health savings account

December 9, 2015

Health Savings Accounts Put You in Control of Your Healthcare

As Health Savings Accounts grow in popularity, there is growing fear among those who want to nationalize healthcare that they will not be able to put the cat back in the bag. There are already over 3 million HSA owners, and by 2010, the Treasury Department estimates as many as 45 million Americans will be covered by HSA plans. They will have billions of dollars invested to cover future medical expenses, and by then it will be politically impossible to take that benefit away.

If you currently have a high-deductible health insurance plan, you can invest tax-free money in a Health Savings Account. You get to choose the type of investment – anything from savings accounts or money market funds, to a full brokerage house. If you invest wisely, you could have well over $500,000 in the account when you retire. You will be able to use that money to pay for your healthcare in whatever way you please, tax free. You can go to the best surgeons, or the least expensive doc-in-a-box. If you decide to treat a condition with acupuncture, homeopathy, or psychic healers, you can do that too. Whoever offers you the service you want with the best combination of quality and price should get your business. And since you are the one paying, it will be completely your choice. You have healthcare freedom.

If proponents of a single-payer system were to ever have their way, you would be at the mercy of a government bureaucrat when it comes to your healthcare. To see what this may look like, all one has to do is look at the state of health care in Canada, Engl and, New Zeal and, and the parts of Europe that have not yet ab andoned single-payer systems.

Proponents of a single-payer system tend to point to Canada or Engl and as countries that cover all their citizens with quality healthcare, while spending less money per person than the U.S. But if we look a little more closely, we see that these publicly financed health insurance systems are breaking down, the quality is low, and the costs can be quite high. Here’s what Canadians have to deal with if they need medical care:

• Long waits. Hundreds of Canadians go to Detroit and other U.S. cities every year for procedures like CAT scans, which they can obtain treatment in a matter of days. In Canada, the wait is typically six months. Currently 876,000 Canadians are on waiting lists for medical procedures.

• Difficulty in getting life-enhancing procedures done. If a Canadian is having a heart attack, they will be treated right then. But if the surgery is considered “elective” (meaning that possible death is not eminent), the wait could be months or years. Average wait for cataract removal is 18 months. Average wait for a knee replacement is one year.

• Increased risk of dieing. The average Canadian waits eight weeks to see a specialist, and another nine weeks before getting treated. This is even the case with conditions that are likely to get much worse if there is any delay in treatment. For example, the median time for a mastectomy is 14 weeks, enough time for the cancer to spread to other parts of the body. In fact, 28% of those diagnosed with breast cancer in Canada die from it, while the mortality ratio in the U.S. is only 25%.

Things don’t look any better across the ocean. Each year the British National Health Service cancels 410,000 surgeries because of resource shortages. According to the London Sunday Times, there are currently over 1 million Brits awaiting elective surgery. Thomas Cook, a British travel agency, is even considering offering “sun- and-surgery” packaged trips to Indian hospitals for British citizens fed up with low st andards and long waiting times for surgery.

The British and Canadian governments have the power to make healthcare “free”, but they are unable to control its costs. So the costs become longer ( and potentially fatal) delays, and fewer innovations.

Its not surprising when you think about what is happening. Universal health insurance systems always encourage over-consumption by patients, and such over-consumption always leads to financial crises. The result is inevitably broken promises about universal access and quality care. Because there are always limited resources, single-payer systems tend to overspend on primary care for the healthy, while denying more expensive specialist care to those with serious medical problems. This is because most people (voters) are healthy most of the time, and the sick and dieing are less likely to be able to organize into a political force.

What makes the United States such a great country is the “freedoms” we enjoy. Though our freedoms seem to be constantly under attack, there is still no nation in the world that has the freedom of the press, freedom of religion, freedom of association, or the free markets that we have in the United States. As anyone who underst ands even a smidgen of economics knows, free markets encourage competition and innovation, which lead to lower prices and better quality.

Though the U.S. system of health care can not really be considered a “free-market”, it is certainly much more free than any single payer system. Some of the benefits we see as a result of our current healthcare system include:

• U.S. medicine produces the best outcomes for virtually every patient, from premature babies to elderly cancer patients.
• American companies are the chief source worldwide of new treatments and procedures which each year are used to save millions of lives.
• U.S. medical training and research facilities are the best in the world.

