BASE^® Blog

Every employee has a different lifestyle, family, and health care needs.  Allowing employees to pick and choose benefits can help boost morale, show more productivity, and result in loyal, hard-working employees.

There are three employee spending accounts – LSA, FSA, and HSA – that all have different purposes for the employee.  But how do the long-standing FSA & HSA compare to the newer Lifestyle Spending Account benefit option?

The Lifestyle Spending Account (LSA) is the most versatile employee benefit employees can use to help pay for products and services to create a healthy lifestyle not covered by insurance.  The BASE® LSA is a post-tax, employer funded account that allows for employees to be reimbursed for expenses that relate to their lifestyle.   It is available to employers who want to promote healthy habits and the overall well-being of their employees.

LSAs are fully customizable, so employers can tailor how the employees use the LSA according to their needs and lifestyle and can also target for specific purposes, be it physical, emotional, or financial.

The Flexible Spending Account (FSA) is a health benefit that employees can use to help pay for health care expenses not covered by insurance.  The BASE® FSA is a pre-tax, pre-determined maximum by the IRS, employee-funded account that is set up by the employee to pay for expenses that relate to health care.  It is available to employers who want to help their employees pay for their eligible out-of-pocket health care expenses. 

FSAs are customized and can include benefit roll-over, grace period, or “use-it-or-lose-it,” but the FSA empowers employees to pay for the health care expenses incurred during the plan year.   

The Health Savings Account (HSA) is a health benefit that employees can use, paired with a High Deductible Health Plan (HDHP), to save and pay for health care expenses not covered by insurance. The BASE® HSA is a pre-tax, pre-determined maximum by the IRS, employee-funded account that is set up by the employee to save and pay for the expenses that relate to health care.  It is available to employers who want to help their employees save and pay for eligible health care expenses, but also create a retirement portfolio and investment opportunities for the future. 

HSAs are customized to roll over year-to-year with a triple tax advantage that empowers employees to make the most out of every saved health care dollar. 

In comparing these benefits, employees can only use the FSA and HSA for health care expenses, while the LSA covers a broad range of expenses to promote well-being. The LSA is also a post-tax employer-funded benefit, while the FSA and HSA are pre-tax employee-funded benefits.

To learn more about the BASE® LSA, FSA, and/or HSA, contact BASE® at 888.386.9680 or visit www.BASEonline.com.

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With health care costs on the rise every year, from prescription to over-the-counter medications, to copays, and to insurance premiums, there is no end in sight.  When health care expenses are costly, not only do the employees feel the impact financially, but so does the employer who offers health benefits. 

Employers are weighing the pros and cons of offering a traditional group health plan and having a hard time deciding on continuing to offer a group health plan or offering a health reimbursement arrangement.

The best news?  Employers do not have to choose!  And we know what employers might be thinking…”its going to be more expensive to offer BOTH options to our employees…” but it will actually save the employer AND employee!

The BASE® Integrated HRA allows employers with a group health plan in place to reduce the overall cost of health insurance premiums and assist employees with health care expenses not covered by health insurance. 

With the flexible design of the BASE® Integrated HRA, any employer can take advantage of its tax savings by coupling it with a group health plan, helping to suppress the yearly increases associated with traditional forms of health care.  The Integrated HRA helps to cut health care costs and has been proven to reduce health insurance premium increases by 10-50%. 

Employers can choose to raise the deductible on the current group health plan, reducing the overall cost of the insured plan, couple the plan with the BASE® Integrated HRA, and self-insure a portion of the deductible to keep the employee responsibility maintainable.  Funds are protected by only being paid to the employee when a qualifying expense has been adjudicated by BASE® with no prefunding necessary.  Employers now have better control over the cost of their overall group health plan they offer and if they choose to change group health plans, the Integrated HRA is portable and will work with any carrier, health insurance plan, or group benefit plan.                                              

Employees do not have to prefund this HRA and will receive reimbursements as non-reportable and non-taxable income.  Employees now have additional funds to pay for the health care expenses that are not covered by the insurance. 

For employers who want to continue offering a group health plan but see valuable savings each year, the Integrated HRA is more than just a product from BASE®, it’s an approach to affordable health care where employers don’t have to decide.  Contact BASE® at 888.386.9680 or visit www.BASEonline.com.

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