Audio CD and written materials of AIS's audioconference on August 25, 2005

Avoiding Pitfalls in HSA Partnerships: Strategies for Health Plans and Administrators

Not all health plans that have established partnerships with health savings account (HSA) administrators are happy with the relationships. And some of their members already are complaining about high administrative fees associated with the accounts. Health plans, HSA administrators, brokers, agents and employer human resource executives all have a major stake in creating strong relationships between health plans and the HSA administrators. And with enrollment in HSA-based health plans expected to explode in early 2006, now is the time for health plans to design and implement new strategies that can strengthen existing partnerships or establish new ones.

Sponsored by Atlantic Information Services, Inc., publisher of Inside Consumer-Directed Care, Managed Care Week and Consumer-Directed Health Care Facts, Trends and Data.

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Shortly after the 2003 Medicare reform law gave birth to HSAs, health plans scrambled to get an HSA-compatible product to market, and formed partnerships with financial firms that could support the accounts. But many of those hastily formed alliances were not in the best interest of health plans or their clients. In addition, some administrators might not be able to support the anticipated volume of HSAs that will be opened in early 2006.

Get practical advice on how to get the most from existing administrator/health plan partnerships, how to form new ones that can be effective, and which services brokers, agents, employers and members want the most from their HSA administrators. (In some cases, it's not what the health plans want.)

First up, you'll hear from Kathy McCormick, senior vice president of business development at HSA Bank, the nation's largest HSA administrator with more than 116,000 HSAs and partnerships with dozens of health plans. Ms. McCormick details the steps that are critical to a successful partnership and explains what services HSA administrators should be able to offer to health plans, their employer clients and their members.

Next, Brad Arends, a principal at Alliance Benefit Group Financial Services, Inc., discloses some of the key mistakes health plans make when partnering with an HSA administrator. He also explains why it's critical that health plans and employers determine how high-deductible health plan (HDHP) enrollees will use the accounts. Employees who see the accounts as investment vehicles will be most interested in investment options and interest rates. Other enrollees will be most interested in accessing their accounts to pay for medical bills and prescriptions.

The presentation by our experts will arm you with strategies to develop rock-solid partnerships that help enrollees get the most from their HDHP and their HSA … along with plan-design pitfalls you should avoid.

Topics covered during the presentations include:

 

Speakers

Kathy McCormick is senior vice president of business development at HSA Bank — a division of Webster Financial Corp. — the nation's largest HSA administrator. Ms. McCormick works with new and existing business partners to negotiate contract terms, provide additional training support and coordinate relationship marketing initiatives. Prior to joining HSA Bank, she spent nearly 23 years at the management level of a national third-party administrator (TPA).

Brad Arends is the CEO of Alliance Benefit Group’s Minnesota division and a member of the company’s board of directors. He also is on the TPA Advisory Council for Fidelity Investments’ Institutional Brokerage Group, and the Advisory Council for Corbel, and is a member of the Employee Benefit Section of the Minnesota Bar. He has worked in the ERISA and investment areas for more than 20 years, concentrating on the design, communication and funding of defined contribution plans, IRC Section 125 flexible benefits plans and executive compensation programs. Mr. Arends was instrumental in assisting the Charles Schwab Company in development of its HSA custodial services.

Moderator: Steve Davis, managing editor of AIS's industry-leading biweekly newsletter, Inside Consumer-Directed Care.

 

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