Most HSAs function in one of two ways: either an administrator holds on to your money and waits until you submit a claim before reimbursing you for your out-of-pocket expenses or your HSA issues you a debit card so that you have direct access to your savings.  At Lively, we make things simple for our account holders. Upon sign up for a Lively HSA, we send our account holders a Lively branded HSA debit card.

Here’s why we do this:

Providing direct access to HSA funds takes the financial burden off of you. 

With 59% of Americans living paycheck-to-paycheck, and only 38% of them having access to an emergency fund, the likelihood that a patient would have to choose between basic necessities and necessary health treatment is high.  Even if they know they will be reimbursed for the out-of-pocket expense in the future, many people can’t afford to wait even two weeks for the disbursement, which means that they’re likely to forego the medical procedure.

Alternatively, if the patient is one of the 71% of Americans who have a credit card, they can choose to use it to pay for their treatment (provided they have enough remaining on their available balance).  However, if they don’t receive their disbursement within 30 days, they’ll end up paying interest on the out-of-pocket expense, which increases the overall cost of their medical care.

However, if patients pay their medical providers for out-of-pocket expenses with an HSA debit card, not only are they able to get the treatment they need without having to choose between groceries and a copay, it can also reduce the overall cost of their treatment.

Easily View and Manage Funds Online.

One of the perks of having a debit card attached to our HSA is that you can easily track and manage all of your funds online. Whether that’s monitoring your employer’s contribution, setting up a recurring contribution from your personal account, or investing your HSA funds, you’ll be able to access all of this information from the Lively dashboard.

By ensuring that all of your transactions are documented online, you’ll be able to stay compliant within the IRS’s guidelines for HSAs. You can easily attach receipts to expenses. In the event that you are ever audited by the IRS, this can help you maintain compliance.

No hidden fees. 

Traditional HSAs often charge monthly fees to maintain accounts, unless you maintain a certain account balance. Other HSAs may require you to pay a fee based on how many times you access your account. 

Here at Lively, we don’t charge you anything to open and maintain an HSA. We believe that the funds that you have in your HSA are just that – yours. Which is why we created an account with no hidden fees or extra expenses.

We want your HSA to empower you to make the best medical decisions for you and your family, and the best way to do that is to give you complete control of your HSA with the Lively debit card.