Alegeus Opens Marketplace for HSA and FSA Spending
The portal for eligible products and services will help employees make smarter purchase decisions and understand what can be paid for with health savings account and health care flexible spending account savings, the company says.
Alegeus, a consumer-directed health care (CDHC) solutions provider, has expanded its online employee portal to include a virtual marketplace that will curate a wide range of HSA (health savings account) and FSA (flexible spending account) eligible products and services for purchase using account funds.
This expansion will not only make it easier for employees to spend their account dollars on eligible items and maximize account usage, it will also empower them to make smarter purchase decisions by letting them name their price for services. Thanks to partnerships accessible only through the portal, Alegeus merchants will offer a wide array of qualified vision, dental and medical products and services—contact lenses, MRIs and more.
With this expansion, employees will have easy access to a marketplace of vendors that offer CDHC-eligible goods and services, and will be able to use their debit cards to purchase items electronically. Because all products offered through the portal are pre-determined to be HSA- and/or FSA-eligible, card transactions will be auto-substantiated, alleviating the hassle of having to submit receipts, and thereby creating efficiency for both Alegeus clients and employees.
Another goal of adding a retail experience to the Alegeus portal is to build employee fluency around the range of items that are HSA- and FSA-eligible. Benefit programs have tremendous potential to deliver real value to both employers and employees in the form of tax savings, greater control over health care dollars and increased benefit satisfaction; however, often these programs do not realize their full potential, Alegeus notes. It cites a report by the Aite Group that found 83% of eligible purchases today are being paid for out-of-pocket instead of using benefit account funds.
“At Alegeus, we constantly seek innovative ways for our clients to better empower health care consumers so that they can fully unlock the tremendous potential of CDHC benefits,” says Steven Auerbach, Alegeus CEO. “This enhancement of our consumer portal will not only simplify purchasing processes for both our clients and consumers, it will also enable consumers to make smarter purchasing decisions and become more engaged in their health care.”
The new marketplace will be available in the Alegeus portal by the end of the year.« 401(k) Contributions a Struggle for Many Lower Wage Workers