“One Big Beautiful Bill” Signals Big Shifts for HSAs: What It Means for Plan Sponsors

The House has spoken and Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) are getting an upgrade. The “One Big, Beautiful Bill,” recently passed by the House, includes a list of HSA-related provisions designed to expand eligibility, increase flexibility and boost tax-advantaged savings potential. These are the first significant changes in almost two decades – since President George W. … Continued

When Claims Spike, Relationships Matter: aequum’s Strategic Role with Stop-Loss Carriers

The stop-loss insurance market is facing a stress test. After several years of relatively stable trends, a wave of high-dollar claims has triggered significant losses, rate hikes and tighter underwriting. For employers with self-insured health plans, this shift brings serious consequences. They face higher stop-loss premiums, increased claim scrutiny, fewer coverage guarantees and in some … Continued

Federal Layoffs Weaken No Surprises Act Enforcement—Here’s How Plan Sponsors Can Stay Protected

The No Surprises Act (NSA) was created to protect patients from unexpected medical bills—especially in emergencies and when treated by out-of-network providers at in-network facilities. However, recent layoffs at the federal agency responsible for enforcement have put those protections at risk. With fewer regulators and mounting dispute volume, oversight is weakening, leading to more billing … Continued

Bridging the Mental Health Gap: Key Takeaways from DMEC 2025

At this year’s Disability Management Employer Coalition (DMEC) Compliance Conference in Columbus, Ohio, aequum’s Jack Towarnicky offered insight on two mental health topics: Mental Health in the Workplace and The Mental Health LTD Challenge: Because Parity is Not a Priority … Yet. These conversations confirmed that employers, plan sponsors and disability management administrators can no … Continued

Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) Are Almost Always the Superior Choice!

I read with interest Ben Dobler’s February 5, 2025, article on “Why Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) Aren’t Always Worth the ‘Triple Tax Savings’[i]. Ben notes that HSAs require individuals to be covered by a “High Deductible Health Plan” which has tradeoffs compared to traditional coverage. However, my 20+ years of hands-on experience with HSA-capable coverage … Continued

Federal Layoffs Weaken No Surprises Act Enforcement—Here’s How Plan Sponsors Can Stay Protected

The No Surprises Act (NSA) was created to protect patients from a number of surprise medical bills — such as for emergency treatment by out-of-network providers at in-network facilities. However, recent layoffs at the federal agency responsible for enforcement may have put those protections at risk. With fewer regulators and mounting dispute volume, oversight is … Continued

Navigating CFPB Uncertainty: What Employers and Plan Sponsors Need to Know

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has taken bold steps to curb the impact of medical debt on consumers, including efforts to eliminate medical debt from credit reports and crack down on abusive billing practices. As the political landscape shifts, the future of these protections grows increasingly uncertain. This change creates risk for self-insured health … Continued

What the JPMorgan Lawsuit Means for Employers and How to Avoid Becoming the Next Target

A high-profile lawsuit involving JPMorgan Chase is putting employers on alert that managing a self-insured health plan now comes with serious legal risk. Even responsible companies can be sued if they’re not actively controlling healthcare costs. In this case, JPMorgan employees claim the company mismanaged its prescription drug benefits by selecting a pharmacy benefit manager … Continued