Unfortunately, many workers are confused by all the acronyms, as well as the fine print, such as the “use it or lose it” provisions in FSAs that require them to spend benefits dollars by certain deadlines to avoid losing those dollars. Also, they must typically pay out of pocket for many costly HRA- and HSA-related expenses and then file (and wait forever) for reimbursement from the plans. These challenges greatly decrease employee buy-in.

One solution adopted by a growing number of employers is the use of benefits plan debit cards - plastic cards with magnetic strips or microchips that allow employees to handle eligibility checks, pre-authorizations and referrals, and deductible payments immediately at doctors’ offices, pharmacies, and other locations. These cards can boost enrollment in your FSAs, HRAs, and HSAs, while reducing your benefits paperwork and boosting your tax savings in the process. Like many new HR technologies, though, they can cause unintended problems if they’re not set up properly for your organization - and if your workers aren’t trained how to use them correctly!

Order this important audio conference recording, as our expert speaker walks through the do's and don’ts of designing and introducing benefits plan debit cards to your workforce. You’ll learn how to decide whether these cards make sense for your organization, how to select the best card system to meet your needs, and the common mistakes other employers have made that you can avoid from the start. Also, you’ll gain a better understanding of how debit cards work with FSAs, HRAs, and HSAs, including issues such as IRS substantiation requirements for medical debit cards, that can lead to big legal hassles if you’re not prepared.

You and your colleagues will learn:

• Why benefits plan debit cards can help many employers (and why some organizations may not be ready for them)
• How debit cards work within the typical FSA/HRA/HSA structure
• The most important criteria to consider when choosing a debit card vendor
• How to introduce debit cards to achieve the highest buy-in levels from your workers
• The most common questions employees have about debit cards - and the best answers to these questions
• The legal hurdles posed by debit cards tied to your benefits programs (and how you can resolve them before they turn into costly mistakes)

Christopher M. Byrd is executive vice president of operations and development at Evolution Benefits, the industry leader in electronic benefit payment solutions for the employee benefits market. Byrd’s firm works with more than 175 health plans and administrative services organizations and covers more than 7,700 employers. As one of his company’s founders, he played a key role in designing the proprietary architecture for Evolution Benefits’ prepaid benefits card. He lectures frequently on emerging trends in the benefits and financial services industries.

Approved for Recertification Credit

This program has been approved for 1.5 recertification credit hours toward PHR, SPHR, and GPHR recertification through the Human Resource Certification Institute (HRCI). For more information about certification or recertification, please visit the HRCI home page at www.hrci.org.

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