Though Canadians might have to wait a year or two for hip replacement surgery, they can get the same operation done on their dog in less than a week. This is because veterinarians are competing for that business, finding innovative ways to deliver service more quickly and less expensively. Another example is laser eye surgery, a procedure that is rarely covered by insurance, so laser eye surgeons must compete on the basis of cost and quality. While costs for most medical procedures have been going up every year, the cost for this procedure has dropped by 80% over the past decade.

Unfortunately, U.S. healthcare policies still tend to limit competition, restrict consumer’s freedom to choose, and discourage consumers from shopping for value. Thus, there are too few choices and there has been little attention paid to price and quality of service. The answer is clearly not more government intervention, but instead letting competition and the power of the marketplace drive down prices and increase quality and access to care.

Health Savings Accounts are the Solution

There is increasing recognition that third-party health insurance payers are actually a major cause of escalating medical costs and the decline in the quality of service. The increasing adoption of HSA plans has already begun to cause greater transparency and competition in the medical marketplace. There are now physicians available by phone, medical kiosks setting up in malls, doctors that accept only cash ( and who charge significantly less), and others competing directly for the consumer’s healthcare dollar.

Don’t be fooled by the politicians who advocate a single-payer system, claiming their only concern is the uninsured. If a single body (such as a government bureaucracy) controls healthcare, they control one seventh of the national economy. And everywhere in the world that central control of the economy has been tried, it has been a colossal failure.

As public policy reforms centered on individual choice continue to gain wider footholds, the result will be greater prosperity, greater choice, and a better value for all. The culture of dependence and entitlement will begin to fade, as millions of individuals dem and further policy reforms that will reinstate the values of freedom and personal responsibility that helped establish this great nation.

As more consumers turn to health savings accounts, the market will respond. Innovative providers will begin to compete more on price and quality of service, and those that provide the best value will get wealthy doing so. And all consumers will benefit.

December 8, 2015

Health Savings Account (HSA)

HSA is designed and introduced to reduce the health care cost for both employers and employees. Health savings account (HSA) is tax privileged savings plans offered to taxpayers in the United States to deposit money to cover current and future medical expenses.HSA provides tax-free savings account for medical expenses and introduced to reduce the current healthcare costs.

HSA is passed by congress in the year 2003, which is a tax-free savings account. It covers both individual and group health insurance. These savings are utilized for normal and customary expenses, like routine health checkups, doctor’s visits, and etc.In addition to the tax free savings HSA are more portable. Since you are not coupled with any particular medical group or doctors, you can pick yours.

Health Savings Account offers a new feasible alternative to Medical Savings Account (MSA).HSAs can be used with health plans with decreased minimum deductibles. HSA can be used with minimum deductibles. HSA and MSA vary in several ways. Notable variation is HSA are offered by employers of all size whereas the MSAs are limited to employers who employed 50 or fewer people.

Both employers and employees are benefited through Health Savings Account (HSA), but the deposit should not exceed the limit, proposed by Federal law .Employers can discriminate between full-time and part time employees, and/or family and single coverage.

HSA are analogous to IRAs, you can get same benefit as with IRA’s.In the HSA there is no age restriction and qualified medical expenses are never taxed. But in the IRAs money may be taken out without penalty at age 65.At the same time penalty for non-medical withdrawal before age 65 are usually severe.

Benefits: The HSA plans are blend with a high-deductible plan. It provides tax free medical expense. It facilitates employees become better health care consumers. The accumulated savings are owned by the individual and can move from employer to employer. There will be free of tax for the employers’ contribution.

December 2, 2015

Health insurance plans

Health Insurance:

Health insurance, which is coverage for individuals to protect them against medical costs and give them a surity to a secured life in this unsecured world with day to day accidents, enormous infections and diseases which may be highly fatal such as Tuberculosis and other viral infections, Genetic disorders that requires relatively high costs for treatment and diagnosis. It is a wise act to make yourself prepared for such instances by buying a profitable health insurance from us. Unlike other insurance plans , health insurance also should be regarded as an important plan to be taken up for leading a healthy life in this medically advanced world whereby the cost of medication is increasing day by day with the discovery of new therapies and various rapid diagnostic tools.

About Health Insurance:

Health insurance companies offer Health insurance plans as a vital part of your full planning picture. Without it your safety and the safety of your family is jeopardized; most qualified heath care providers will not treat you without health insurance.

