Beyond open enrollment: 5 ways to stay connected all year long

1. Keep up the communication

Talk to your employees about benefits regularly and in a variety of ways. Here are some simple ideas to put into practice:

• Post an article on the benefits of having a Health Savings Account (HSA) to your organization's intranet or employee blog
• Start group chats on popular topics-from wellness programs to HSA spending best practices-on your internal messaging platforms
• Send seasonal benefit reminders via text messaging
• Host internal online or streamed events on ways to maximize benefits

If you use an employee benefits platform like HealthEquity, you can also encourage your people to sign into their accounts and download any appropriate apps at the beginning of the year.¹ This way, they can get familiar with their benefits ahead of time and be able to opt-in to important reminders.

2. Help employees understand their HSA benefits

Your employees are more likely to use their HSA if they are familiar with all the ways it can help them save and spend money on qualified medical expenses. You can help encourage HSA use by educating your employees on key aspects:

• Raise awareness of any seed or match-based funding and when it's available
• Cover the benefits of an HSA and the different ways to realize them
• Show your teams how to activate and use their HSA debit card²
• Guide employees toward mobile resources that will help them stay on top of their benefits

3. Jog memories about FSA use-or-lose funds

Just like HSAs, flexible spending accounts (FSA) can be used to pay for important eligible healthcare expenses throughout the plan year. But unlike HSAs, FSA funds have a spending deadline. Set up regular reminders encouraging people to log in to check their FSA fund availability, especially before year-end.

Another good practice is to share a list of eligible FSA expenses so they can plan how to use their FSA funds over the year. (Note: Employees who signed up for a Limited Purpose or HSA-Compatible FSA will only be eligible for dental and vision care expenses.)

4. Exercise your wellness program to ramp up health goals 

To get your people excited about health and wellness benefits, catch them at the beginning of the year when fitness goals may be top of mind. Start the conversation about your organization's health resources or incentives and remind them throughout the year. Don't forget to mention your employee assistance program (EAP) if you have one. EAPs are an important way to connect employees with resources like therapy, counseling, or legal services.

5. Stay on top of new developments

Benefits teams today need to be experts on a growing list of benefits programs, not to mention the rapidly evolving benefits industry. In a space as dynamic as healthcare, it's important to monitor new developments and communicate important updates to employees. Given the challenges of staying current on all things benefits, tap into HealthEquity resources:

• Subscribe to our blog to get insights straight to your inbox
• Follow us on LinkedIn @HealthEquity to be notified of monthly webinars and other timely developments
• Visit our library of on-demand webinars to study important benefit topics
• See what's new at HealthEquity-from product and app enhancements to rate renewals and helpful content

Keep things simple 

Planning ahead makes it easy to stay connected with your people throughout the plan year. Use HealthEquity programs like Engage360 to your advantage, so you can feel confident about benefits education and engagement all year long.

1 Accounts must be activated via the HealthEquity website in order to use the mobile app.

^{2 This card is issued by The Bancorp Bank; Member FDIC, pursuant to a license from Visa U.S.A. Inc. Your card can be used everywhere Visa debit cards are accepted for qualified expenses. This card cannot be used at ATMs and you cannot get cash back, and cannot be used at gas stations, restaurants, or other establishments not health related. See Cardholder Agreement for complete usage restrictions.}

HealthEquity does not provide legal, tax, financial or medical advice. Always consult a professional when making life-changing decisions.