PLANSPONSOR - May/June 2024 - 17

along savings to employees in the form of
lower costs for joining the health plan.
" It tends to allow employees to
have more control over their paycheck, "
Spangher said. " They'll have more cash on
hand so they can spend it, save it, [or] they
can put it into a health savings account. "
Kelly Conlin, managing director and
chief actuary, U.S. health financial and
actuarial consulting at Gallagher, shared
that, in a recent Gallagher survey of over
4,000 employers, 53% offered an HDHP
last year. Yet, the data revealed a major
gap between the number of large and of
small employers, respectively, that had
the benefit. Conlin said this is expected,
as larger companies typically have the
resources to provide several health plan
options to employees.
Spangher said it is important that
their employee
employers
understand
population. If an employer decides to fully
replace its current health plan with an
HDHP, that could put participants under
financial stress, as high-deductible exposure
could be a shock to some workers-
especially those who are lower paid. With
potential high costs, Spangher said,
changing to offering only an HDHP can
also lead to employees delaying or avoiding
medical care, which could make expenses
higher down the line.
The positives when participants
adopt an HSA, Spangher said, are tripletax
advantages: Money goes into their
account on a tax-free basis, grows tax-free
and can be withdrawn tax-free for healthcare
purposes. The HSA is also 100%
employee-owned and portable; it can be
taken with the employee from job to job.
Additionally, funds in the HSA roll
over each year, unlike in a flexible spending
account where the money must be used by
year-end. -Remy Samuels
Investing for the Future
Health savings account experts urged
employers to select HSA providers carefully,
due to the varied fee structures and
available investment options.
Jason Chepenik, a senior vice
" ... permitting employees to use their
own provider might deter many from
opening an HSA because of the added
complication. "
president at OneDigital Retirement and
Wealth, explained that investment menu
options in HSAs can be rigid, because they
are determined by the vendors providing
the accounts. " You don't choose the investments,
you pick your provider, " he said.
John M. Ludwig, a financial adviser
with LHD Retirement, cautioned that,
while letting participants select their own
HSA provider could allow them to pick
personally suitable investments,
it would
dramatically reduce the operational efficiency
for the employer, which would have
to coordinate with multiple HSA providers.
Chepenik
added
that
permitting
employees to use their own provider might
deter many from opening an HSA because
of the added complication. " Only the most
sophisticated will use it, " because they will
know how to chase lower fees and broader
investment options, he said.
Regarding fees, both Chepenik and
Ludwig agreed that HSA administrative
HSA Conference Speakers*
Jason Chepenik,
senior vice president,
OneDigital Retirement
and Wealth
Kelly Conlin, managing
director and chief actuary,
U.S. health financial
and actuarial consulting,
Gallagher
Michael C. Eldredge,
HSA investment product
manager, Inspira
Financial
John M. Ludwig,
financial adviser,
LHD Retirement
Greg Puig, partner
and head of group
insurance, Sentinel
Group
Leonard Spangher,
vice president and senior
consultant, Segal
Jake Spiegel,
research associate,
Employee Benefit
Research Institute
Thank you, Bank of America and
Inspira Financial, for supporting
the event.
*These are just a few of the experts who spoke at the HSA Conference.
PLANSPONSOR.COM May - June 2024 17
fees are " competitive " and, as with retirement
plans, decrease proportionally as
total savings increases. Therefore, many
HSA programs state an account minimum
before cash may be invested; however,
both experts said, there is no " clawback "
mechanism if the balance goes below
that minimum, from qualified health
payments or a decline in investment value.
Obstacles to HSA participation
are " analysis paralysis " and portability,
according to panelists. Ludwig said, when
an employee leaves a company, many leave
their money in an old HSA or liquidate
the assets because their new employer is
unable to port it into its system.
Employers, Chepenik added, " have
a responsibility to help employees make
good decisions " and to
" take accountability
for the things you put in front of
your employees, " so they understand how
an HSA works and what its benefits are.
-Paul Mulholland
http://www.PLANSPONSOR.COM
PLANSPONSOR - May/June 2024

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of PLANSPONSOR - May/June 2024
