You don’t need me to tell you that our country’s economy is in a slump. We all know that businesses and individuals across America are struggling because of the economic climate. Meanwhile, most experts tell us that the lack of access to and movement of cash is one of the main reasons for this slump. The many ways this situation affects each business is where TASC comes in and where we differ from some other organizations.
See, what this economic downturn means to TASC probably isn’t evident from the outside. Like most companies, we need to be diligent in protecting our economic situation. And we are. In fact, our financial situation is stable and strong. We continue to grow at a rate of 15 to 20 percent a year, all the while enhancing and expanding our processes so we can be even stronger. A majority of our revenue is from tax advantage medical benefits. This means that when the economy is good the tax savings are good, and when the economy is struggling, the dollars saved mean even more.
At TASC we work hard for our Clients and their employees. The medical reimbursement plans that we administer are safe and secure. Typically these funds are taken from the employee’s pay pre-tax, are deposited into an account, and are distributed when the employee incurs a medical-related expense and requests reimbursement. This is the area with which we are most concerned. After all, each year almost half a billion dollars are processed through our medical reimbursement plans.
Recently, some Clients have been slow in paying into these accounts. This needs to change, so we are taking prudent steps to protect TASC and our customers. We’re tightening our control over these funds. Simply put: our Plans cannot operate if the incoming funds are late. We can no longer extend credit to cover for those who are late. Otherwise, it looks like this: an employer is late in making its contributions but employees continue to submit requests for reimbursement. To cover these reimbursements TASC has been extending credit, and in so doing we have taken on unplanned for risk, risk for which we have not been compensated adequately. We must cease services, including disbursements, to delinquent Plans until situations like these are resolved.
Since Day 1 our Service Level Agreement has been clear in spelling out that these contributions must be made in a timely fashion. It’s nothing new. We must hold each and every customer accountable. After all, it’s the only way to ensure that our services can continue to the benefit of everyone. TASC’s revenue and operations are solid, and TASC is stable. These measures are fair and will help us all endure these trying economic times.
TASC CEO Blog 