November 21, 2011
Health Savings Accounts Work For Acupuncture
Are you fond of alternative healing methods such as acupuncture to relieve stress and pain, or to promote health? The National Institutes of Health recently recognized the benefits of what has been referred to an "alternative" health care. However, your regular health insurance plans might not cover these treatments.
If you have a Health Savings Account (HSA), you can use your HSA dollars to pay for alternative medical treatments and you can take tax deductions for these expenses. HSA Plans combine high-deductible health insurance policies with tax-advantaged savings accounts.
The new high-deductible health plans that work with Health Savings Accounts cover regular preventive services before you've met the deductible. For example, flu shots, a yearly checkup, and identifying certain cancers, diabetes, high blood pressure are all covered. These plans still cost less than full-coverage policies known as co-pay plans.
Health Savings Accounts will change how we think of health insurance. If you want to learn more about what HSA Plans offer now, our site contains news and educational resources to help.
Posted by Wiley Long at 10:17 AM | Comments (0)
January 27, 2010
Why Enroll in a Health Savings Account?
To Protect Your Health and Wealth!
Many Americans are struggling to keep up with the high cost of healthcare. Not only are health insurance premiums skyrocketing, but many employers are reducing their employee benefit (or even cutting healthcare coverage altogether) in an effort to reduce their costs. Moreover, many healthcare services are not even covered at all by health insurance plans, even when health insurance plan members pay for their insurance.
So how can Americans protect themselves, their wallets, and their healthcare?
One of the most effective and long-lasting healthcare solutions for many Americans is a Health Savings Account – a tax-deductible savings account into which participants can deposit funds that are earmarked to pay for their healthcare expenses.
Getting sick is a normal occurrence in today’s society. Whether you, a friend, or relatively develops a simple cold or something more serious, such as cancer, all illnesses need to be addressed in some way. Often, illnesses can lead to large medical bills, in addition to time away from work and family.
However, the current health insurance model tends to be focused on treating illnesses rather than illness prevention, even with illnesses being as common as they are in this country. You may have already noticed that health insurance plans generally covers drug, surgeries, hospital stays, diagnostic tests and a variety of other health care services.
But just how much wellness and disease prevention do most healthcare plans cover? Not many insurance plans cover nutritional counseling, heavy metal detoxification, acupuncture, yoga, chelation therapy or other preventive services? The question remains: with so much focus on treating illness rather than preventing it, how can Americans get the health insurance support they need to stay healthy – without having to pay a lot of money for preventative services out-of-pocket?
A Health Savings Account is one of the best illness prevention health insurance tools that Americans can use to prevent the onset of illness and to stay healthy. In fact, Health Savings Accounts are becoming so popular that many individuals and families are dropping their current health insurance coverage plans in order to enroll in HSA plans. And, in doing so, they are often able to save a significant amount of money each year – up to thousands of dollars!
A Health Savings Account is a tax-deductible savings account that acts like an IRA. Along with the Health Savings Account, participants enroll in high-deductible health insurance accounts that have low monthly premiums. Members use the funds from their Health Savings Accounts to pay for their medical expenses, including preventative medical services and other qualifying health care items.
With Health Savings Accounts, participants are able to have more control over where they spend their healthcare dollars. Moreover, because Health Savings Accounts act like IRAs, participants can place the funds from their Health Savings Accounts into high interest-yielding savings accounts, like stocks, bonds, and otherwise. These high-interest yielding investments can help them grow their wealth and savings while setting aside money to use for future healthcare expenses.
With the launch of the Health Savings Account program, Americans can now have more control over their healthcare expenditures and have a better time controlling their health and wellness activities. Contact us today for more information about Health Savings Accounts and how they might help your family save money and get better healthcare coverage for your specific healthcare needs.
Posted by Wiley Long at 01:37 PM | Comments (0)
January 15, 2010
Using a Health Savings Account to Keep Health Insurance Premiums Low
Health Savings Accounts offer tax deductions for medical expenses, and the possibility of creating an additional retirement account. But regardless of any other positive benefit of Health Savings Accounts, lower premiums are the main reason why thousands of Americans have chosen Health Savings Accounts as the best way to protect the health of their families and their property. Here are some basic tips on how to keep your health insurance premiums low.
