Health Beat: Industry Study Looks At Health Savings Account Use

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INDUSTRY STUDY LOOKS AT HEALTH SAVINGS ACCOUNT USE
Investment options in health savings accounts (HSAs) are a fairly new and not widely used option, but they tend to draw larger contributions and have higher balances where they do exist, according to a new analysis by the nonpartisan Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI).

“HSAs often have an investment-account option that allows account owners to invest in not just a money market account, but in mutual funds and other investment vehicles much like they would in a 401(k) plan. Some HSA owners may use the investment-account option as a means to increase savings for retirement, while others may be using it for shorter-term investing,” said Paul Fronstin, director of EBRI’s Health Research and Education Program and author of the report.

In 2014, 6.4% of health savings account (HSA) owners in the EBRI HSA Database had used the investment option portion of the account. To view other major findings of the EBRI study on health savings accounts, click here.

ACA EFFECT ON FOR-PROFIT HOSPITAL RESULTS WANING, FITCH SAYS
The for-profit hospital industry is seeing the tailwind to operating results provided by the Affordable Care Act (ACA) dissipate, Fitch Ratings says. However, organic growth in patient volumes and pricing remained solid for the industry in 2Q15.

Going forward, some of the 20 states that have not yet expanded Medicaid eligibility may opt to do so, providing a catalyst for additional ACA-related benefits, Fitch said. Nearly eight million Americans have now acquired health insurance since the start of the ACA-related coverage expansion.

“The positive implications of the ACA-related insurance expansion gained momentum starting in the second half of 2014, and the effects on the hospital industry should be durable. However, due to a decreasing pace of coverage expansion, the magnitude of the tailwind to levels of uncompensated care and patient utilization of healthcare services is logically tapering,” a new report noted.

See Fitch’s special report “Hospitals’ Credit Diagnosis (Tapering ACA Benefit Belies Decent Operating Fundamentals),” available at www.fitchratings.com.

DHS EXTENDS MEDICAID INCOME VERIFICATION DEADLINE TO 30 DAYS
Arkansas will lengthen the amount of time Medicaid recipients have to respond to a request to verify incomes to 30 days as a result of a change in guidance from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the Arkansas Department of Human Services announced late last week. The state has been giving Medicaid recipients 10 days to respond to requests for income verification. Failure to do so starts a process that terminates recipients’ benefits. Read more here.

UAMS PHYSICIANS MAKE 2015 LIST OF ‘TOP CANCER DOCTORS’
Nine of the 10 cancer physicians from Arkansas named as “2015 Top Cancer Doctors” in the United States are from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) and its Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute.

The Top Cancer Doctors list was printed in the July 31-Aug. 7, 2015, issue of Newsweek in conjunction with Castle Connolly Medical Ltd., the producers of “America’s Top Doctors.” The list was compiled through peer nominations and research conducted during the course of two decades. To see the list of physicians making the list, click here.

EPA HANDS DOWN TWO NEW HAZARDOUS WATER RULES TARGETING HEALTHCARE INDUSTRY
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing two new hazardous waste rules that it says will strengthen environmental protection while reducing regulatory burdens on businesses, federal officials announced Monday (Aug. 31). One of the proposed rules will protect waterways, including drinking and surface water by preventing the flushing of hazardous waste pharmaceuticals and simplify the requirements for healthcare workers. The other rule will provide greater flexibility to industry while requiring new safeguards to protect the public from mismanagement of hazardous waste, federal regulators said.