MANASQUAN, NJ, February 28, 2005 – For the past year, health insurers have been developing and launching health savings accounts, their newest product offering. To evaluate this trend, Health Savings Accounts 2005: Market Adoption, Acceptance, Growth and Regulatory Refinements, a new senior-level audio conference has been scheduled Thursday, March 10 at 1:30 p.m. Eastern time.
Developed as part of the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement and Modernization Act of 2003, health savings accounts (HSAs) are designed to help individuals save for future qualified medical and retiree health expenses on a tax-free basis.
HSAs have been described as a "break-through new idea" to help address the underlying problem of the affordability of healthcare costs. However, HSAs still have issues and questions that need to be addressed. It is clear that consumers want and need more information, especially regarding the regulatory aspects of HSAs, according to industry professionals.
Speaker panelists for Health Savings Accounts 2005: Market Adoption, Acceptance, Growth and Regulatory Refinements, will answer these questions about HSAs during the 90-minute tele-conference. Karin Landry, Managing Partner, Spring Consulting Group, LLC, and Roy Ramthun, Senior Advisor to the Secretary for Health Initiatives, U.S. Department of the Treasury, will cover topics including:
- Why the push to HDHPs and HSAs.
- Overview of HSAs.
- How will the landscape change.
- HSA contribution rules.
- HSA distributions.
- Who is concerned with HDHPs and HSAs - and why.
- Who are the winners and losers - and why.
- How do we mitigate these concerns and create winners.
- Plan design.
- Education.
- HSA specifics.
- What will the future hold for HDHPs and HSAs.
The program also includes about 30 minutes for a live question-and-answer session following panel presentations.
Insurers will need to change with the times and be able to provide the high-deductible health plans and HSAs defined within the new legislation," said Landry, who has more than 17 years of experience in the insurance, healthcare, risk financing and benefits industries.
Despite recent publicity about HSAs, most U.S. workers have neither heard of HSAs nor understand how they work, according to a new survey by Watson Wyatt Worldwide. HSAs connect with consumer-driven health plans to offer an important alternative to employers seeking to hold the line on costs and engage the consumer in healthcare decision-making.
"These new accounts are the essence of consumer-driven healthcare," said one industry leader.
How To Register
To register for Health Savings Accounts 2005: Market Adoption, Acceptance, Growth and Regulatory Refinements, visit www.healthresourcesonline.com/edu/hsa2005.htm, call (800) 516-4343 or e-mail orders@healthresourcesonline.com.
Cost of the conference is $227 per site for those who register on or before March 4 and $277 after the early bird deadline. A CD-ROM will also be available for purchase for those unable to attend the live conference. For further details and other pricing options, visit www.healthresourcesonline.com/edu/hsa2005.htm.
Address: The Managed Care Information Center, 1913 Atlantic Ave., Suite F4, Manasquan, NJ 08736; (732) 292-1100, www.themcic.com.