1.Choose an HSA-qualified health insurance plan that increases rates slower.
Health insurance premiums in the group average increased by 9.6% last year and increased by over 10% for the previous six years. Individual plans have increased even more. However, it is expected most HSA plans is growing much more slowly. A very large study has recently been published showing that rate increases last year for the consumer market-based plans such as HSA plans was only 3.4%. Blue Cross of Minnesota has shown that its HSA customers spent 8% less than their traditional insurance clients. Humana reported compensation costs of 4.9% for the market, consumer-focused plans, compared with an increase of 19.2% of requests for other plans. In fact, the average HSA premiums for people who have fallen by 19.5% over the last two years.
The reason these plans have a lower rate increase is that people who have HSA-qualifying plans high deductible health are likely to pay closer attention to costs and better caretheir health. For example, an HSA owner offered a statin to lower cholesterol May be more likely to request a generic version, or ask your doctor if inexpensive nutritional supplements such as niacin and fish oil in May a solution. These actions will save money by insurance company and must be faced with higher interest rates lower.
2. Increase the exemption that increases your Health Savings Account balance.
When you fund your account is to provide a financial cushion "which allows to invoke the exception that your account is growing. Whenever you increase your deductible, the premium must fall.
By the way, remember that every time you fund your account, you get an instant tax deduction. When you offset the tax savings against your premiums, you'll find your net cost for an HSA plan can be very low.
The maximum allowable increases each year with the increase of the index of consumer prices. Currently, the maximum individual contribution is $ 2,700 and family limit is $ 5450. So every year you can deposit greater amounts into your HSA and continue to increase your deductible, if you choose.
3. Stay healthy so you can change HSA plans.
All health insurance plans have increased their rates and we also saw premiums jump on some HSA plans. If a rate increase happens to you, you can switch to another insurance company – but only if you pass their underwriting requirements. If chronic illness develops, you may be stuck with the current plan, and its rate increases support for eternity. Or at least it may seem that long …
If you pay attention to drug advertising, you learn lifestyle really has nothing to do with disease, and it is natural and healthy to be in many medicines for the rest of your life, which will then solve your health problems.
If you pay attention to science, we know the truth is very different. It seems a way of life is probably 95% of the pictures, and we know that the onset of degenerative diseases can be significantly reduced or even avoided.
Fortunately, most Health Savings Account owners interested in health, wellness and disease prevention. After all, pay their visits to the doctor if they become ill. Health Savings Accounts are also the owners 'vision' of the people, and how to plan their future – both financially and physically. You can improve your chances of excellent> Health with just a few key habits:
Eating a high amount of fruits and vegetables. Shoot for 35% of calories. In this way, reduce the risk for diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, cancer and consumption more.Limit much sugar and starchy carbohydrates like bread and pasta. The majority of health problems in the United States are related to metabolic diseases that involve insulin resistance.Exercise and weightlifting. Exercise guru Jack La Lanne turns 93 on September 26, and he said that if you have muscles you never feel old. 4. Compare your plan with other plans available at least once a year, or when you get a rate increase. Often people keep their plan much longer than they should, and end up paying too much. If the rate you should compare a variety of plans to determine if you plan for your needs and your budget. Using these four strategies, the typical family can save thousands of dollars in health insurance premiums and still protect yourself against unexpected major medical expenses.
Posted by Wiley Long at 11:30 AM | Comments (0)
November 12, 2009
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.
GM says these HSA plans with those monthly payments should, on average, be lower than what workers are paying for traditional health coverage.
GM has previously offered a version of the consumer driven plan for salaried workers, but starting in January all such employees must switch.
GM's 120,000 retirees and dependents will make a similar move to Health Savings Accounts, but their deductibles will be higher than those paid by active white-collar workers.
