Health Savings Accounts (HSA)

Health Savings Account Teleseminar - Friday, Nov 20th

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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 $1,150 and $5,800 for singles, and between $2,300 and $11,600 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 $3,000 for singles or $5,950 for families, into your Health Savings Account.  Whatever you deposit into your account up to April 15, 2010 is an "above the line" tax deduction for your 2009 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 2010 as well as lock in 2009 rates, you must have your HSA-qualified insurance plan effective no later than December 1st.

Health Savings Accounts in the News

Health Savings Account Things To Consider
A Health Savings Account is becoming a popular tool to save money for medical expenses. Many employers are providing them in conjunction with a high-deductible health insurance plan so that their employees can afford their deductibles. While Health Savings Accounts are becoming more popular, many people still do not know much about them. Here are six things to consider if you are thinking about getting a Health Savings Account. 1. Pre-Tax Contributions to your Health Savings Account

High Deductible Health Plans and Health Savings Accounts
As the cost of health insurance and healthcare continues to grow, individuals and families are actively looking for ways to lower their healthcare costs. This increased cost, as well as the current health care reform efforts, have been beneficial for a couple of reasons. First of all, it has caused people to creatively look at ways to reduce premium cost. Secondly, it has caused us to consider what real purpose health insurance serves and evaluate our past coverage choices. Let's take a look at the components of using a Health Savings Account plan:

Health Savings Account Deadline December 1st - Don't Miss This Date!


General Motors Moves to Health Savings Accounts
General Motors Co. is moving most of its 24,000 salaried employees into Health Savings Accounts and away from traditional health care plans starting at the beginning of 2010. The employees are being offered two Health Savings Account options: One Health Savings Account plan has a maximum of $2,200 in yearly out-of-pocket costs for a single salaried employee, and $5,000 for a family. The other Health Savings Account plan has a $1,300 out-of-pocket maximum for an individual and $3,100 for a family, but with a higher monthly premium.

Blue Cross Offering Health Savings Accounts To Employees
While insurers nationwide say it's important that healthcare reform offer people plenty of insurance alternatives, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Florida has decided that one health insurance plan is best for their employees. Their agents will continue to offer individual and businesses dozens of options in PPOs, HMOs, and other health insurance options, but next year the 5,000 employees of Blue Cross Blue Shield of FL will be required to go into a Health Savings Account with a high-deductible health insurance plan.

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.

J.P. Morgan Shares Best Practices for Implementing a Health Savings Account Program (Business Wire via Yahoo! Finance)
NEW YORK----J.P. Morgan today issued a report titled "Best Practices for Implementing a Health Savings Account Program" providing a step-by-step guide for employers who want to offer an HSA program to employees.

Only 59% Aware of Health Savings Accounts (Financial Planning.com)
Six years after health savings accounts were introduced, only 59% of the population has heard of them, only half of these people actually understand them, and only 14% of the overall population own them, Guardian Life Insurance found in its Spotlight on Consumer-Driven Health Plans Survey.

Guardian Survey Reveals Widespread Lack of Understanding of Health Savings Accounts (redOrbit)
National Study by Guardian Life Insurance Identifies Key Motivators for Participation NEW YORK, June 3 /PRNewswire/ -- The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America (Guardian), a leading provider of employee benefits for small and mid-sized companies, today announced the results of a comprehensive survey on consumers' attitudes and beliefs regarding healthcare coverage, including health savings ...

Sterling HSA and Medical Cost Advocate Announce Partnership to Help Lower Consumer Healthcare Costs (dBusinessNews.com)
Oakland, CA and Wyckoff, NJ, June 2, 2009 – Sterling HSA Ò , a company specializing in administering health savings accounts (HSAs) and Medical Cost Advocate Ò , a company with expertise in negotiating health care costs for consumers, have teamed up to provide Sterling HSA account holders with a service to review and negotiate their out-of-pocket medical expenses as another way of advancing ...

What You Should Know About Health Savings Accounts (PRWeb)
Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) were created to help individuals and families prepare for medical expenses and gain a tax advantage in the process. The Federation of American Consumers and Travelers (FACT) has compiled information from a variety of sources in order to help its members, and the public at large, to know whether an HSA is right for them. (PRWeb May 29, 2009) Read the full story at ...

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.

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