Inovius, Inc., a pioneer in the development of interactive healthcare proposal and comparison systems, has introduced a web-based "Do the HSA Math" Toolkit for banks and other Health Savings Account administrators. "The Inovius Toolkit is phenomenal", says Bill West, founder and CEO of First HSA one of the country's leading HSA administrators. The joy of these great interactive tools is that employers and employees can, in a few clicks, easily 'do the math' in comparing an HSA-compatible plan with other plans."
Redding, CA (PRWEB) September 24, 2007 -- Inovius, Inc. (http://www.inovius.com), a pioneer in the development of interactive healthcare proposal building and comparison systems, has introduced a web-based "Do the HSA Math" Toolkit for brokers, banks and other Health Savings Account administrators. The Toolkit includes interactive "Build and Compare an HSA Plan" and "Employee Out-of-Pocket Comparison" Dashboards, Future Savings and Costs Calculators, and an HSA Learning Center with video tutorials and resource information.
"The Inovius Toolkit is phenomenal", says Bill West, founder and CEO of First HSA, one of the country's leading HSA administrators. "The biggest challenge we see in the HSA market is helping people objectively evaluate and compare their health plan options. The joy of these great interactive tools is that employers and employees can, in a few clicks, easily 'do the math' in comparing an HSA-compatible plan with other plans."
Projected HSA Enrollment Rates Increase by Over 600%
According to West, "Some of our large employer clients who were projecting only 7% HSA enrollment rates have increased their projected acceptance rates to 50% as a result of using the Inovius decision tools. The easy-to-use dashboards powerfully demonstrate that under these employers' plan designs, there is literally no scenario where the employee is not better off under the HSA plan. Our clients are thrilled."
"We created these tools for our own HSA business as a result of seeing too many employers walk away from hundreds of thousands of dollars in potential premium savings because they were afraid the high-deductible plan would increase the out-of-pocket risk for their employees," says Jim Phillips, founder and president of Inovius and its HSA administrator affiliate, Veritas Health Systems.
"Once we were able to demonstrate that they could use some of their premium savings to fund employee HSAs while still realizing double digit savings and leave their employees even better off under an HSA plan, it became much easier to sell the concept. Visually illustrating 'the HSA Math' demystifies the decision-making process for both employer and employees."
Employer Funding of Employee HSAs is Key
"It's not enough to just add an HSA plan," Phillips points out. "Some level of employer funding of the employee HSA is critical. This issue often gets overlooked in HSA plan design and sales, but it's the single most important factor in determining employee enrollment."
Phillips, a former high-level producer himself, knows what it takes to be successful in selling HSA product: "The proposal dashboards let the salesperson sit down with an employer and easily and interactively construct an HSA plan scenario based on the company's particular parameters and objectives. The employer gets a powerful visual of their potential savings - and can quickly calculate what portion of those savings they should consider using to fund employee HSAs in order to provide an equivalent or better out-of-pocket result.
"Once the employer has introduced an HSA plan, our out-of-pocket dashboards allow employees to interactively compare their plan options based on their own projected healthcare scenario - 'typical', 'catastrophic', 'custom', etc.
"This tends to eliminate the fear issue," Phillips says. "There's been this idea put out in the media that HSA plans are 'riskier' than traditional plans. With a well-designed, employer-funded HSA, that just isn't the case. The employee will usually always get a better out-of-pocket result with the HSA plan - plus significant potential upside in the form of unused HSA balances."
Banks Have the Most to Gain
"Since HSA funding is ultimately a financial transaction, these dashboards work great for bank account execs as a business development tool," Phillips adds. "Even if the relationship manager doesn't know much about insurance, the dashboard can help him or her easily illustrate the financial concept for business customers. The broker can then be brought in to add the insurance piece.
"The bank has the most to gain in driving the HSA funding conversation," Phillips points out. "They will end up with multiple new asset accounts funded by regular employer deposits - anchored by one stable customer relationship. That's a big win for any bank."
100% Employer-Funded HSAs
As another indication of how well these tools work, 100% of the HSA plans sold by Veritas Health Systems are employer funded, with asset balances well above national averages and acceptance rates of up to 80%.
The "Do the HSA Math Toolkit" can be private labeled for banks, administrators, brokers and employers.
About First HSA:
First HSA is nationally recognized as a leader in the industry, providing health savings account administration for its clients in all 50 states. The company provides the most comprehensive HSA solution for employers, associations, brokers, insurance companies and individuals. Each client has an interest bearing checking account with unlimited check and debit card access to funds. The product also includes monthly statements, internet access, 24-hour telephone banking, all IRS reporting, live customer service and investment options. First HSA provides its clients with consumer tools, including a prescription pricing tool, medical cost tool, "Do the HSA Math" Toolkit, and access to health information sites all on a single sign-on secure internet platform. First HSA has led the way in providing its customers the tools necessary to make wise healthcare decisions. More information on the company can be found by contacting Christie Gallegos, First HSA, 610-678-6000, or on the web at www.1hsa.com.
About Inovius, Inc.:
Inovius, based in Redding, CA, provides cutting edge business development and decision tools for the emerging consumer-directed healthcare space. This includes a range of products and services from fully integrated proposal systems for large carrier and agency clients; to the stand-alone "Do the HSA Math" Toolkit for banks, brokers and employers; to customized enrollment and benefit sites for corporate clients. The Inovius solutions allow the end-user to conduct interactive analysis under multiple healthcare and financial scenarios in just a few clicks. Inovius can also provide customized solutions for almost any decision-driven process.
For information on the "Do the HSA Math" Toolkit, please contact Linda Cavalli at 707-254-7343. For general information on Inovius, contact Grant Theobald at 877-313-7781 or visit their website at www.inovius.com.
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