The automaker says it will deposit $1,300 per salaried employee into a Health Savings Account, to help them make the transition and pay out-of-pocket expenses.
According to recently released details, the monthly contributions, deductibles and out-of-pocket maximums paid by these retirees will be substantially higher than they pay now.
Like the plan for active salaried workers, some prescription drugs such as cholesterol medications are covered for retirees.
Most, however, aren't covered until retirees reach their out-of-pocket maximum, which is $3,500 for a single person and $7,000 for a couple or family.
Retirees will pay 20 percent of eligible expenses after their deductible is met, up to the out-of-pocket maximum; that rises to 40 percent if they use out-of-network providers. GM will pay all expenses after the out-of-pocket maximum is met.
GM is giving salaried retirees $260 a month until they turn 65 and qualify for Medicare. That money can be used for health expenses.
The automaker said last year that it would end health care coverage for Medicare-eligible retirees in 2009, and replaced it with a $300 monthly pension increase. Those under 65 were allowed to keep their coverage, with costs capped at 2007 levels.
No health care coverage is provided for salaried retirees who joined GM after 1993.
The new approach is intended, in part, to have people take greater responsibility for their own care.
Detroit's three automakers have sought to cut an annual tab for health care coverage that once topped $10 billion. In 2007, all three companies convinced the United Auto Workers to accept cash and company stock to fund a trust to pay for hourly retiree health care.
Posted by Wiley Long at 08:58 AM | Comments (0)
June 22, 2009
Health Savings Accounts Help Prepare for Retirement Costs
As the cost of health care rises across the country, many individuals are wondering just how their anticipated health care expenses will impact their ability to retire. According to a recent study, individuals retiring at the age of 65 will need to have at least $240,000 saved in order to pay for their health care expenses during retirement alone, leaving many individuals to wonder whether or not retirement is truly an option. Health Savings Accounts are become a necessity for retirement in order to pay health care expenses during retirement years. The tax benefits of Health Savings Accounts really help make saving for retirement easier.
The results of these recent studies indicate that individuals will need to make some real choices about their retirement and spending. Currently, the typical retirement age is 65 years old. However, if an individual can't afford to pay for health care, then the individual may have to either put off retirement or be unable to pay for their health care. Either way, we're finding that our customers are growing increasingly concerned about their ability to obtain and pay for health care expenses, especially as they approach retirement.
To save for these inevitable expenses during retirement, many people are setting up Health Savings Accounts. A Health Savings Account allows you to put aside pre-tax dollars to cover future medical expenses. The money grows tax-deferred like an IRA, but is never taxed if used to pay medical bills.
Health Savings Accounts can be established by anyone who has a qualifying high-deductible health plan. These plans are designed to help make healthcare affordable through a combination of the low premiums that come with a high-deductible health insurance plan, and the tax savings from putting money aside in the HSA. That money can then be used to pay future medical expenses, tax-free.
We specialize in helping our clients find the perfect long-term arrangement for their health care needs. "HSA plans are often the most affordable and effective health care plan solutions for many of our customers, but a full needs analysis of each individual's situation is always necessary to ensure that our customers get the best possible plan."
Many people are funding their Health Savings Accounts with the hope that they will stay healthy, and not need to withdraw the money. Because the money grows tax-deferred, you can think of it as an additional retirement account. If money is later needed to pay a medical expense during retirement, that money can be withdrawn from the HSA tax-free.
Learn what a Health Savings Account can do for you at HSA for America.
Posted by Wiley Long at 10:34 AM | Comments (0)
April 14, 2008
Long Term Care and Health Savings Accounts
As the April 15 tax deadline looms, filers should not overlook the deductions allowed for long term care insurance and the potential combination of using your Health Savings Account to pay for them.
According to LTC Financial Partners LLC, the nation’s most experienced long term care insurance agency, "People with LTC policies can deduct substantial sums, and those who don’t have policies, but want them, can set themselves up now for deductions next year."
