MAKING THE MOST of your health care dollars

Health Savings Accounts

Count on the name trusted for over 85 years

GOOD FOR EMPLOYEES and your business

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It’s a simple fact: Medical costs continue to rise. Offering employees a high- deductible health plan (HDHP) paired with a health savings account (HSA) is a smart choice for helping meet the challenges of those rising costs.

Employers and employees can use the savings on monthly premiums to make tax-deductible contributions to their HSAs. Those contributions may be invested and are allowed to grow tax-free over time. When the money is withdrawn and used for qualified medical expenses, no taxes will be owed.1

Combining an HDHP with an HSA offers many benefitsYou can choose to combine an HSA with any Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina (Blue Cross NC) HDHP. For 2020, an HDHP is a plan with a deductible of at least $1,400 for an individual, or $2,800 for a family.2

Benefits for employers

+ Plans with higher deductibles come with lower premiums. And selecting a plan option with a limited network or tiered benefits can result in even more savings.

+ Contributions made to employees’ HSAs offer tax advantages to your company. They’re treated like contributions you might make to a 401(k) plan.

+ Contributing to employees’ HSAs creates goodwill and shows them that you’re not simply shifting costs to them, but really are sharing in the costs.

+ The sharing of medical costs with employees drives them to search out the best value when they need care. When employees work to keep their costs low, it helps you keep your overall costs low.

Benefits for employees

+ Unused funds roll over from year to year and the account remains with the employee – even if they change employers or retire.

+ Contributions are tax-deductible, up to a legal limit.

+ Money used to pay for qualified medical expenses is tax-free income.

+ Savings grow tax-free and can be invested in mutual funds for future medical needs.

+ Using pre-tax HSA funds helps ease the increased cost sharing associated with HDHPs.

Learn moreContact your Blue Cross NC representative or your authorized Blue Cross NC agent for complete information on HSAs.

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EASY TO ADMINISTERand simple to use

Working with the HSA fund administrator HealthEquity®, Blue Cross NC has helped thousands of organizations implement HSAs. Our HSA solution is fully integrated and features simplified enrollment, reduced paperwork and hassle- free reimbursements. Plus, as an employer, you’ll find that we bring you the online tools and resources, as well as the dedicated service and support, to make managing your plan easy, efficient and effective.

Easy for employers

+ Manage contributions and funding, view information on participating employees, access reports and online resources with the dedicated employer portal.

+ Automatic enrollment of your participating HSA employees makes it easy to track any changes in status or coverage.

+ Get answers to your questions and help managing your HSA benefit from the HealthEquity Client Services Team.

Easy for employees

+ Employee accounts are set up automatically. That means no paperwork or employee activation required.

+ With the HealthEquity Member Portal or mobile app, your employees can manage account information, see balances in real-time, schedule payments, set up electronic funds transfers, pay and review claims and more.

+ Our U.S.-based member service specialists are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

+ Access to news, information and insights to stay healthy, find effective treatments, and get the best value from every health care dollar.

A powerful long-term savings tool for medical expensesAn HSA with Blue Cross NC is much more than a simple savings account. We make it easy to take advantage of investment options so members can maximize their tax-free earning potential and pay for qualified health care costs now and in the future.

+ Once an HSA balance meets a certain threshold, employees can invest in mutual funds. And as their balance grows, accounts earn greater interest.

+ Investing options are available for every member regardless of age, HSA balance or investment experience.

Did you know?The average American couple will need $285,0003 to cover out-of-pocket health care costs in retirement. An HSA can supplement an employee’s retirement goals and help bridge the Medicare gap.

Visit www.irs.gov for complete information on the tax implications of HSAs.

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BlueCrossNC.com

1 For complete information about qualified medical expenses, visit www.irs.gov2 2020 IRS Guidelines. https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/hr-topics/

benefits/pages/irs-2020-hsa-contribution-limits.aspx

3 Fidelity Benefits Consulting estimate. https://www.fidelity.com/viewpoints/personal-finance/plan-for-rising-health-care-costs (Accessed June 2019).

