Webinar

For a thorough explanation of our Health Saver plans, download this PowerPoint presentation by Dave Meldrum-Green, Reliant's Director of Organizational Affairs & Treasurer. The PowerPoint was prepared back in 2016.

What are Health Saver (HS) plans?

Health Saver plans are High-Deductible Health Plans (HDHP) that allow participants to utilize Health Savings Accounts to save and pay for their current and future medical expenses. There are some aspects of HS plans that are different from traditional Preferred Provider Plans (PPOs). HS plans are designed to be paired with a personal Health Savings Account (HSA) bank account, allowing the employee to save funds each month for medical expenses. The Health Saver plans do not have co-pays for doctor visits or co-pays and discounts for prescriptions drugs. Participants pay 100 percent of medical and prescription drug claims until they've reached the plan's deductible. (For some HS plans, the plan pays at the co-insurance level until an annual Out-of-Pocket Maximum is reached.)  

HSA-compatible plans typically cost 20 percent less than a low-deductible PPO plan. Many of the ministries we connect with, such as Pioneers and Wycliffe are utilizing HSA Plans for their missionaries.

HSA plans will also have an Employer HSA Contribution in addition to the plan premium. 

• See Employer HSA Contributions

What is unique about Health Saver plans?

Please be aware, the deductible is "aggregate"; this means the whole deductible applies to the whole family. So couples and families have to meet the entire combined deductible before they receive any coverage of insurance. This applies to both medical visits and prescriptions. If an employee has coverage with one or more dependents, the employee AND his or her dependents must meet the plan's FULL family deductible before any claims will be paid for anyone in the family, and then the family maximum out-of-pocket applies. 

Also, keep in mind if an employee has individual-only coverage, he or she must meet the individual deductible before any claims will be paid by Guidestone, and then an individual maximum out-of-pocket may apply before claims will be paid at 100% (depending on the HS plan). 

What are some advantages of having a Health Savings Accounts?

Triple Tax Savings:

• • Contributions made to the HSA debit account are tax-free
  • Earnings grow within the account tax-free
  • Funds you use to pay for qualified health expenses are not taxed

Reliant will contribute to your HSA each month if you elect annually (through Open Enrollment or via a Cafeteria Plan form) to make regular employee (payroll deduction) contributions into the HSA account. There is also a monthly employer HSA contribution that comes partially from the MTD account and is partially subsidized by Reliant.  

You can take your personal HSA spending account with you if you leave employment with Reliant (you own it!).

You can invest your money in mutual funds for more tax-free earnings (with a $500 minimum account balance).

You can use your HSA debit card to pay for health expenses directly out of your HSA spending account.

What are the Annual Contribution Limits for a Health Saver Account?

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Overview

Contributing to an HSA

Once you have enrolled in a Guidestone Health Saver plan, you will be able to set up an HSA through the Highmark website. Once you send confirmation to benefits@reliant.org that your HSA has been opened, Reliant will make the monthly contributions for you automatically.   There are two portions of the contributions that Reliant helps direct to your HSA each month: 

1. Employer Contribution - ER
   • This contribution comes from non-MTD Reliant funds. Reliant leadership sets the Employer contribution rate each year, and it is the same for all field workers based on their coverage level. Current contribution rates can be found in the table below. 
   • This contribution is not deducted from your paycheck.
   • This contribution does count towards the Annual Contribution Limits for your HSA. 
2. Employee Contribution - EE
   • This contribution is deducted from your paycheck each month. 
   • You determine how much you will save. Please reference Annual Contribution Limits when calculating your desired contribution.

   • Reliant will then deposit the employee contributions from your paychecks along with the Reliant employer contribution in to your HSA. 

   • This contribution is part of the Cafeteria Plan offerings from Reliant. It must be selected each year at Open Enrollment time.  You do have the ability to change, add, or drop a HSA election by filling out an updated cafeteria plan form.

   • Beginning in 2020, Reliant is offering a taxable ministry expense bonus that can be used to increase personal HSA contributions. You will need to accept the ME bonus on your support goal and then sign up in Open Enrollment for a HSA contribution as part of the cafeteria plan. This is depicted in the yellow column. 

Medicare Enrollment and HSA Restrictions

Upon reaching Age 65, if you decide to delay enrolling in Medicare, you must email us benefits@reliant.org with your expected enrollment date at least 6 months prior to enrolling in Medicare so that we can cease your HSA contributions.  This is because when you enroll in Medicare Part A, you receive up to six months of retroactive coverage, not going back farther than your initial month of eligibility. If you do not stop HSA contributions at least six months before Medicare enrollment, you may incur a tax penalty. For more information and details see Medicare FAQs

Contribution Amounts

FAQ:

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Frequently Asked Questions

What Reliant staff are saying about the HS plans

Resources

• Presentation by Dave Meldrum-Green (PDF)
  
• Employer HSA Contributions
• Medical Insurance Enrollment Form (PDF)
  
• Cafeteria Plan Enrollment Form - 2019
  
• Medical Insurance Coverage and Rates
  
• Sample Health Saver 3000 Plan Activity Statement (PDF)
  
• HSA Health Care Expenses Table (PDF)
  
• Health Savings Account (HSA) Welcome Kit.pdf
• Highmark website
  
• Highmark HSA website
  
• GuideStone HSA FAQs

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