Products May 30, 2003

Humana Introducing Direct Debit HRA Card

May 30, 2003 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - Access to Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs) and Health Reimbursement Arrangements (HRAs) will soon be a credit card swipe away for Humana commercial members.
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Humana Inc. and the Evolution Benefits, Inc., in conjunction with MasterCard International and BANKFIRST have announced that Humana employee and commercial members will have a combined health plan identification and payment card to access account funds. The card, available to commercial members with HRA-style plans in 2004, combines the access and identification functions and eliminates the need for members to have multiple cards for their health care needs, according to a news release.

The HumanaAccess MasterCard, issued by BANKFIRST and powered by Evolution Benefits’ Benny Card, allows members to access funds they set aside in a FSA or HRA by swiping their card at the provider’s office or pharmacy. Not only does the card then directly debit the member’s account, but it also completes the necessary paperwork through its identification feature.

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Investing May 29, 2003

Conference Board: Job Ads Kept Dropping In April

May 29, 2003 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - US companies continued cutting back on their help wanted advertising in April as the Conference Board's Help-Wanted Advertising Index declined three points.
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According to the Conference Board, the index now stands at 35, down from 38 in March and significantly lower than the 47 mark from a year ago. In the last three months, help-wanted advertising declined in all nine regions of the US The sharpest drops occurred in the East South Central (-32.0), Middle Atlantic (-18.4), Pacific (-16.4%) and New England (-15.7%) areas.

“April may represent a low point for the ailing labor market,” Conference Board Economist Ken Goldstein said in a statement. “After initial unemployment claims revealed a big rise in layoffs, want-ad volume significantly declined from already very depressed levels. Clearly, businesses have been busy laying off workers and scaling back already greatly reduced plans to hire. If the overall economy remains weak heading into the third quarter, a return to job growth earlier than the fourth quarter doesn’t seem likely.”

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The Conference Board surveys help-wanted ads in 51 US newspapers across the country every month.

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