As we all know, health care is very costly; a prolonged illness or serious injury can easily bankrupt a family without insurance. Not having it is an endangerment to everything you have. After you have read the basics on this page, you can go to choosing a Health Insurance Plan to underst and more about all the choices available for your situation.

Choosing a Health Plan:

Health insurance offers better health plans for you and your family’s health needs. With any health plan, however, there is a basic premium, which is how much you or your employer pays, usually monthly, to buy health insurance coverage. In addition, there are often other payments you must make, which will vary by plan. In considering any plan, you should try to figure out its total cost to you and your family, especially if someone in the family has a chronic or serious health condition. Indemnity and managed care plans differ in their basic approach.

Indemnity and managed care plans differ in their basic approach. Put broadly, the major differences concern choice of providers, out-of-pocket costs for covered services, and how bills are paid. Usually, indemnity plans offer more choice of doctors (including specialists, such as cardiologists and surgeons), hospitals, and other health care providers than managed care plans. Indemnity plans pay their share of the costs of a service only after they receive a bill.

Managed care plans have agreements with certain doctors, hospitals, and health care providers to give a range of services to plan members at reduced cost. In general, you will have less paperwork and lower out-of-pocket costs if you select a managed care type plan and a broader choice of health care providers if you select an indemnity-type plan.

Services offered by us:

We offer a good match between what plans will satisfy your need and the best coverage, which can benefit you from the health insurance plan. For example, if you are suffering from a chronic disease we offer special plans which encompass all the medication and diagnostic costs. You can’t know in advance what your health care needs for the coming year will be. But you can guess what services you and your family might need. Figure out what the total costs to your family would be for these services under each plan and take up the plan in the most profitable way.

Today there is more health plans to choose according to your convenience and choice. You can make your best choice and satisfy with the best health insurance plans offered by us in the most profitable way.

July 30, 2015

Dental Care Insurance

You may view dental insurance as a way for ravenous companies to take yet more money out of your pockets for something you do not really need with you being able to insure just about anything now. Good dental health is not only important for our appearance, it is important for our overall health too as problems in the mouth can often be a sign that something else needs looking at health-wise. A good dental insurance policy can help envelop the costs of dental treatment whether it is an emergency or a routine check up, in the sense that you never have to worry about the cost of keeping your mouth, teeth and gums healthy.

Many healthcare cash plan providers offer cover for dentistry fees up to a set limit within their policies. Now there are also a select number of companies who offer st andalone dental insurance. The cover offered by the insurers vary, but depending who take you take a policy out with and whether it is part of a cash plan or a st andalone dental insurance policy, you can get cover that will pay for routine treatment, dental emergencies and accidental dental injuries. Currently one insurer provides cover for serious dental problems such as reconstructive surgery including plastic surgery following a dental injury or oral cancer.

General types of coverage:

PPO Plans proffer patients with a group of dentists who’ve agreed to provide care to patients within the group at a discounted fee. In essence the dentist is keen to accomplish less for the view of additional patients. Self Insurance is a pretty option for businesses due to the fact that there is a strong potential for cost savings if services aren’t utilized in any given year. The intricacy with this plan is the administrative headache that often accompanies it.

Direct Reimbursement is analogous to self-insurance. Employees are welcome to choose their own dentist. The patient pays the dentist and is reimbursed by their employer. This approach is attractive to the employer because research shows that over 40% of employees may not require dental work in a given year providing a potential savings to the employer. Closed Panel plans are one of the most restrictive in that they confine the number of available providers. The patient doesn’t get to choose his or her own dentist.

Indemnity Programs are much like many health insurance plans that permit a choice in dentist. They also provide a limit on total coverage and co-pay options. Capitulation provides a contract for service arrangement that pays a specific provider a specified amount each month to cover all treatment. That fee is paid even if no services are rendered. Dental insurance can be affordable and a perk that will be appreciated by employees, but private coverage can also be obtained through a local broker or online.

January 1, 2015

7 Things You Should Know About Health Savings Account Plans

Health savings accounts (HSAs) are wildly popular. Since their introduction in 2004, approximately 2.5 million Americans have enrolled in these so-called consumer-driven health plans. But, alas, HSA plans are not for everyone.
Here are some pointers to help you consider whether an HSA will benefit you and your family.
1. An HSA plan can cut healthcare costs by an average of 40% for many people.
Nevertheless, some people will not realize any net savings. Those most likely to realize significant savings are people who pay all of their own health insurance premiums, such as the self-employed, who are relatively healthy with few medical expenses.

