Health Savings Accounts (HSA)

Live Question & Answer Telephone Seminar:

“Health Savings Accounts Made Easy”

How to Reduce Your Health Care Expenses, Build Your Savings,
CutYour Tax Bill - And Get A Great Health Insurance Plan

Free Live Teleseminar - Friday, September 3rd - 2 PM Eastern

Get All Your HSA Questions Answered by Top HSA Specialists!

<OK - Sign Me Up!>

Follow us on:  1001-A E. Harmony Rd. #519 Fort Collins, CO 80525 Contact Us

Health Savings Accounts are simple and easy to understand           

Health Savings Account is a tax-favored savings account combined with a qualifying high-deductible health insurance plan.  By allowing you to deposit tax-deductible funds into a health savings account that you can use to cover medical costs, Health Savings Accounts enable you to take control of your own health care decisions.  One of the key aspects to health savings accounts is a system that is responsive primarily to individual consumers, rather than to third-party payers. This concept is known as consumer driven health care.

First, you must have a high-deductible health insurance plan that qualifies to be partnered with a Health Savings Account.  These plans are available through various insurance companies, depending upon what part of the country you live.  The plans are all similar in the fact that they have deductibles between $1,200 and $5,950 for singles, and between $2,400 and $11,900 for families.

Once your insurance policy has become effective, you may begin to fund your Health Savings Account.

Health Savings Accounts allow you to legally avoid federal income tax by depositing up to $3,050 for singles or $6,150 for families, into your Health Savings Account.  Whatever you deposit into your account up to April 15, 2011 is an "above the line" tax deduction for your 2010 taxes, meaning you get a federal income tax deduction for money you put in even if you take the standard deduction and don’t itemize deductions.  If your employer makes a Health Savings Account contribution for you, it is “excluded” from income, and not subject to any income tax or FICA.  Either way, this will immediately reduce your federal income tax due for the year.  Most states also allow you to take a state income tax deduction for HSA contributions.  To see if your state offers tax deductions, please see our HSA State Income Tax page.

On this site you will find thorough information on Health Savings Accounts, HSA trustees and administrators, and instant quotes on available HSA-qualified high deductible health insurance plans.

Please note: To obtain the maximum tax benefit from your Health Savings Account in 2011 as well as lock in 2010 rates, you must have your HSA-qualified insurance plan effective no later than December 1st.

Health Savings Accounts in the News

Health Savings Account Deposits Top $1 Billion for Single Bank
United Health Group Inc., now one of the Twin Cities’ largest banks, has seen its OptumHealth Bank top the $1-billion mark for deposits on its books, and it's all due to Health Savings Accounts. By the end of June, its Health Savings Account deposits were at $1.025 billion. Chartered in Salt Lake City and part of Minnetonka-based UnitedHealth, UnitedHealth has helped thousands of employers to set up Health Savings Accounts for their employees.

Can A Health Savings Account Help You Bridge Employment Gaps?
Health Savings Accounts may have been stifled by complex regulations, but these accounts can do much more than just turn your healthcare bills into tax deductions. With unemployment a constant threat, health savings accounts help people maintain coverage between jobs, and even into retirement. Anyone under 65 can start a Health Savings Account once they buy a qualified high-deductible health insurance plan. That's an insurance plan with a deductible of at least $1,050 for individuals or $2,100 for families. These plans mush also have a limit of $5,250 for an individual and $10,500 for a family on their out-of-pocket costs.

Health Savings Accounts: Why Have Ten Million People Enrolled?
As of January 2010, ten million Americans already have a Health Savings Account (HSA) and this form of tax-advantaged saving to pay medical expenses has only been available since 2004. Why are these plans growing so fast? The number of people enrolling in a Health Savings Account increased by 25 percent since 2009. The fastest growing market for HSA plans was for large-group coverage, followed by small-group coverage. Thirty percent of those with an HSA were in the small group market, and 50 percent were in the large-group market.

Health Savings Accounts: Can You Cut Your Healthcare Expenses With One?
Millions of Health Savings Account owners are trying to do just that. They have already deposited billions of dollars with the intent of covering their future medical expenses with tax-deductible dollars. Why are Health Savings Accounts so attractive? You can invest tax-free money in a Health Savings Account and still control the type of investment. You can choose anything from savings accounts to a full brokerage house.

Health Savings Accounts: Why Are Customers Investing Record Amounts In Them?
J.P. Morgan Treasury Services manage more than 530,000 health savings accounts for people who have deposited a combined total of approximately $800 million nationwide. Health savings accounts are growing so fast because they allow individuals to save tax-free to pay their future medical bills. At the end of 2009, 45 percent of J.P. Morgan's health savings account (HSA) customers held more than $1,000 in their accounts. That represented a 10 percent increase from the previous year.

Blue Cross Blue Shield Banks on Health Savings Account Plans
Blue Cross Blue Shield members now have their own bank, but it won't help them if they're looking for an auto loan or a good rate on a CD. Blue Healthcare Bank's sole purpose is handling health care-related banking services, such as Health Savings Accounts. The bank is being set up by the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association members, including Blue Cross of Idaho, one of the first four members to work with the bank.

Blue Cross Blue Shield Approved to Start Health Savings Account Bank
Blue Cross Blue Shield has received federal approval to establish a savings bank that will be allowed to administer Health Savings Accounts.  Blue Cross Blue Shield said it had received assent from the Office of Thrift Supervision, a Treasury Department agency, to establish a federally insured savings bank to be based in Utah.  It will be called Blue Healthcare Bank.  Health Savings Accounts can be set up by consumers who have high-deductible insurance plans, and Blue Cross Blue Shield offers some of the most competitive HSA plans on the market.

Humana to Cap Health Savings Account Premiums for More Than One Year
After years of double-digit premium increases for employers providing health plans to workers, Humana and other insurers are trying a different approach: new health savings account plans that cap premium hikes at guaranteed low rates if buyers agree to a multiyear contract and workers absorb increases in deductibles.  Even doctors known to be skeptical of almost anything the health insurance industry suggests say they are intrigued with the health savings account idea - hoping it might be one remedy for unpredictable, rising health care costs.

HSA for America - Health Insurance Solutions
© 2010 - All Rights Reserved

Learn about Medicare Supplement Insurance