support—increasing settlements while
saving costs.
Further Opportunity with FSAs/HSAs
Alongside the Affordable Care Act
healthcare insurance increase, the
numbers of Health Savings Accounts
and Flexible Spending Accounts are
rising—with employees able to deposit
tax-free funds into these accounts from
their gross income.
Additionally, consumers enrolled in
high-deductible health insurance
policies automatically qualify for an
HSA. FSAs can be used for healthcare
and childcare, but unlike HSAs, the
balance cannot roll over from year to
year.
When the National Business Group
on Health surveyed employers in June
last year about anticipated health costs
and restructuring of health plans, it
found that 81 percent of large
employers would offer at least one
consumer directed healthcare plan in
2015—an increase of nearly 10 percent
over the previous year. This leads to
more employees covered by high-deductible insurance alongside
increased adoption of HSAs.
The growing popularity of these
accounts has been spotted by some
healthcare receivables agencies.
According to Billing Tree’s third annual
Collection Agency Operations and
Technology Survey, respondents
indicated clear interest in accepting
HSA/FSA payments, though less than
half do so today.
More than a third ( 33. 9 percent) of
respondents indicated that their
agencies already accept HSA/FSA
payments, with more than a third ( 35. 1
percent) of respondents expressing
interest in doing so.
As a result, a greater percentage of
high-deductible debt may well filter
through into collections. To pay these
bills, patients turn to their HSAs or
FSAs—agencies without a savings
account payment option are limiting
their chances of collection.
By reacting quickly and positively to
new trends in the healthcare industry,
collection agencies can keep ahead of
competition and better serve their
clients. cm
Dave Yohe is Billing Tree’s head of
corporate marketing. Currently in his
fifth year with the company, Yohe holds
eight years experience in the financial
services, and 25 years of overall
experience in marketing. He joined
Billing Tree from 41st Parameter, part
of Experian.
