE BENEFITS OF MITIGATING EMPLOYEE STRESS

To focus employers’ attention on how HSAs help to mitigate employee stress and
the benefits of doing so, using data can be hugely effective. Here are some
statistics around the state of employee stress levels, how they are affecting
employees’ health and productivity, and of course, the companies’ bottom lines.

 * 47% of HR leaders say that employee stress around financial standing has
   increased.
 * 92% of surveyed workers said it’s important to work for a company that values
   their emotional and psychological well being.
 * 53% of employees say their financial stress interferes with their work.
 * 83% say financial benefits are critical to their financial security.
 * 80% of HR leaders say that competitive financial benefits are more important
   than last year.

In addition, financial stress can lead to deteriorating physical health and
decreased productivity. Unfortunately, people with financial stress tend to
avoid getting healthcare which leads to worse health outcomes and higher
healthcare costs and lower productivity, absenteeism and turnover. In fact, a
workforce with more financially stressed employees will see more sick days. This
unscheduled absenteeism costs these companies, on average, $3,600/year per
employee for hourly workers and $2,650/year per employee for salaried workers.

Conversely, employees that leverage financial benefits enjoyed a 4.5% reduction
in healthcare costs. Companies that launched these initiatives experienced an
ROI of between 100-300% on these programs.


4. PROVIDE RESOURCES AND WORK WITH A PROVIDER THAT MAKES HSA EDUCATION EASY

One way to ensure that employers and employees alike remain happy with (and
engage with) their benefits, is to provide resources during open enrollment that
clearly explain the positive attributes of their benefits, as well as resources
they can access at any time.

Resources to provide during open enrollment can be brochures, a landing page for
each benefit offering complete with an FAQ, and a digital tool that can help
smooth out the open enrollment process. Other employee education services
include town halls, AMAs and shorter communications via chat, text and email.

To provide ongoing resources, look for an HSA provider that offers easy-to-use
tools and dashboards that enable employees to easily learn about and manage
their HSA. This includes showing balances, total annual contributions made and
how close they are to the annual contribution limit, and making it easy to
change contribution amounts. Providers should also include resources like
ongoing account holder education that explains how to use their accounts to
fully realize their benefit.


5. START SMALL AND SET YOUR CLIENTS AND THEIR EMPLOYEES UP FOR SUCCESS

For employees, the thought of building a large savings can be overwhelming to
people, especially if they are starting with small contribution amounts. They
might even feel as though “they’ll never get there” in terms of saving enough to
pay for the deductible. Here are some strategies that your clients can use to
help get them comfortable with opening an account.

 * Offer a contribution calculator that shows the effects of compounding
   interest and investment of their contributions over time. This can give them
   a tangible picture of how small amounts saved add up over time.
 * Encourage employers to contribute money to employees’ accounts. These
   contributions can be in the form of matching or a lump sum, but either way,
   employer-seeded accounts tend to perform better with employer contributions
   than those without. And not only do more employees adopt the HSA, they’re
   also more likely to contribute more money to their account if their employer
   also contributes.


WAYS LIVELY CAN HELP

Lively offers a best-in-class HSA that helps employers offer a popular benefits
package that can improve their bottom line. Our UI is simple, clean and easy to
use, HSA account holders can choose from different investing options, or they
can choose to keep their contributions in savings. We offer a debit card,
industry-leading customer service and account holder support all year long and
we take care of all employee onboarding and communication. Our goal is to make
HSA administration seamless with employers’ current systems and easy for
everyone involved. We also offer transparent pricing to make it easier for
companies to stay within their budgets and for employees to keep more of their
money.


GET STARTED TODAY!

Lively is your partner during open enrollment and beyond. If you’re looking to
uplevel the benefits options you’re presenting to your clients, reach out today.
We’ll help you provide a greater service to your current clients and win new
clients so everyone succeeds.

 * Employee Benefits
 * HSA (Health Savings Account)
 * Open Enrollment
 * HDHP (High Deductible Health Plan)

Read more by Lauren Hargrave

Lauren Hargrave is a writer from San Francisco who focuses on technology,
finance and wellness. She follows comedians like most people follow bands and
believes an outdoor sweat session can cure almost any bad mood. She’s also been
writing her first novel for so long, her mom doesn’t ask about it anymore.

Disclaimer: the content presented in this article are for informational purposes
only, and is not, and must not be considered tax, investment, legal, accounting
or financial planning advice, nor a recommendation as to a specific course of
action. Investors should consult all available information, including fund
prospectuses, and consult with appropriate tax, investment, accounting, legal,
and accounting professionals, as appropriate, before making any investment or
utilizing any financial planning strategy.


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