Health Care Costs Soar!
Prescription Prices Drive Consumers to Canada!
HMO Sued By Husband!
Managed
Care Determines Treatment – Not The Doctor!
These
headlines scream out everyday. These are
troubled times for the health industry. But
these are even scarier times for you – the
health industry consumer. Your health
insurance keeps going up with less coverage.
Your prescriptions are increasing in price
with less coverage by your insurance.
Concerned? Keep reading.
OK – So what
is it?
On January
1, 2004, congress passed a new option,
approved by the IRS, called Healthcare Savings
Accounts (HSA) . Also called other
phrases including health spending account or
healthcare spending account. It became
available to help defray some of the rising
costs of health care on a tax savings
initiative. It is to healthcare what the IRA
is to retirement. It provides you with the
opportunity to put tax-free money into a
savings account use it to pay for medical
expenses not covered by your insurance: more
importantly pay for deductibles, doctor office
copays, prescription copays or basically
anything that you share in medical and dental
payments.
Let’s get a
little specific here; you create a bank
account in an IRS approved format. You have an
estimated amount deposited directly into that
account via payroll deduction before
any taxes come out such as federal, state and
Medicare You can change that amount of
deposit at any time. When a bill occurs,
you send us the claim, we process the claim
and email you an account explanation and show
you what you should pay with your HAS account!
The best
part of this new account is you don’t have to
spend it all by the end of the year like you
did with a flexible spending account offered
by your employer. The remainder rolls over
every year and, as long as you manage your
healthcare expenses carefully, it keeps
growing, still tax-free!
The other
best thing is your Healthcare Spending Account
is portable. You own it just like an IRA and
take it with you when you change jobs. It just
follows you – growing from contributions and
compounding interest.
Do I
qualify?
To qualify
you must have a high deductible health
insurance plan.
Wait a
minute – why do I want to risk a high
deductible?
What do you
mean risk? High deductible policies are much
cheaper than full coverage – usually between
20-40%. If you use that savings to contribute
to your HSA to cover the difference between
deductibles, you haven’t risked a thing! In
fact, if you’re healthy, you should have money
left in the account. This money rolls over and
you start to build the account up without
spending any more money than with your old low
deductible coverage. Remember your
contributions are tax-free like an IRA. The
only difference being that when you withdraw
Healthcare Savings Account money and use it
for medical expenses – it remains tax-free.
While this
new program is revolutionary, it may or may
not make sense for you depending on your
circumstances. We at
Texas-Health-Insurance-Online.com are ready to
clarify any questions, understand you needs,
and provide you with the necessary analysis to
see if an HSA it is right for you. Click below
to get more information on this exciting, new
option.