According to the Internal Revenue Code, the 2008 deductible amounts can be as high as –
- $3,850 if you’re 70 or over*
- $3,080 if you’re over 60 but not over 70*
- $1,150 if you’re over 50 but not over 60*
- $580 if you’re over 40 but not over 50*
- $310 if you’re 40 or under*
(*Note: Before end of taxable year, if medical expenses exceed 7.5% of adjusted gross income.)
But the tax benefits may not end there. “When people start taking their benefits, there can be additional deductions in some cases,” Truesdell says. “When a policy is designed to pay on a per-diem basis, a limited portion of the benefits may be excluded from taxable income.” Also, when a policy is paid for out of a Health Savings Account (HSA), there can be tax advantages. “Health Savings Accounts are funded with pre-tax dollars, and long term care premiums are eligible medical expenses, according to the IRS (Publication 502).”
For businesses, the tax breaks can be especially attractive, Truesdell says. “For example, when small business owners pay the premiums — for employees or themselves — it’s generally deductible as a business expense.” The self-employed, S-corporation owners, and C-corporation owners are NOT subject to the 7.5% rule that limits the medical-expense deductions of individual taxpayers.
Posted by Wiley Long at 04:55 PM | Comments (0)
February 12, 2008
Health Savings Accounts Creating Healthy Lifestyles and Retirement Income
As we've long said, Health Savings Accounts bring a win-win-win situation for participating individuals, employees, employers and insurance providers a like... Here's how:
Health Savings Accounts promote personal accountability for one's health. By replacing a traditional plan with an HSA-qualified health insurance plan, individuals and employees not only get better coverage but other long-lasting benefits as well.
Health Savings Accounts work best when the account holder learns to save some money to cover near future medical expenses and medical expenses during retirement. The less medical spending incurred, the bigger the value inside the HSA. If one is lucky enough to not require any major medical treatment throughout his or her lifetime, all unused HSA funds roll over to the succeeding years. Eventually, it can become another source of income during retirement.
Because the value of HSA is directly linked to the health of its owners, it also promotes a healthy lifestyle. Those who make a conscious effort to eat right, exercise regularly, avoid alcohol, drugs and tobacco products and adopt a positive outlook on life are the same people who will get the most out of their Health Savings Accounts.
Think of it as a reward for living a healthy lifestyle. Make that a special bonus because good health in old age (or any age for that matter) is a tremendous reward by itself.
HSAs promote the habit of saving for the future. HSA-qualified plans have significantly lower premiums. Some plans have monthly charges of $125 ($1500/year) for single coverage and $250/month ($3000/year) for a family (2+).
This money grows to cover future expenses and deductibles. An employee that contributes $1,500 annually to his or her HSA would have $15,000 in 10 years, excluding interest, assuming no money is taken out for qualified expenses.
Posted by Wiley Long at 08:51 AM | Comments (0)
February 04, 2008
Health Savings Accounts Can Be A Healthy Aid To Retirement
The Wall Street Journal has finally reported something we have been saying for years. Tax-advantaged Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) can be used to supplement traditional retirement accounts.
An HSA can provide a valuable source of retirement income alongside your 401(k) and individual retirement account if you let your funds grow, says the Journal:
You can fund your HSA with pretax or tax-deductible dollars, which then grow tax-free; any withdrawals you make to pay for HSA qualified medical expenses aren't taxed either.
Money in Health Savings Accounts can be invested in stocks, bonds, mutual funds and certificates of deposit.
Further, individuals who are 55 and older can make additional "catch-up" contributions to HSAs of $900 in 2008, and $1,000 in 2009 and thereafter.
Once you turn 65, distributions for nonmedical expenses are only taxed as ordinary income.
Another advantage to HSAs is that unlike an Individual Retirement Account -- where you are required to make mandatory distributions at age 70 ½ -- there are no time constraints on HSA withdrawals.
Moreover, your HSA dollars can fund other aspects of your retirement, says the Journal.
Posted by Wiley Long at 10:40 AM | Comments (1)
December 12, 2007
With a Health Savings Account, It Could Pay To Be Fit
Some people need a little extra motivation to go to the gym or to buy a treadmill. Federal lawmakers are considering that motivation in the form of a tax break on fitness club memberships, personal trainers and exercise equipment.
