New HSA Cards to Be
Available for Humana Employees H umana employees will have a new benefit option during their open enrollment period this spring. For the first time the HumanaAccess Health Savings Account (HSA) Visa® card will be available to Humana employees electing an eligible high-deductible health plan with an HSA this plan year. The HSA card benefit will become effective July 1 for Humana employees and later in 2005 for other select employer groups.  | |  | | HumanaAccess card | | HumanaAccess Health Savings Account (HSA) Visa Card | Providers in the Humana network may begin to swipe more HSA cards for members who use their HSA funds to pay for out-of-pocket expenses and preauthorized payments using the Patient Easy Pay Consent Form.
As previously reported in the first quarter 2005 issue of Humana’s YourPractice, select members began to use a separate HSA card in January 2005.
“Humana has initiated a larger push for the HSA card to enable more members to access its financial convenience,” said Benjamin Slen, product manager for the HumanaAccess program. “We have developed a market-leading product that combines Humana’s core philosophy of guidance with our newest consumer choice plan designs.”
The HSA card can be used at any credit card swipe terminal (at appropriate locations such as physicians’ offices, urgent care facilities, pharmacies, etc.) that accepts Visa. The individual handling the transaction must select “credit” when running the card through for payment. The funds will be deducted automatically from the member’s HSA account, and the cost to the health care practice mirrors the price to swipe any other signature debit card.
“The card looks the same as our other HumanaAccess cards in the market today, teal-green and white with the distinctive HumanaAccess half-moon design. The HSA cards are clearly labeled in bold colors on the card front as a Health Savings Account card,” said Slen, who added that it includes the member’s name, which is embossed, the expiration date and Visa account number.
The HSA
card does not, however, double as member identification (ID).
Medical ID for Humana members is still bundled with the flagship
HumanaAccess card that’s linked to their Flexible Spending Account (FSA) and Personal Care Account (PCA) funds.
“In 2006, Humana will bundle the HSA and ID/FSA/PCA accounts into one card,” Slen said.
For more information, members and providers can contact Humana’s spending account registration team at (800) 604-6228. Humana Releases New ID Cards
As part of its commitment to protect member privacy, Humana no longer prints Social Security numbers on member identification (ID) cards. Instead, each member is being assigned a separate and unique ID number. Members should receive new ID cards imprinted with unique numbers by July 1, 2005. This change applies to all ID cards displaying either the Humana or ChoiceCare Network logo.
Some members may not be aware that ID numbers have changed. Practice staff should regularly obtain new photocopies of ID cards held by all Humana-insured patients receiving care in order to have current member information on file. Having the new identification number will enable practices to submit claims with the appropriate member information and avoid unnecessary claims payment delays. It is important to remember: - Member ID numbers will be different from Social Security numbers.
- Practice staff should routinely update member ID numbers and information for practice records.
For information related to this change, contact Humana Customer Service at 1-800-4-HUMANA (1-800-448-6262). |
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