HSA News for April 28, 2025
HSA news is compiled weekly by Mr. HSA, Roy Ramthun.
News from Washington
IRS Further Postpones Various Tax Deadlines to September 25 for North Carolina Storm Victims
Due to the lingering effects of Hurricane Helene, the IRS further postponed a wide range of tax deadlines from May 1 to September 25 for taxpayers throughout North Carolina. This means that individuals and households that reside or have a business anywhere in North Carolina qualify for tax relief.
Supreme Court Grapples With Challenge to Obamacare Preventive Care Panel
The Supreme Court seemed open to upholding the constitutionality of an Obamacare requirement that insurance companies cover certain preventive care recommended by an expert panel. Conservative Justices Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett both seemed inclined to support the position of the government and uphold the requirement, though their questions left room for uncertainty and interpretation.
Senate HELP Committee Chair Proposes Workplace Benefits for Independent Workers
Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, issued a white paper that outlines proposals to provide workplace benefits to independent workers. Cassidy's proposals include expanding access to and the use of retirement accounts for independent workers via pooled employment plans and single employee pension individual retirement accounts.
HSA Studies & Analysis
Expand HSAs? Rothify HSAs? Swap in a New Account, the USA? What Does It All Mean?
Three distinct proposals related to tax-advantaged healthcare accounts have surfaced early in the 119th Congress as lawmakers, industry representatives, and special interests scramble to enact their priorities. HSAs will survive, but if some organizations have their way, the tax advantages will be trimmed. Let's look at three competing proposals and how HSAs may fare in this turbulent tax-reform period.
Compliance Corner
You Cannot Reimburse Your Partner's Expenses Tax-Free. But Try This Hack.
You cannot reimburse your domestic partner’s qualified expenses tax-free from your Health Savings Account unless she’s your tax dependent (which is rare, and typically due to disability), even if she is enrolled in your medical plan. However, there may still be a way to reimburse her expenses tax-free.
Market Trends
Billions of Pre-Tax Healthcare Funds Go to Waste Each Year. Retailers Want to Cash In.
According to one report, roughly half of FSA account holders forfeited funds to their employer in 2022, with the average forfeiture being $441. As money goes unused, retailers are starting to pay more attention to how to raise these shoppers’ awareness.
But getting consumers to spend this money is harder than it seems.
New Technologies Help Advisers Elevate Financial Wellness Offerings
Fintech is raising the bar on financial wellness in the workplace with digital platforms that merge personal finance tools with employer-provided benefits. A more holistic approach enables employees to learn budgeting, consolidate their debt and plan for the future, combating mounting financial stress while improving benefits engagement, boosting productivity and burnishing retirement readiness.
HSAs & Retirement
Suze Orman Says Many Americans Underestimate This Critical Cost in Retirement — 5 Ways to Prepare Before It's Too Late
Financial expert Suze Orman has warned that many Americans underestimate health care costs in retirement -- more specifically, the costs associated with Medicare. Enjoying retirement stress-free may be a matter of understanding and mitigating this critical expense as soon as possible.
The Last Mile of the HSA: How Employers Can Help Employees Make Informed Decisions as They Approach Retirement
As employees enter the final years of their career, it’s not uncommon for them to approach retirement with some amount of trepidation. One of the biggest unknowns that can make or break a retirement plan is health care - and the costs associated with it. Careful planning is critical to ensure that employees live out their retirement years in comfort.
Americans Face Additional $100k Cost to Offset Social Security Insolvency
A new analysis by PensionBee finds that Americans could need an additional $100,000 to make up the expected 17% cut to their Social Security benefits in 2035, unless Congress were to take action between now and then. While the average retiree today makes $1,980 monthly, a 17% cut converts to a loss of $336 per month, or $4,039 per year.
Consumer-Driven Health Care
Pharmacists Want Employers to Pay Them for Providing Flu Shots and Screening Tests
Pharmacists want employers' health plans to pay for the patient care services pharmacists provide the same way the plans pay physicians, according to the American Pharmacists Association. The APhA noted that some commercial health plans in states like Arkansas and Michigan already let pharmacists use specific billing codes to seek reimbursement for providing services such as flu vaccinations, COVID tests and strep throat tests.