The bill, now in the Ways and Means Committee, would allow people to set aside money in their Health Savings Accounts or Flexible Savings Accounts to use toward fitness programs and fitness equipment.
The bill would allow up to $1,000 tax-free per year to be used for preventative health care.
"We absolutely have to change the paradigm in health care from just paying for people when they get sick to how do we keep them well," said bill co-sponsor Rep. Lee Terry, (R) Nebraska.
Terry said government should take a lesson from the private sector and see what businesses are doing to lower the cost of health care.
John Lund works out three times a week with a personal trainer at Better Bodies, 120th and I Street. The Omaha business owner takes his dedication to fitness one step further. He reimburses his 50 employees from his wholesale cell phone accessory business for working out.
"If they go eight times a month, it's $35," he said.
Lund started exercising seriously eight months ago. He said his sedentary job and traveling were catching up with him.
His reasons for pumping iron with a personal coach: weight, a bad back and age.
"Getting older is not helping," he said.
Personal trainer Beth Wells believes tax breaks would give people an extra boost to encourage fitness and a lifetime of health.
"They're able to push themselves harder when they have someone to help guide them and do it safely without hurting themselves," said Wells.
Terry thinks voters should put pressure on their lawmakers to encourage the bill and make preventative health care a priority. He admits it may not have the muscle it needs to make it out of committee, overshadowed by issues surrounding the Iraq war and health insurance coverage for the poor.
Learn more about Health Savings Accounts.
Posted by Wiley Long at 07:23 AM | Comments (2)
October 05, 2007
Can Health Savings Account Money Encourage Weight Loss?
According to a study published in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, people will lose weight for money, even a little money. This is a welcome sign for employers looking for ways to cut health care costs.
By getting employees to sign up for a Health Savings Account (HSA) then offering monetary HSA incentives to lose weight, employers can cut their cost on health insurance at the same time they are encouraging their employees to live a healthier lifestyle. In the end, this is a win win situation for both employer and employee.
The OEM study involved employees split into three groups: one group received no incentives while the other two groups received $7 or $14 for each percentage point of weight lost. The results:
- Employees in the $14 group lost the most weight, an average of nearly 5 pounds after three months.
- Those offered no incentives lost 2 pounds; those in the $7 group lost about 3 pounds.
- Those in the $14 group were more than five times as likely to lose 5 percent of their weight -- the amount research has shown to be clinically significant, according to the study.
While there are some federal guidelines on offering HSA cash incentives, the idea is relatively new and will likely require further study before many employers are willing to try such a program, said Dr. Jeffrey Dobro, a consultant with the human resources consulting firm Towers Perrin.
But LuAnn Heinen, director of an institute that studies the costs and effects of obesity for the National Business Group on Health, said the study will be welcomed by employers who realize participation in other health programs remains low or that they're paying for people to lose the same 10 pounds over and over again.
Learn more about Health Savings Accounts at: http://www.health--savings--accounts.com
Posted by Wiley Long at 10:55 AM | Comments (0)
September 07, 2007
Pairing Health Savings Accounts with Wellness Programs
A wellness program paired with a Health Savings Account can help your company save money on health-care costs. Many companies are now doing just that:
Skyrocketing health insurance premiums were ruining the bottom line of Coral Chemical, a $20 million, 90-employee company in Zion, IL. "The only way to control costs was cut benefits or make the employees pay more," says CEO John Schueneman, who couldn't bring himself to do either. "I was in a horrible losing situation for years."
Schueneman eventually found a different fix. First he switched to a Health Savings Account plan. Then he adopted his insurer's wellness program.
The wellness program offers free health screenings and group walks to his employees. Schueneman's premiums now are 4% below where they would be without the program. "We've been able to get employees thinking about health, offer really rich benefits, and still save money," he says.
