Health Savings Accounts Make Their Case
Written by Lindsay Torres on May 15, 2011 – 10:14 amProponents say that only Health Savings Accounts separate health care from insurance. For example, say you have family coverage through work that costs the employer $12,000 annually. If your employer pays for all the premiums and you have $25 co-pays to see a doctor, your expense is limited.
In contrast, if your employer still spends $12,000 a year, but puts $5,000 of it into a Health Savings Account (HSA) in your name, $5,000 of your health care benefit is now legally yours. Instead of a co-pay plan, your employer must buy a High-deductible Health Plan that’s qualified to work with an HSA.
Preventive care is 100-percent covered, but you’ll have to pay for other services until the deductible has been met. Any Health Savings Account funds you don’t spend on health care are yours to keep. That’s distinctly different from Flexible Spending Accounts, which are “use it or lose it” at the end of the year.
Each year, your employer contributes $5,000 to your HSA. As long as your health remains good, the balance in the HSA account can grow with tax-free earnings. It’s yours to keep if you change employers or retire.
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Health Savings Accounts Are A Great Option For Employers
Written by Lindsay Torres on April 5, 2011 – 9:06 amWith the advent of Health Savings Accounts, high-deductible health plans became more attractive to employees. Even if they have to pay for high out-of-the-pocket expenses for medical bills before the insurance coverage starts when they meet the deductible, there are advantages. Health Savings Accounts allow consumers to save in order to pay for future qualified medical costs with tax-free earnings and tax-free withdrawals.
Small employers are given two HSA plan options to offer employees. A small-group HSA-qualified plan may help with underwriting concerns for employees who have pre-existing health conditions. On the other hand, if each employee is underwritten individually by getting their own plan, they may be able to keep the insurance policy if they leave the company. Employers have the option to give fixed monthly contributions to the individual or family HSA accounts of their employees. The contributions are tax-deductible on the employer’s part and are not included in the gross income of employees. If the employee decides to leave, the contributions made by the employer stay with the employee.
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Learn Facts About Health Savings Accounts That You Should Know
Written by Lindsay Torres on April 4, 2011 – 5:08 amHealth Savings Accounts have been gaining popularity with consumers ever since they started way back in 2004. Once you have a high-deductible health plan (HDHP) that is qualified to work with a Health Savings Account (HSA), you are eligible to open an HSA. HSA plans allow you to deposit tax-deductible funds into an HSA that you can use to cover qualified medical costs until your deductible has been met. If you were not able to use the contributions for that year, the money would be carried over to the next year and it would continue to grow with tax-free earnings.
HSA plans allow individuals to be more responsible when it comes to health care decisions. In addition, consumers are getting a Health Savings Account because it helps reduce income taxes. Contributions placed in your HSA are tax-deferred and withdrawals are tax-free when used to pay for qualified medical bills. However, HSA plans are not available for everyone because insurers are still allowed to decline applications from people who have pre-existing medical conditions.
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Health Savings Accounts Are The New Retirement Accounts
Written by Lindsay Torres on March 26, 2011 – 7:36 amHealth savings accounts are becoming the IRA of choice with escalating health care costs. These special accounts work with high-deductible health insurance plans to let you save with tax-free interest to pay for health care and take tax deductions for medical expenses.
Health savings accounts keep the tax-free interest IRA benefit and add tax deductions for contributions to the health savings account (HSA).
If you don’t need HSA funds for health care, you can save the money for when you retire. Funds in this type of savings account roll over year after year. Some financial experts recommend to contribute the maximum allowed to an HSA before starting an IRA or Roth because you can withdraw money tax-free from an HSA to pay for qualified health care. On the other hand, you will not be able to spend HSA funds on anything other than health care until you turn 65.
Health savings accounts have benefits long before you retirement, though. 1) You can save for health care throughout your working years to help if you are unemployed or working where no health plan is available.
Tags: Accounts, Health Savings, Health Savings Accounts, Savings Accounts
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