Obstacles Thwart Many Americans' Use of Tax-Advantaged Spending and Savings Accounts; WageWorks' Survey Finds Lack of Guidance Prevents Acceptance Despite Spiraling Healthcare Costs.SAN MATEO San Mateo (săn mətā`ō), city (1990 pop. 85,486), San Mateo co., W Calif., on San Francisco Bay; inc. 1894. It is a commercial and retail center with some high-technology manufacturing. San Mateo, Spanish for St. , Calif. -- Please replace the release dated May 31, 2006 with the following corrected version due to multiple revisions to the "About WageWorks" boiler plate plate or rolled iron of about a quarter to a half inch in thickness, used for making boilers and tanks, for covering ships, etc. See also: Boiler . The corrected release reads: OBSTACLES THWART MANY AMERICANS' USE OF TAX-ADVANTAGED SPENDING AND SAVINGS ACCOUNTS; WAGEWORKS' SURVEY FINDS LACK OF GUIDANCE PREVENTS ACCEPTANCE DESPITE SPIRALING HEALTHCARE COSTS Consumer adoption of Health Savings Accounts ("HSAs") and other tax-advantaged healthcare accounts intended to help consumers save remains low according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. a new survey sponsored by WageWorks. The survey also finds that most Americans find it harder to budget for health care than other types of expenses. These findings challenge current thinking among policy makers and some employers that simply offering HSAs will solve the healthcare crisis. Consumers Seeking Relevant and Independent Information Conducted on behalf of WageWorks(R), the leading provider of consumer-driven tax-advantaged health care spending and savings accounts, the national survey of adult Americans found that a majority (61 percent) have more difficulty budgeting and planning for health care expenses than for other types of expenses, such as retirement. By the same percentage, survey participants indicated the need for better, clearer information specific to their situation. Another 27 percent of respondents wanted hands-on-help from experts or tools for ongoing management of healthcare expenses. "For retirement planning Retirement financial planning refers to a collection of systems, methods, and processes which, in their aggregate, support a family unit's (client's) desire to achieve a state of financial independence, such that the need to be gainfully employed is optional. , consumers have access to clear, relevant, independent information. That hasn't happened yet in health care," said Jon Kessler, Chairman of WageWorks. "Despite the many tools and initiatives rolled out by health plans, most Americans still feel unprepared to manage their own health care costs and don't necessarily trust health insurance companies to guide them." Consumer Acceptance of HSAs Remains Low The survey found that more than half of Americans (57 percent) are likely to set aside their own money for out-of-pocket healthcare expenses. However, only 1 in 5 will use a tax-advantaged spending or savings account such as an HSA HSA Health Savings Account (US) HSA Human Serum Albumin HSA Human Services Agency (Nevada) HSA Health Services Agency HSA Health and Safety Authority (Ireland) or Flexible Spending Account flexible spending account, n an employee reimbursement account primarily funded with employee-designated salary reductions. Funds are reimbursed to the employee for health care (medical and/or dental), dependent care, and/or legal expenses and are ("FSA FSA Financial Services Authority FSA Food Standards Agency (UK) FSA Farm Service Agency (USDA) FSA Financial Services Agency (Japan) "). These accounts allow consumers to save up to 40 percent on medical costs, and in the case of HSAs, invest unused funds tax-free. Even among those who have enrolled in high deductible health plans A High Deductible Health Plan (HDHP) is a health insurance plan with lower premiums and higher deductibles than a traditional health plan. It is sometimes referred to as a catastrophic health insurance plan. , most aren't opening HSAs. At the beginning of this year, there were 3.2 million high deductible plan members(1), according to Americas Health Insurance Plans, a trade organization. This figure is widely quoted by promoters of HSAs. However, only about 820,000 (26 percent) have opened an HSA(2) according to the most recent data from Inside Consumer Directed Care. "If you're not in a 401(k) or IRA Ira, in the Bible Ira (ī`rə), in the Bible. 1 Chief officer of David. 