Implementing HSAs successfully
Successful HSA programs have not only helped employers achieve cost savings, they’ve also helped companies address the underlying causes of rising costs by emphasizing shared responsibility and encouraging better employee decision making.
Through HSAs, employers and employees can enjoy mutually beneficial results.
Employers can promote practical consumerism in their health programs, foster healthy behaviors and build a broader culture of health for the organization.
Employees have an incentive to manage their expenses over time, shifting the focus away from a traditional one-year term insurance approach toward a long-term financial management vehicle.
Findings from a 2007 Towers Perrin survey of 350 largeU.S. employers (150 with HSA plans, 200 without) and a survey of employees from mid-sized companies, show that success depends on a host of factors.
While HSA sponsors say they have brought overall improvements in their health benefit programs, some participants are less satisfied with their experience because they’re comparing HSAs to more traditional plan options with which they’re familiar.
Yet, survey respondents with high-performing programs offer evidence that the right approach to implementation, delivery and consumer engagement can be a win-win for employers and employees.
Certainly the success of any particular HSA plan is based on several factors, but the following four points remain constant across many high performing plans.
In addition to good plan design and vendor management, success requires building a new mindset about health and a commitment from both employers and employees.
Helping employees gain confidence in their ability to manage financial risk helps them embrace HSAs.
Fostering employee trust in company management and a sense that the company cares about employee well-being is important.
Thoughtful change management initiatives, targeted and ongoing communications, and visible leadership help build trust and a healthy work environment.
Consumerism at work
HSAs offer employees a company-provided mechanism that protects them financially from significant, relatively unpredictable health care costs.
Simultaneously, HSAs shift accountability to the consumer for lower-cost, predictable needs and discretionary spending decisions (such as generic versus name-brand prescription drugs), while offering enhanced benefits for preventive care and other health promotion features.
"Own" your health care
Since employees with HSAs have the chance to play a more active role in their health care management, employers should view this responsibility shift and HSA implementation as a workforce education initiative.
That’s because the model changes – from employees visiting the doctor when something seems wrong and paying a small, predictable co-payment for treatment, to participating more actively in healthcare prevention and planning, and balancing current expenses with long-term risk management.
In short, HSAs are like home ownership – offering better tax efficiency, equity accumulation and long-term financial control – versus the status quo of a monthly rental. The long-term benefits, however, can only be realized when employees are willing to accept increased responsibility and control.
By properly building a new mindset toward "ownership", HSAs can be worthwhile for all.
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