A common theme around most of our HSA Headlines pieces is open enrollment, and how to make it a better, more educated experience for all parties involved. But, up until recently, open enrollment has largely been a human-directed process, with little influence from technology other than clicking selections and submitting paperwork.

It looks like this is changing, with artificial intelligence (AI) set to help people MAKE decisions, not just submitting them. Let's take a look.

This HR tech could help employees make better enrollment decisions - Caroline Hroncich, Employee Benefit News

This week, Alegeus, a consumer health care company, launched a software platform that could change the game in benefits election. In partnership with software provider Picwell, employees on Alegeus systems can now take advantage of a platform that effectively guides them towards the right health care selections using AI.

(And a large part of the thinking behind the technology is explaining tax-advantaged accounts like HSAs and FSAs.)

It all starts with a series of personal health questions. Once entered, the responses are cross-referenced against a database of medical claims data, followed by plan suggestions generated by predictive analytics. The result (the companies hope) is a team of employees that feel empowered and in control of their benefits elections.

Now, to be fair, the idea of AI-driven HR tools isn't a new concept -- several companies have been dabbling in these platforms for a while now. But now these ideas are coming to fruition, and the article goes on to compare the Alegeus tool with other decision-making tools, and even another Alegeus offering, the Smart HSA app, which helps users make the most of their tax-free funds.

The timing for these developments couldn't be better, since it seems an alarming percentage (a reported 30%) of companies still don't provide adequate benefits education, leaving most of the tough questions unanswered… and most of their employees unsatisfied with their annual health care decisions.

Obviously, it's still very early in the AI/open enrollment revolution. But we're confident that more health care companies are going to develop assistants that help workers craft benefits options better suited for their needs. It's a positive development we'll be watching very closely as we approach the coming open enrollment season.

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HSA Headlines is a weekly roundup of the latest, most relevant news and conversations about your health savings. It appears every Friday, exclusively on the HSA Learning Center. And for more about your physical and financial well-being, be sure to follow us on Facebook and Twitter.