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December 30, 2009
Big Businesses Adopting Health Savings Accounts in 2010
With ever-increase healthcare premiums, CEO, small business owners, self-employed individuals, and even the self-insured are constantly challenged to find ways to keep a close watch on their healthcare expenses. Luckily, the October 23, 2009 issues of Consumer Driven Market Report has some insights into how to better manage healthcare expenses in a sometimes unpredictable healthcare environment.
According to the Consumer Driven Market Report, "The huge Blue Cross Blue Shield of Florida will offer only a Health Savings Account product to employees next year in the latest sign that larger employers, government workers and unions will be a major source of total replacement offerings in 2010."
What “total replacement offerings” means is that some companies will replace traditional HMO and PPO plans with Health Savings Account qualified health plans for their employees.
So why are so many health insurance companies and big businesses changing their health plans to HSA insurance plans? Simple: large companies are looking for more ways to stay in control of their healthcare costs, yet still provide appealing benefits to their employees. Health Savings Accounts, for many employers, are the ideal solution.
The Consumer Driven Market Report also reported that General Motors announced its plan to only offer Health Savings Account-based healthcare plans to its salaried employees. After a substantial bail-out from the U.S. government (and tax-payers), General Motors appears to be cracking down on its expenses by creating more predictable and cost-effective healthcare plans for its employees. Health Savings Accounts provide the perfect solution for a large company whose expenses are now being closely monitored by the masses.
The General Motors healthcare plan will be a hybrid health plan that includes a low-cost high deductible health insurance plan (which will cover large and unexpected medical bills) and a tax-deductible (pre-tax) Health Savings Account into which employees can contribute funds that will be earmarked to pay for everyday healthcare expenses. This hybrid healthcare plan is somewhat befitting for an American company that has gained back some of its positive reputation by offering a hybrid car that couples a, efficient gasoline engine for highway driving with an electric motor for city driving, don’t you think?
Posted by Wiley Long at December 30, 2009 08:38 AM