Individuals
and families now have the opportunity to get a Health Savings Plan which can
save them substantial amounts of money on their health insurance. A Health
Savings Plan is created by combining high deductible health plans HDHP
with health savings accounts. These savings plans help the consumer be
loweing their health insurance premiums and generating considerable tax savings.
A
key concept to health savings accounts is the role a High Deductible Health
Plan will play. Every individual or family with a high
deductible health insurance plan will be more responsible with their high
deductible health insurance because the money will come out of their health
savings account. Any money not spent on the high deductible health insurance
can be saved over the years. High deductible health insurance is what
makes health savings account such a great deal.In
a Health Savings Account related article entitled “Health Care in the 21st
Century”, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, Senate Majority
Leader Bill Frist, M.D., made several suggestions on ways to provide all Americans
with lifelong, affordable health insurance. One of the key aspects of
his vision is a system that is responsive primarily to individual consumers,
rather than to third-party payers. This health insurance concept is known
as consumer-driven health care. A Health
Savings Account, also known as a Medical
Savings Plan, will play an important role in this concept.The
key aspect to enabling consumer-driven health care was the creation of tax-free
Health Savings Accounts (HSAs). The Health
Savings Accounts legislation was part of the Medicare Modernization Act
(Public Law 108-173). “Health Savings Accounts, coupled with affordable
high deductible insurance policies, give health savings account consumers more
control over their health care choices and hard earned dollars. HSA plans
give people a greater stake in their own health care. The HSA
plans can move with employees from job to job and can be rolled over year
to year. Health Savings Accounts should increase demand for greater information
and transparency.” You can find up to the minute industy news at HSA for
America's Health
Savings Account Blog. The
other factor in play is the financial motivation the individual will have to
stay healthy. The vast majority of HSA health care spending today is due
to degenerative diseases such as high blood pressure, diabetes, metabolic syndrome,
cardiovascular disease, and other modern ailments that are primarily the result
of lifestyle choices. With a good HSA
health plan, the consumer who wisely spends his HSA dollars on preventative
care (which can be done tax-free wiht an HSA) and pays attention to diet and
exercise could be rewarded with a substantial amount of money in their HSA
by age 65. Also
known a Medical Savings
Account, they give individuals a new way to pay for health care. Under traditional
medical insurance, people make monthly premium payments to an insurer, and the
insurer pays medical bills. With Medical
Savings Accounts, people can confine medical insurance to catastrophic coverage
(say, expenses above $3,000), reduce their monthly medical insurance premium
payments and make deposits to a Medical
Savings Account instead. Medical insurance would pay for expensive treatments
that occur infrequently, while individuals would use their MSA funds to pay
small bills covering routine services.Health
Savings Accounts in the News
IRS Issues Guidance on Buying Non-Prescription Drugs in Health Accounts
The Internal Revenue Service has issued guidance on the purchases of over-the-counter medicines and drugs with flexible spending arrangements and health savings accounts next year in light of the changes in the health care reform bill.
Common sense opposes health reform plan
Mr. Krumeich's Op-Ed about "lying" opponents of health care reform (March 5) reminds me of a curmudgeon friend's views on veracity. He never misrepresented the facts more than the situation called for.
Health insurance is taking a bigger bite from workers’ wallets
Workers are paying a larger share of their health insurance as companies shift more costs to their employees to survive the recession. According to a national study released Thursday, workers paid an average of 14 percent more in premiums this year while employers held their own cost increases to “a modest 3 percent.”
Nickel and dimed by Obama's microtaxes
Woven throughout President Barack Obama's health care reform act are a variety of new taxes on high earners: a 3.8% tax on interest and dividends, a 0.9% increase in the Medicare payroll tax, a $2,500 cap on pretax contributions to flexible savings accounts. Then there are new taxes on the most expensive health insurance plans and on sales of medical equipment like bedpans and catheters. The ...
What to Know About Health Savings Accounts
These tax-advantaged accounts can help you pay for costs not covered by a high-deductible health-insurance policy.
Worker Contributions to Health Premiums Jump 14%, Kaiser Says
Worker contributions to employer- sponsored health-insurance premiums rose an average 14 percent this year to about $4,000 for U.S. families as employers shifted more costs to employees, the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation said.
Workers Paying More for Health Insurance as Cash-Strapped Companies Shift Costs
The majority of Americans get their health insurance coverage through their employers. Now, a new survey finds that employees are paying more of the costs of their coverage than ever before. Workers' health care costs jumped significantly this year even as overall premium prices rose only slightly, as recession-strapped companies shifted more of the health care cost burden to their employees ...
The Fed ate my savings!
If you are a responsible saver, the Federal Reserve isn't doing you any favors.
Growing number of working uninsured
It's not just the unemployed going without health insurance. Faced with soaring premiums in company-provided plans, millions of employed Americans are opting out.
Mercer County introduces discount drug card for all residents
New Jersey residents have an ally in the fight against rising healthcare costs. A statewide discount prescription drug card program, called New Jersey Drug Card, is now being sponsored by Mercer County and is free to all residents, Mercer County Executive Brian M. Hughes announced today.
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