2, 3 Two of David's guard. IRA, abbreviation IRA. you're probably not planning effectively for retirement. The same is true in healthcare," said Kessler. "One way to increase acceptance is to encourage individuals to seek out the planning resources that are available." WageWorks' Web site, www.wageworks.com, has account qualification tests to determine which account fits individual needs, calculators to estimate savings, and other planning and educational tools. A Barometer of Healthcare Consumerism Employee participation in FSAs and HSAs is particularly critical for employers who are hoping consumerism will soften healthcare's impact on the bottom line. "Employers who focus on getting workers into tax-advantaged healthcare accounts are seeing better results from these accounts and from their overall cost containment cost containment, n the features of a dental benefits program or of the administration of the program designed to reduce or eliminate certain charges to the plan. strategy," according to Kessler. WageWorks has more than 2,000 clients who provide one or more of these accounts, including more than 100 of Fortune magazine's Fortune 500. The number of employers who offer these accounts has grown steadily in recent years. "With all of the excitement about these accounts, it's easy to forget that consumer uptake is the ultimate barometer," said Kessler. "For example, politicians and industry advocates routinely cite the growth in 'HSA-compatible' health plans, but rarely talk about the fact that most participants haven't even opened an HSA." "Making consumers more financially accountable for their healthcare decisions is clearly a promising model for rationalizing healthcare costs, but it must come with a strategy and clear metrics for consumer acceptance of this new accountability," Kessler continued. He recommends that employers establish annual quantitative goals for growth in the number of employees enrolled in HSAs and FSAs and the total volume of dollars contributed, as well as specific steps taken to meet those goals. "There are many ways to boost employee interest, from new technologies such as debit cards to old fashioned n. 1. A cocktail consisting of whiskey, bitters, and sugar, garnished with with fruit slices and often a cherry. Noun 1. old fashioned - a cocktail made of whiskey and bitters and sugar with fruit slices great customer service. If it can be measured, it can be managed and improved," Kessler concluded. About StrategyOne On behalf of WageWorks, StrategyOne conducted a nationwide telephone omnibus study of 1,044 Americans 18 years of age and older regarding their perceptions and experiences with health care expenses. The interviews were conducted via telephone from April 13-18, 2006 utilizing the global field services of Opinion Research Corporation (ORC). A Computer Assisted Telephone Interviewing Computer Assisted Telephone Interviewing (CATI) is a telephone surveying technique in which the interviewer follows a script provided by a software application. The software is able to customize the flow of the questionnaire based on the answers provided, as well as (CATI CATI Computer-Assisted Telephone Interviewing CATI California Agricultural Technology Institute CATI Center for Advanced Technology & Innovation CATI Carolina Association of Translators & Interpreters ) facility and Random Digit Dialing Random digit dialing (RDD) is a method for selecting people for involvement in telephone statistical surveys by generating telephone numbers at random. Random digit dialing has the advantage that it includes unlisted numbers that would be missed if the numbers were selected from a (RDD RDD Random Digit Dialing RDD RDF (Resource Description Framework) Declarative Description RDD Radiological Dispersal Device RDD Rights Data Dictionary RDD Radiological Dispersion Device RDD Respiratory Drug Delivery ) technology were used. The data were analyzed by StrategyOne. The margin of error for the total unweighted sample of 1,044 is +/-3.1% at the 95% level of confidence. About WageWorks WageWorks provides America's largest corporations with consumer-driven tax advantaged spending programs. Core competencies include flexible spending accounts, health savings accounts, health reimbursement arrangements, COBRA, and commuter program administration. WageWorks utilizes an integrated open platform technology focused on service enablement. On demand account information, the flexibility to work with any combination of health insurance carrier or financial institution, and convenient payment options including stored value and online bill pay ensures a market leadership position. WageWorks health care debit cards are built into the administrative platform and provides complete integration of all account activity and high auto-substantiation rates eliminating the need for employees to submit receipts for the majority of tax advantaged transactions, making the program easy to use for employers and employees alike. (1)BenefitNews.Com. 09 May 2006. Employee Benefit News. 30 May 2006 http://www.benefitnews.com/detail.cfm?id=8770. (2)"AHIP AHIP America’s Health Insurance Plans AHIP Army Helicopter Improvement Program AHIP Academy of Health Information Professionals AHIP Association of Hearing Instrument Practitioners (Ontario, Canada) AHIP ARPANET Host-IMP Protocol Center for Policy and Research." www.ahipresearch.org. 01 Jan. 2006. America's Health Insurance Plans. 30 May 2006 http://www.ahipresearch.org/pdfs/HSAHDHPReportJanuary2006.pdf. |
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