(Des Moines, Iowa) - As demand for consumer driven healthcare continues to increase, the Principal Financial Group ® is decreasing the expense. In an effort to make these products even more affordable, The Principal ® will waive certain fees on health savings accounts (HSAs) and health reimbursement arrangements (HRAs) for a limited time.
"Consumer driven health care offerings are a good way for employers to reduce overall health care costs so we wanted to provide an added incentive to encourage implementation this year," said Jerry Ripperger director of consumer health for the Principal Financial Group. "If set-up and administrative fees have been an impediment for employers, we´ve removed that part of the equation encouraging employers to consider consumer driven health care options as they evaluate their health care spending."
For a limited time, set-up fees will be waived for the first 31 days for health savings accounts established through Principal Direct Connect, a proprietary electronic contribution and transfer process. This only applies to Principal health savings accounts sold in conjunction with a new qualified high deductible health plan from The Principal.
Monthly administration fees on health reimbursement arrangements will also be waived for one policy year for all new insurance sales with effective dates between October 1, 2006 and January 31, 2007. If the HRA is sold with an extended rate guarantee, the monthly fee waiver can be extended to a maximum of 15 months.
For more information about consumer driven health care products from The Principal, visit www.principal.com/health/hsa.htm or contact your local Principal Financial Group representative.
About the Principal Financial Group
The Principal Financial Group (The Principal ®) [1] is a leader in offering businesses, individuals and institutional clients a wide range of financial products and services, including retirement and investment services, life and health insurance, and banking through its diverse family of financial services companies and national network of financial professionals. A member of the Fortune 500, the Principal Financial Group has $206.0 billion in assets under management [2] and serves some 16.3 million customers worldwide from offices in Asia, Australia, Europe, Latin America and the United States. Principal Financial Group, Inc. is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol PFG. For more information, visit www.principal.com .