Mellon Financial Corp.'s human resources and investor solutions business announced an alliance Tuesday with Fiserv Inc. to provide health savings accounts.
The products are to be offered through the Fiserv Health unit's subsidiary health plan administrators. These administrators, with more than four million members, include Benefit Planners, Benesight Inc., Fiserv Health - Kansas, Fiserv Health - Tennessee, Harrington Benefit Services Inc., and Wausau Benefits.
The integrated product includes financial services such as checking and debit cards to pay for qualified medical expenses, an investment account, and IRS-required tax reporting along with claims administration, customer service, online tools, employee education, and enrollment.
Health savings accounts, which were authorized by the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003, are portable accounts that people can use to pay for qualified medical expenses. The accounts must be offered in conjunction with a high-deductible health plan to provide security against catastrophic medical costs. Both employers and employees can contribute to health savings accounts, currently up to $5,250 a year for a family or $2,650 for an individual.