Wellness programs run the gamut from employer-sponsored group fitness activities and healthy cafeteria food to formal activities linked to an insurance plan. Destiny Health, Schueneman's carrier, has offered a wellness program bundled into its high-deductible insurance plan since 2001. United Healthcare is testing a high-deductible plan paired with a wellness program for companies with 100 to 1,000 employees and plans to offer it to smaller companies in 2008.
High-deductible health plans pair deductibles of up to $11,000 for a family with lower premiums. Employees can pay their health-care bills out of their individual Health Savings Account (HSA), to which they or their employer may contribute money tax-free. But unless a plan is linked to an active wellness program and proper education, an employee may end up with debt rather than savings. And wellness programs need significant incentives and active leadership to be successful.
Done well, though, the combination can sharply lower expenses. Companies sponsoring wellness programs saw a 30% reduction in medical and absenteeism costs within 3.6 years, according to a 2005 survey by industry publication The Art of Health Promotion. And the Wellness Councils of America (WELCOA) found a $24 return for every $1 a small company spent on a comprehensive program.
Find out if Health Savings Accounts are right for you and/or your business. Visit http://www.health--savings--accounts.com
Posted by Wiley Long at 08:01 AM | Comments (0)
August 28, 2007
Health Savings Account Owners Get New Tool at DrugStore.com
Drugstore.com, inc. a leading online provider of pharmacy, health, beauty and vision products announced the availability of a first of its kind online store designed for Health Savings Account (HSA) holders.
An estimated 4.5 million lives are covered by consumer-driven HSA plans, which require consumers to maintain records of eligible expenses. The new drugstore.com HSA Store identifies more than 3,000 HSA-eligible products, automatically tracks purchases, provides an HSA-only receipt and offers additional resources to help users of consumer-driven health plans record expenses for tax purposes.
The largest HSA benefits administrator, Exante Financial Services (a UnitedHealth Group company), is the first to partner with drugstore.com to provide clients with direct access to a co-branded HSA website.
"We strive to make saving and spending through the Exante Bank HSA simple, affordable and accessible," said G. Todd Berkley, vice president, account-based solutions, Exante Financial Services. "Exante Bank's partnership with drugstore.com achieves these goals. The store takes the guesswork out of identifying eligible products, takes the Exante Bank HSA debit card as payment and tracks purchases so that expenses can be easily recorded for tax purposes."
"Unlike brick-and-mortar stores, the online retail environment is uniquely qualified to provide a convenient solution for HSA account holders by creating a store with eligible products all in one place," said David Lonczak, vice president and chief marketing officer, drugstore.com. "We're pleased to add this new service for customers with a Health Savings Account in addition to our popular Flexible Spending Account or FSA Store." Exante Financial Services also hosts a FSA Store on drugstore.com.
Since record keeping is critical for HSA plans, drugstore.com has formed a relationship with http://www.doclopedia.com to provide a free online personal medical organizer for recording medical history, doctor visits and prescription drugs. Customers may link to the HSA Tracker from the HSA Store home page.
"Many HSA users don't realize the IRS requires documentation of how expenses are health related to be tax deductible," said Dan Lieberman, M.D., CEO of Doclopedia. "The HSA tracker records medical information in categories approved by the IRS, links them to a person's medical history, and then prepares reports at tax time."
drugstore.com's HSA and FSA stores are available to all consumers. In addition to shopping in the over-the-counter stores, customers may also purchase prescriptions from the drugstore.com pharmacy and contact lenses from drugstore.com at http://www.visiondirect.com. First-time customers of drugstore.com can receive a 15 percent discount on their first purchase of select items. More information is available at http://www.drugstore.com/hsa-info.
