New Service Will Streamline Electronic Substantiation for Pre-Tax Benefits
PURCHASE, N.Y.--(AllPayCards)--Aug. 9, 2006--MasterCard Worldwide today announced that it will introduce a new system enhancement and service designed to increase the use of Flexible Spending Accounts and other medical reimbursement plans by enabling third-party administrators to substantiate purchases in real time using item-level data collected at the point-of-sale. The service, which has a patent pending, is the first offering of its kind and provides a more streamlined solution for benefit administrators and merchants.

MIKE MIELE | PERSONAL FINANCE
Since World War II, the U.S. health care system has been built on the assumption that most employers will provide their workers with insurance. That solution is under extreme pressure as health costs and premiums have gone up at twice the rate of inflation.

Humberto Cruz, a columnist for Tribune Media Services

They won't magically solve the problem of rising health-care costs, and they won't work for everyone. But more Americans should become familiar with health savings accounts, or HSAs.

CHICAGO, June 27 /AllPayCards/ -- More employers are offering a consumer-driven health plan (CDHP)(1) to their employees in an effort to continue providing quality healthcare coverage, while controlling costs and introducing consumerism, according to Aon Consulting, the human capital consulting organization of Aon Corporation

A nationwide survey of 434 employers, conducted by Aon Consulting and the International Society of Certified Employee Benefit Specialists (ISCEBS), found that 28 percent currently offer a CDHP to their employees, which is up from 22 percent in 2005. In fact, this study shows that of those employers with a CDHP, 75 percent began offering the plan in 2005 or 2006, illustrating the relative newness of the concept and its growing appeal. Of the employers not offering a CDHP, 30 percent believe the concept is too new to offer now and will wait to learn from the experience of other employers before deciding to offer one.

"We expect more and more employers to offer a CDHP in the future," said Bill Sharon, senior vice president with Aon Consulting and co-author of the study. "Early CDHP results have been very positive. Employees like CDH plans, as we consistently see 90 percent satisfaction rates. Employers also like them because they are seeing a reduction in healthcare cost increases."

From the South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Humberto Cruz:
The Savings Game

They won't magically solve the problem of rising health-care costs, and they won't work for everyone. But more Americans should become familiar with health savings accounts, or HSAs for short.

Brief Analysis No. 559 by Devon M. Herrick

Consumer-driven health care (CDHC) is leading to new models for the delivery of medical services. Consumer-driven health plans generally include personal accounts — such as Health Reimbursement Arrangements or Health Savings Accounts — that allow patients to directly control some of their health care dollars. Because they have a financial stake in their own spending, patients have incentives to shop for the best price and to make tradeoffs between convenience and cost.

by Stuart M. Butler, Ph. D.
WebMemo #1128
Last month’s “Health Week” in the U.S. Senate, just like the national “Cover the Uninsured Week” also held in May, failed to result in any Senate legislation to deal with the problems of uninsured Americans. And in all probability, if any legislation is passed by the House next week during its “Health Week,” that legislation will be pushed through on a party-line vote and will fail to be enacted by the Senate. With the political gridlock on health care, neither side has the votes in Washington to enact significant reform.