HealthEquity makes integrated HSAs easy

March 15, 2019

There are many advantages to health savings accounts (HSAs). Consumers love them because HSAs help them save money for health care, manage their expenses throughout the year and lower their income tax exposure. Employers love that HSAs help employees better manage their health care needs, because healthier employees translate to a healthier workforce and higher performance.

HSAs also help drive employee engagement, increase cost-effective utilization of health plan benefits, and improve health plan retention. So, it's no surprise that the number of groups offering HSAs has increased each of the past four years across all group sizes and lines of business.

Fortunately, integrating HSAs with our partner, HealthEquity®, simplifies the enrollment process and makes account set-up easy for your clients and their employees. Our partnership with HealthEquity, an experienced provider of health savings accounts, offers integrated claims and eligibility, automated account set-up and a dedicated employer support team that guides groups through the entire implementation process. And best of all, this integration alleviates a tremendous burden on group administrators who often become caught up in meeting employees' account needs.

HealthEquity's powerful technology and expert implementation team make implementing new HSAs easy for employers. Here's a brief overview of the streamlined, three-phase process:

1. Preparation
   Once the group selects an HSA-powered health plan—at least 45 days prior to effective date—group set-up and employee enrollment begin. The set-up timeline includes formulating communications to employees about the HSA to increase participation. Between 40 and 10 days prior to effective date, Asuris handles complete group set-up. Employees interested in participating complete the health plan enrollment process and agree to eligibility qualifications.
2. Integration
   Between 35 and 25 days prior to effective date, Asuris sends group set-up and enrollment data to HealthEquity; 15 days prior to effective date, HealthEquity loads the group set-up information into its secure platform and creates a secure employer interface for managing employee eligibility, account funding and reporting.
3. Go live
   Fifteen days prior to effective date, employees must pass the Customer Identification Process (CIP) as required by law. HealthEquity manages CIP in one business day; employees not passing CIP are notified by mail or email. Once CIP is complete, HealthEquity creates individual accounts with no wet signatures required.
   Within one to three days after the eligibility file is loaded, the employer receives an emailed welcome notice with complete instructions for accessing the employer portal and making contributions. At this point, the employer can log in to their HealthEquity web portal and begin managing their HSA program.
   Next, between 12 and 15 days after the eligibility file is loaded, employees receive welcome materials, including their new HealthEquity Visa® debit card, instructions, contact information and tips for maximizing their health savings with an HSA. Upon logging in to their account, employees will instantly appreciate how easy and intuitive it is to navigate the account dashboard.
   

Retention is the main benefit of integrated HSAs for producers. HealthEquity offers comprehensive educational materials that enable groups to maximize employee participation and engagement. And research shows that groups that go the extra step with employer-funded HSA contributions will grow their program and enroll more and more employees year after year.

Find lots more useful information in our HSA Implementation Guide.

Questions? Contact your Asuris sales representative today.

Asuris receives an administrative fee for each HealthEquity integrated HSA. The fee allows for a high level of support and integration between Asuris' health plans and HealthEquity health savings accounts.