HSAs, HRAs and Consumer-Driven Health Care

Date:	June 4, 2008 (Wednesday)
Time:	8:30 a.m. – 12:00 noon
Location:	The Metropolitan map
Cost:	No charge for clients of Stanton Group; $175 for non-clients
Register:	Seminar Registration

It's the hottest, and frequently most controversial, concept in providing health care coverage to employees. It's getting a lot of attention, and the rules can be complex. So whether your organization already has a "consumer-driven" approach, or whether you are considering it for the future, you need to understand how the components of "CDHC" work so that you can strategize and make good decisions for your organization and your employees.

A lot of seminars on this topic are in reality sales pitches for products and services, so the information may be presented in a way that favors a particular viewpoint and promotes a particular outcome. This seminar is designed to give you the facts so you can work with your benefits consultant and your constituents to decide for yourself what is truly best for your organization, or to decide how to make changes going forward if you're already there.

We present the rules and requirements for Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) and Health Reimbursement Arrangements (HRAs) and how they work with high-deductible health plans. We also describe key considerations with health flexible spending arrangements (with and without HSAs and HRAs). We then provide you with a practical comparative example, and discuss key issues that will help you take the first steps toward considering a "consumer-driven" approach in your organization.

In addition, we will present a section on health cost management, as this is a key element of any consumer-driven health care approach. Here, we'll cover the key elements of effective health cost management and how to implement a program that has tangible positive impact on your employee's health and your organization's bottom line.

What attendees will learn:

• What current statistics say about consumer-driven health care implementation.
• HSA eligibility requirements.
• Minimum deductibles and other requirements for HSA-compatible high-deductible health plans.
• HSA contribution requirements, including the comparability rules, and why they likely don't apply to your employees.
• The Tax Relief and Health Care Act rule changes on HSA contributions, including:
  • The removal of the deductible limitation
  • Full-year contributions for mid-year enrollees
  • Easing of the HFSA grace period problem
  • Allowable HFSA, HRA, and IRA rollovers
• HSA distribution rules
• Avoiding ERISA application with HSAs, including a common trap for many employers.
• HSA distribution and investment requirements.
• HRA crediting and reimbursement rules.
• Carryover options for HRAs that allow for employer flexibility.
• Impermissible HRA design options that the IRS views as indirect cafeteria plan funding.
• Important COBRA, HIPAA and HFSA considerations for HRAs.
• Important HSA/HRA/Health FSA benefit coordination issues.
• An overview of key CDHC implementation issues
• Health cost management concepts, including
  • Understanding supply vs. demand management, and what it means to your strategy for designing health benefits and wellness programs.
  • Characteristics of different employee population segments, and how your strategy and approach must differ between the groups.
  • Using an analytical health claims decision support system to identify population health management strategies.
  • Building a health cost management program.

As with all of our compliance programs, this seminar will focus on real-life, practical application issues, and not legal minutiae. Our goal is for participants to understand how to comply and be able to immediately apply what is learned. Attendees will receive a seminar manual and compliance reference that includes comprehensive cross-referencing to regulations, and key Internet links to other resources. This manual is not only a great learning tool during the seminar, but is also an extremely valuable working resource.

To learn about the seminar presenter, click here.

For more information, please call 763-278-4196.