4 Brand Tracking and Image Study, March 2018. Maru Group.

5 Aon Hewitt Benchmark Survey, June 2014 (Released 2016); 98% of paid claims are in-network. http://www.aon.com/human-capital-consulting/ thought-leadership/health/2015-health-care-survey.jsp.

6 Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association (BCBSA): https://www.bcbs.com/learn/glossary#B (Accessed June 2019).

7 Offered by Mosaic Group, an independent, full-service insurance agency, and underwritten by USAble Life, Principal Life, The Hartford or Voya Financial. USAble Life, Principal Life, The Hartford and Voya Financial do not offer Blue Cross and/or Blue Shield products or services. Blue Cross NC, USAble Life, Principal Life, The Hartford and Voya Financial are not affiliated companies. Mosaic Group is an authorized agency of Blue Cross NC, USAble Life, Principal Life, The Hartford and Voya Financial.

8 Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina offers several decision support tools to aid you in making decisions around your health care experience. These tools are offered for your convenience and should be used only as reference tools. You should consult your own legal counsel, tax advisor or personal physician as applicable throughout your health care experience.

9 Blue Cross NC provides the Health Line Blue program for your convenience and is not liable in any way for the goods or services received. Blue Cross NC reserves the right to discontinue or change the program at any time without prior notice. Decisions regarding your care should be made with the advice of a doctor. Depending on your plan, selected programs may not be available to you at this time. Check with your benefits administrator or Blue Cross NC Customer Service to determine your eligibility. Blue Cross NC has contracted with a third-party vendor independent from Blue Cross NC to bring you Health Line Blue.

Learn moreContact your Blue Cross NC representative or your authorized Blue Cross NC agent for complete information on HSAs.

WHY Blue?We’re not only North Carolina’s most trusted and preferred health insurer.4 We’re a leader in delivering innovative products, services and tools designed to improve health and well-being, offering:

+ Access to the best network discounts in the industry5

+ Coverage across the country and around the world through the BlueCard® program6

+ Local support for both employers and employees+ Hands-on support and tools for easy plan transition+ Premium savings and a simplified experience when you add our dental, vision

benefits or other worksite products7

Support and programs for members + BlueConnectNC.com and Blue Connect MobileSM: Offer members tools to

manage their plan and make health care decisions+ Transparency Tool Suite: Finds doctors and urgent care centers; offers patient

reviews and cost estimates8

+ Telehealth and Health Line BlueSM: Provide 24/7 access to doctors via live video consultations and to nurses with our nurse line9

+ Blue365®: Offers savings on a wide range of health and wellness products and services10

+ Healthy Outcomes: Helps with health issues and total well-being through a suite of programs and services11

10 Blue365 is an exclusive discount program, administered by the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association (BCBSA), that enables Blue Cross NC to offer members access to savings on a wide array of health and wellness products and services, family care, financial services and healthy travel. Blue365 offers access to savings on items that members may purchase directly from independent vendors, which are different from items that are covered under the policies with Blue Cross NC. BCBSA may receive payments from Blue365 vendors. Neither Blue Cross NC nor BCBSA recommends, endorses, warrants or guarantees any specific Blue365 vendor or item. This program may be modified or discontinued at any time without prior notice.

11 Blue Cross NC offers these wellness programs to help you improve your health; results are not guaranteed. Blue Cross NC contracts with Optum, a separate third-party vendor, for certain parts of our wellness programs and is not liable for goods or services received from Optum. Blue Cross NC can change or stop its wellness programs at any time. The program’s goal is to help you make better decisions about your health and to help you comply with your doctor’s plan of care. Decisions about your care should be made with the advice of your doctor.

Blue Cross NC does not administer your HSA and is not affiliated with your HSA custodian or administrator. HealthEquity, Inc. is an independent company that is solely responsible for the HSA custodial services it is providing. HealthEquity does not offer Blue Cross or Blue Shield products or services.

BLUE CROSS®, BLUE SHIELD® and the Cross and Shield symbols, registered marks and service marks are marks of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, an association of independent Blue Cross and Blue Shield plans. All other marks are the property of their respective owners. Blue Cross NC is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. U9903, 7/19