UMB Healthcare, drugstore.com form partnership
BELLEVUE, Wash. UMB Healthcare Services, a division of UMB Financial Corporation, and drugstore.com on Tuesday launched a new partnership to provide a growing number of UMB Health Savings Account holders direct access to eligible products for the tax-advantaged health plans.
The UMB HSA account access website provides a direct link to the customized HSA store on drugstore.com. Once there, account holders will have access to HSA-eligible products, services that automatically track purchases and provide an HSA-only receipt, and additional resources to help Consumer- Directed Healthcare Plan users record expenses for tax purposes. UMB HSA account holders will also receive special money-saving offers from drugstore.com, the companies reported.
“We’re pleased to work with UMB to provide their growing number of customers the convenience of shopping in one online location with a wide selection of more than 3,000 HSA-eligible, over-the-counter products as well as prescription medications and contact lenses,” stated David Lonczak, vice president and chief marketing officer, drugstore.com. “Unlike brick-and-mortar stores, the online retail environment is uniquely qualified to provide a convenient solution with eligible products as well as record keeping services for HSA account holders.”
UMB Healthcare’s HSA accounts grew even faster than the national average last year, according to the health insurer, surpassing $100 million in assets at the end of 2007.
The number of people with HSA/High Deductible Healthcare Plan coverage rose to 6.1 million in January 2008, a 35 percent increase over the previous year. In January 2007 there were 4.5 million people with HSAs and HDHPs and 3.2 million in January 2006, according to America’s Health Insurance Plans.
“UMB Healthcare HSA accounts give customers the opportunity to take control of their healthcare dollars while also saving money,” stated Dennis Triplett, president of UMB Healthcare Services. “The partnership with drugstore.com provides a great customer benefit, as it offers our account holders a convenient and streamlined process for managing their health care purchases.”
In addition to HSA accounts, UMB supports Flexible Spending Accounts and Health Reimbursement Arrangements (HRAs). UMB Healthcare Services was one of the first financial partners to provide multi-purpose card technology to the health care industry and recently developed a Healthcare Line of Credit product.