Customers can shop on Drugstore.com 24 hours a day, seven days a week from the comfort and privacy of their own home with the benefit of home delivery. They may take advantage of many convenient features such as Auto Delivery to have items automatically delivered every 30, 45, 60, 90 or 180 days or Your List, which reminds customers what items they have previously purchased. The online store also features shopping guides, product comparisons, articles, and additional product content
The Drugstore.com pharmacy is certified as a Verified Internet Pharmacy Practice Sites (VIPPS) by the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (NABP) as a fully licensed U.S. facility exercising competent, safe pharmacy practices in compliance with federal and state laws and regulations and able to ship prescription medications to all 50 states. The pharmacy provides a broad selection of over 5,000 medications, including hard-to-find specialty drugs for cancer, growth deficiency, multiple sclerosis, HIV, hepatitis and infertility.
http://www.health--savings--accounts.com
Posted by Wiley Long at 07:18 AM | Comments (0)
June 15, 2007
Maximizing Your Health Savings Account Funds
Health Savings Accounts are gaining popularity because they allow individuals, rather than an HMO or the government, to take charge of their health care. A Health Savings Account combined with a High Deductible Health Insurance Plan gives individuals an economic incentive to become better consumers of health care services because they are now spending their own money up to the level of their high deductible.
More than 4.5 million Americans now own a Health Savings Account. That's triple the number of just two years ago. If you have an HSA, here are seven tips to maximize your success with it.
1 - Take Advantage of preventive services, such as annual physicals, mammograms and pap smears that are covered by your High Deductible Health Plan.
In June 2006, United Healthcare released a three-year study involving 55,000 individuals covered by consumer-driven health plans. Results showed that these patients are more likely to receive preventive care compared to a similar group of patients enrolled in traditional PPO plans.
2 - Seek Out the best health care facilities. When you do need health care services, find an appropriate facility and deal with high quality health care providers. If you go into a hospital for certain high-risk surgeries and conditions (e.g., open-heart surgery), choose a hospital with extensive experience and one that achieves the best results.
3 - Visit the emergency room only for true emergencies. Do not visit an emergency room if you can be seen in a health center or physician's office. The same UnitedHealth study showed that without adverse effects on health outcomes, HSA owners reduced their hospital admissions by 22 percent for those needing acute care, and 8 percent for the chronically ill.
4 - Research information about your illness or injury. When possible, seek out information from reputable sources (e.g., PHC4, the Leapfrog Group, WebMD, MedlinePlus) about your illness or injury.
5 - Switch to over-the-counter drugs whenever possible. Certain medications formerly sold only by prescription are now available over-the-counter. By switching to an over-the-counter alternative with the approval of your physician (e.g., using Prilosec instead of Nexium; Claritin instead of Allegra), costs drop as much as 80 percent.
6 - Be aware of potential medical errors. More than 1 million medical errors occur every year in U.S. hospitals, costing more than $2 billion. Patronize hospitals that use "computerized order entry" of medications, which reduces serious prescribing errors in hospitals by more than 50 percent.
7 - Adopt a healthy lifestyle. Your first, second and third priorities should be to stay healthy. If you stay healthy, you will preserve money in your HSA. The money then carries over to the next year, earns investment income, and is available to pay for future "eligible medical expenses." Throw away the cigarettes, exercise, eat well, and avoid the growing obesity epidemic. When you do, you preserve money in your HSA.
Learn what a Health Savings Account can do for you at: http://www.health--savings--accounts.com
You can also find some resources to help you Maximize Your HSA on our HSA for America Memebers Benefits page.
Posted by Wiley Long at 10:18 AM | Comments (2)
April 22, 2007
Wal-Mart Catering to Health Savings Account Owners
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is forecasting more than 6,600 in-store medical clinics will open their doors in the next five years in retailers nationwide. With the additional clinics, Health Savings Account owners will have an opportunity to save even more money.
"I think it's an indication of how bullish on these clinics individuals are," Alicia Ledlie, senior director for Wal-Mart's health business development, said at a health care retailers convention in Orlando.
With 75 clinics in Wal-Mart stores in 12 states, the company has ended its pilot program and plans a faster roll-out of additional clinics nationwide.
Ledlie said Wal-Mart is considering providing its in-store clinics with a common electronic medical records system so patient care can be tracked from store to store.
"My vision is the different clinic operators could all be on a common platform," she said. "We are looking at it actively now."
