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. After age 65, you will want to look into Medicare
Supplement Insurance and find out what options you have.
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.
Understanding
Medicare Supplements - If you are interested in Medicare Supplement
Insurance, you can find extensive information on Medicare
Supplement Plans including Blue
Cross Medicare Supplement plans, Medicare
Supplement Plan F, and Plans A - J. Learn all about
Medicare Supplements, compare your options, get instant quotes
on Medicare Supplement Plans, and Save!
Health
Savings Accounts in the News
Wright State University to Offer Employees Fifth Third Health Savings Accounts (PR Newswire via Yahoo! Finance)
Fifth Third Processing Solutions is pleased to announce that Wright State University has signed a contract to begin offering Fifth Third Health Savings Accounts to its employees. Wright State University, located in Dayton, Ohio, employs more than 2,400 faculty and staff, serving nearly 17,000 students and offering more than 100 undergraduate and 50 Ph.D., graduate, and professional degrees.
Thursday, November 20, 2008 (ThirdAge)
... for ways to save money on health plans. Health Spending Accounts (HSAs) were developed with this goal in mind, and they offer ... two different kinds of HSAs currently offered: flexible spending accounts and medical savings accounts. Under both types, you ...
HSA Resources Releases Employer Guide to HSAs (PRWeb via Yahoo! News)
HSA Resources, a leading provider of Health Savings Accounts, announces the release of its HSA Employer Guide: An Introduction to Health Savings Accounts for Employers. The twenty-four page guide provides employers with in-depth yet easy to read explanations of the top HSA questions employers face.
SunGard offers prepaid benefits card to Relius 125 customers (Banking Business Review)
SunGard, a company which provides software and processing solutions for financial services, higher education and the public sector industries, has announced that its Relius 125 system will offer Evolution Benefitss prepaid benefits card program to customers who administer flexible spending accounts, health reimbursement accounts and health savings accounts.
Area Employers Face Health Care Crunch (Baltimore Jewish Times)
Businesses in Baltimore are going to face health insurance premium increases come the first of the year, and employers whose health care coverage is up for renewal are shopping for the best deals.
Health insurance costs: Employees dig deeper in pockets (Orlando Sentinel)
U.S. workers who get health insurance through their employer can expect to shoulder more of the ever-growing financial burden again next year.
Deductibles jump for employees' health benefits (The Kansas City Star)
The median deductible required by Kansas City area employers for employees to participate in preferred provider organization health plans jumped to $1,000 this year from $500 last year.
Helping to Manage Health Care Costs (Westerly Sun)
You may find yourself paying more out-of-pocket for the health care you receive, even if you have a “top notch” plan through your employer. It is no secret that increasing health care costs have become a concern for Americans.
CAHI Stands by Its Principles for Health Insurance Reform (PR Newswire via Yahoo! News)
Yesterday, America's Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) implied that the health insurance industry had decided to support an "individual mandate," which requires everyone to buy health insurance or pay a fine, combined with "guaranteed issue," meaning that everyone must be accepted regardless of health status.
Health insurance costs inching up for Va. employers (The Virginian-Pilot)
Employers' health plan costs increased nationally by a moderate 6 percent this year - and slightly less in Hampton Roads - but employees are shouldering higher deductibles and co-payments, according to a survey released Wednesday.
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