2. health savings plan restores freedom of choice.
An HSA plan puts individual consumers back in control of their own health care. This also means that each individual must be more responsible for his or her own health care decisions. This approach of self-reliance is not always popular with or appropriate for everyone, especially those who have become comfortable with HMO-type “co-pay” plans.

3. Health savings accounts reduce income taxes.
Every dollar contributed into your HSA account is deducted from your taxable income in the same manner as contributions into a traditional IRA account–regardless of whether you spend it or just save it. Interest and investment earnings in a HSA accumulate tax-deferred, just like a traditional IRA. Unlike an IRA, withdrawals are tax-FREE when used to pay qualifying medical expenses. In many situations, new account holders are able to almost fully fund their HSA with money saved on premiums from a prior, higher priced plan. By stashing all or most of those savings into an HSA, the account holder realizes instant, additional savings in the form of reduced taxes.
4. You must have a properly qualified high health insurance policy in place first before
you can open a health savings account. One of the biggest misconceptions about HSA plans is that any insurance policy with a high deductible will qualify the policyholder to establish an HSA account. IRS regulations, however, are quite specific. Not just any policy with a so-called “high deductible” will suffice. It is important to be certain that you are insured under a properly qualified policy. Your best bet is to work with a qualified and duly licensed health insurance broker who is experienced in marketing properly qualified HSA plans.
5. You must be insurable in order to qualify for the HSA-qualified health insurance policy.
Because most people do not have a properly qualified high deductible insurance policy, they will need to switch insurance plans in order to become HSA-eligible. Unless coverage is being offered under small group reform laws (generally groups with 2-49 employees), the new high deductible policy will be individually underwritten by an insurance company. This means that some “pre-existing” conditions may not be fully covered. Alternatively, some companies may opt to cover certain “pre-existing” conditions in exchange for slightly higher premiums. Unfortunately, some health conditions simply render an individual uninsurable (examples: diabetes, chron’s disease, heart attack, etc.). Underwriting requirements vary by state, which is another reason to rely on an experienced health plan broker.
You should not switch to a HSA plan when the management of existing medical expenses is more important than saving up-front medical insurance premiums. Do not change health plans: in the middle of ongoing medical treatments; after a major health issue has been diagnosed; or if any family member is pregnant.
Generally, it is relatively hassle-free to qualify, i.e. no medical exams, etc. Most insurance companies offering HSA coverage will issue based on your application answers, perhaps accompanied by a follow-up telephone interview. In some cases, medical records may be requested, and companies always reserve the right to order a paramed exam.
6. Although HSA insurance premiums are low, they are not always as low as you might expect.
This happens for one main reason. Simply stated, the underlying insurance policy is just that—a health insurance policy. Although it has a “high” deductible, as required by law, the insurance company still must compensate for the risk it is assuming over the deductible amount, which it does by charging premiums. Many companies offer policies with “one deductible” that all family members contribute toward. With those plans, it is not uncommon for premiums for a 5000 family deductible with 100% coverage after the deductible to be comparable to a 2500 “per person” deductible plan with 80/20 coverage after the deductible.
Lower premiums represent just one element of the lower net cost achieved with an HSA plan. The low net cost of an HSA plan is achieved after factoring in the benefits of lower taxes, made possible by the tax-deductible contribution to the HSA account. Thus, if obtaining the lowest possible gross premium is your main concern, you may wish to consider a high deductible, non-HSA policy, especially if you do not see the benefit to contributing to a tax-deductible savings account.

7. An HSA offers your best chance to keep a lid on health insurance rate increases.
Make no mistake-you will have rate increases with your HSA insurance policy. Because an HSA qualified policy is still a health insurance policy at heart, there is no logical reason to presuppose that an HSA policy would be immune to rate increases required by an insurer to keep paying claims and stay in business. But what you can expect is that the actual dollar amount of any future rate increases will be substantially lower compared to traditional health insurance plans (regular PPO and HMO plans). This is true because insurers base increases on percentages, and the same percentage of a lower base premium results in a lower dollar increase. It’s not a perfect solution-but it is the most cost-efficient solution for many qualified people.

Health Savings Accounts Put You in Control of Your Healthcare

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