Tax Credits & “Doubling Down” on CDH

AHCA

Congress has unveiled the high-level approach to the repeal of Obamacare, the American Health Care Act. The new health care bill faces some headwinds, and there’s no telling how it will ultimately end up. In fact, in a sign that the bill is already up for big change, President Trump tweeted Tuesday morning, “Our wonderful new healthcare bill is now out for review and negotiation.”

What We See From Here

Instead of working to just manage costs, why not work with all the key partners necessary to enhance the health of your members, employees, and their families?

Instead of premium assistance on the exchanges, individuals will get tax credits for the actual purchase of health insurance. Also, quite significantly, Congress is suggesting to double the allowed contributions to Healthcare Reimbursement Accounts (HRA’s). When combined with the 21st Century Cures Act of December 2016, which eliminated the barriers for small companies to offer HRA’s, this "doubling down" suggests a broad expansion of what has been referred to as Consumer Driven Health (CDH). HRA money in these accounts helps individuals and families “fill the gap” caused by deductibles.

High deductible plans make the gap worse for consumers, making them responsible for the “first dollar”—the initial spending on healthcare until the deductible is met. As individuals become more aware of how they are allocating their HRA funds, they should make better decisions on the cost of care. Of course, no one wants consumers to postpone preventive care, so the bill includes provisions to keep the “essentials” in place.  When combining things like deductibles and coinsurance along with advance features like integrated HRA's, SpyGlass, Beacon health claims processing solution for payers, shines.  The system combines CDH capabilities with auto-reimbursement of the copays and co-insurance that your plan and benefit structures require.  This helps "the medicine go down" while giving your covered members and employees all the benefit of their contributions and special account balances.  SpyGlass goes further to support things like Dependent Care allowance accounts, Transportation fund accounts, and more.  

Aim High

Instead of working to just manage costs, why not work with all the key plans, accounts and partners necessary to enhance the health of your members, employees, and their families? Let Beacon help you avoid costly and error-prone manual workarounds. The sensibility and automation of a robust claims and benefits management system can give you a leg up.

SpyGlass and HIPAA Director combine all the elements you need to intelligently serve the market, all in a fully cloud-based platform.