亚洲色吧

HSA Day 2020 has come and gone, but the tips and insight shared won鈥檛 soon be forgotten. We invited Americans to say 鈥�鈥� on October 15, and they did just that. 

A health savings account (HSA) is made to benefit Americans at any stage of their life; it鈥檚 a conversation we kicked off last year on the inaugural Health Savings Account Awareness Day that continued in earnest this year. 

Joined once more by financial literacy guru Jean Chatzky and 亚洲色吧 Chairman and CEO Melissa Smith, we also welcomed three influencer partners and a panel of healthcare consumers to our all-virtual event. Here are seven of the most important moments from HSA Day 2020:

鈥淎 quarter of people are now contributing more to their HSAs due to COVID-19.鈥�

Jean shared this staggering stat and another 鈥� that 41 percent of people appreciate their benefits more now than they did before the pandemic 鈥� to help set the stage for why HSAs are more relevant and helpful today than ever before. 

鈥淭hings have changed, especially because of COVID.鈥�

During Jean鈥檚 Zoom panel with consumers, she spoke with 28-year-old Eddie Medellin, whom she interviewed on HSA Day last year. Eddie鈥檚 employer makes annual contributions to his HSA. Though Eddie has had an HSA for six years, he began using his benefits debit card differently this year 鈥� for the first time, purchasing qualified medical expenses online.

鈥淲e have not one, but two HSAs: one for now and one for later.鈥�

Titi Tran, age 46, has two HSAs. They鈥檝e had her now-retired husband鈥檚 account open for more than 15 years, and she opened hers when she went back to work two years ago, after her kids had grown. Today, they use her husband鈥檚 HSA to save and hers to pay for short-term expenses. Titi told Jean, 鈥淲e鈥檝e planned to use [my husband鈥檚 HSA] for our retirement. With my account, we have contributed a shorter amount of time, and so it doesn’t have as much money. We use it on a more day-to-day basis to cover medical expenses and prescriptions, eye exams, and dental expenses.鈥�

鈥淵ou can get explosive growth by investing your HSA dollars.鈥�

A large percentage of people who have an HSA don鈥檛 invest the money in their account, or even know that it鈥檚 possible. Panelist Scot Waterman, 54, is an exception. Since opening his account more than 10 years ago, he鈥檚 been maxing it out as a savings and investment account. 鈥淚鈥檝e found over the years that you can get explosive growth as long as you鈥檙e consistent [with investing your HSA], and you have a long-time horizon with that money,鈥� he said.

鈥淭he steps you鈥檙e taking now to survive this crisis will help you weather future crises.鈥�

Speaker, investor, former 鈥淏achelorette鈥� contestant and current Restart founder Jason Tartick joined the HSA Day broadcast to share how the accounts can help Americans during future health and economic crises: 鈥淲e鈥檝e already seen some signs of recovery and glimpses of hope for a future post-COVID,鈥� he said. 鈥淣ow the question is: What can we do in the meantime? The good news is the steps you鈥檙e taking now to survive this crisis will likely help you in the long run to be better able to weather future crises. You are already taking your future into your hands by wanting to learn more about healthcare benefits 鈥� specifically, HSAs 鈥� and how you can benefit further from them.鈥�

鈥淚 wish I knew then that understanding my benefits options could impact my health!鈥�

Lissette Calveiro, a digital strategist, content creator, business coach, and lifestyle influencer, is a new recruit to the world of HSAs. 鈥淚 was once guilty of logging onto my employer鈥檚 HR portal and making selections without too much thought or research,鈥� she said. 鈥淚鈥檝e learned this is not uncommon. More than three-quarters of employees 鈥� of all ages 鈥� spend less than an hour evaluating their healthcare options during open enrollment. But the facts are there: Understanding these terms and their meanings is beneficial to your health.鈥� Lissette also shared that 49 percent of employees who understand their benefits consider themselves physically, financially, and emotionally healthy. Only 15 percent of employees who don鈥檛 understand their benefits can say the same.

鈥淲e need to empower Americans to understand which benefits are most valuable for them.鈥�

亚洲色吧 CEO Melissa Smith closed the HSA Day broadcast with this message: 鈥淔inancial literacy is something I鈥檓 deeply passionate about, and the pandemic has brought it to the forefront like never before as Americans look for ways to improve their resilience during both health and financial crises. 鈥� Our research tells us that Americans are most likely to seek advice about their healthcare benefits from their friends and family. So I feel confident that by empowering even just one American today with the information they need, others will in turn also be empowered to make better decisions.鈥�

Want to learn more about HSAs? We鈥檝e got you covered: Check out , our HSA FAQ, HSA  and a handy savings calculator. The Health Trends & Insights blog is also a wealth of information on HSAs.