Health Beat: Employers, Workers Contributing Less To HSAs, Report Says

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EMPLOYERS, WORKERS CONTRIBUTING LESS TO HSAs, REPORT SAYS
Both employers and workers decreased their contributions to health savings accounts (HSAs) last year, according to new research from the nonpartisan Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI).

HSAs, an element of so-called “consumer-driven” health plans (CDHPs) — offer a combination of high deductibles (at least $1,250 in 2014) and tax-preferred savings or spending accounts that workers and their families can use to pay their out-of-pocket health care expenses. EBRI noted that about 15% of the population was enrolled in a CDHP in 2014, representing about 26 million individuals with private insurance. Among the 15% of individuals enrolled in a CDHP, 57% (or 9.3 million) had an HRA or had opened an HSA, while 43% were enrolled in an HSA-eligible health plan but had not opened an HSA.

The full report, “Employer and Worker Contributions to Health Reimbursement Arrangements and Health Savings Accounts, 2006–2014,” is published in the March 2015 EBRI Notes, online at www.ebri.org.

ONLINE TOOLS HELP STATES USE HEALTH IT TO IMPROVE QUALITY AND COSTS
The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, recently touted the availability of online tools and resources designed to help states participating in the State Innovation Models initiative improve health care quality and lower costs.

The State Innovation Models initiative supports states in planning or implementing a customized, fully developed proposal capable of creating statewide health transformation to improve health care, focusing on Medicare, Medicaid, and Children’s Health Insurance Program beneficiaries. This new initiative is part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services effort to achieve better care, smarter spending of health dollars, and healthier people.

With the support of $665 million in awards, over half of states (34 states and 3 territories, and the District of Columbia), representing nearly two-thirds of the population, including Arkansas, are participating in the initiative.

“These online resources are part of an overall effort to advance of goals of better care, smarter spending, and, ultimately, healthier people,” said Karen DeSalvo, M.D., M.P.H., M.Sc., national coordinator for health IT. “We are focused on supporting states and partners in developing innovative ways to pay for health care, providing tools and resources to support change, and making more information available to consumer and patients to enable them to make the right decisions – at the right time – to improve health and care.”

To learn more about this U.S. Department of Health and Human Services program, click here.

WALMART FOUNDATION AWARDS $690,000 GRANT TO MERCY’S BEHAVIORAL HEALTH SERVICES IN NWA
Mercy Clinic in Rogers, Ark., is putting to good use a $693,750 grant from the Walmart Foundation to hire 12 additional health providers to increase access to behavioral healthcare in Northwest Arkansas, hospital officials said recently.

The grant will go toward hiring 12 additional psychiatrists, nurse practitioners, social workers, therapists and psychological examiners, three of which have already been hired. The hiring of Dr. Nick Ogle as program director of Behavioral Health was the first step toward ramping up the program, officials said.

Dr. Ogle has been on the faculty of John Brown University for the last eight years and is also one of the founders of the Joshua Center, which provides affordable counseling services in both Fayetteville and Rogers.