Wal-Mart's move into retail health care also includes a program of providing certain generic drugs for $4 for a 30-day supply. In the program's first three months Wal-Mart said consumers and the government saved more than $200 million on prescriptions.
These additional clinics will be a great help to individuals and families who own a Health Savings Account. To learn more about Health Savings Accounts and what they can do for you, visit: http://www.Health--Savings--Accounts.com
Posted by Wiley Long at 08:43 PM | Comments (1)
March 25, 2007
Health Savings Accounts for Expecting Parents
Should a family with a woman in her childbearing years use an HSA? A woman who is pregnant or might likely become pregnant needs to be very aware of her health insurance situation. Taking pre-natal classes, having a hospital delivery, Cesarian sections are all expensive, nevermind any potential complications.
Health Savings Accounts paired with a high-deductible health insurance policy can work for the family who might be expecting. Here’s how:
A high-deductible health insurance policy means that with a hospital delivery, you’ll definitely be paying that first $1,000, $2,500 or $5,000 (depending on the deductible), because the total cost will be that plus more. But after the deductible is satisfied, the insurance will kick in and pay for the rest of the cost.
However, it gets more complicated than that. In order to have maternity covered in a policy, you must buy an additional “insurance rider” for maternity. This rider comes with your insurance policy, not with the Health Savings Account. The rider is extremely expensive, it will add hundreds or thousands of dollars to your yearly cost of insurance.
So, if you are going to delivery using a regular hospital delivery, you should definitely purchase the additional maternity rider on your HSA insurance policy. Remember that the high-deductible policy with the maternity rider will still be significantly cheaper than a low-deductible policy with the same rider. So you should still use a high-deductible policy, just add that rider.
But there are other options for the lucky parents to be. You could considered using a midwife, in-home delivery. Many parents are turning to this option. Create a relationship with a midwife or nurse-midwife and consult with her throughout the pregnancy. You might find that it is a safer, more comfortable way to have a child than the hospital environment. Just make sure you do your homework first. Find a midwife who has good qualifications and excellent references. And check the laws in your state. Midwifery is illegal in several states, because the Medical Boards do not appreciate them taking business away from hospitals.
If you rely on a midwife, your overall costs will go down dramatically, but you will not be able to use HSA money to pay a midwife. Also note that the maternity rider on your insurance policy will not help pay for midwifery services. Even with these disadvantages, you might find that your overall cost savings are so great that the midwife is not only the safest, most comfortable option, but also the least expensive.
A Health Savings Account, along with usage of holistic practitioners like midwives, will change healthcare in America forever. Be a part of the future of healthcare! HSAs are available today: http://www.health--savings--accounts.com
Posted by Wiley Long at 11:35 AM | Comments (0)
March 19, 2007
Are Health Savings Accounts an Option for People with Diabetes or Other Cronic Conditions?
Health Savings Accounts are becoming quite popular for people who are generally healthy. Some would even say Health Savings Accounts are only for the "young and healthy."
But what about people who are already sick? What about people who have chronic conditions like diabetes, multiple sclerosis or other cronic conditions? What about if you are older? Does a Health Savings Account make sense for them?
The answer is yes!
One of our clients is a diabetic. She is very careful about what she eats and she takes her insulin regularly. She has a tremendous amount of energy and a great outlook on life. She's in her late fifties.
She asked us about getting a high-deductible health insurance policy in conjunction with a Health Savings Account. So we began to work the numbers for her.
With a high-deductible plan, she would definitely be paying out-of-pocket for insulin and other supplies every month, to the tune of over $80. But, on the other hand, she would save $250 a month on the reduced premium payments.
Once we did the calculation, she realized that it made perfect sense for her to switch to a high-deductible policy and use an HSA. Even after paying for her diabetic supplies, she was saving $170 every month, which amounted to $2,040 a year.
What could you do with $2,040 a year, given to you just for changing your insurance policy?
I can think of lots of uses. She has also thought of lots of uses for that money, believe me! (I think she's saving it for a nest egg, which her Health Savings Account will help out with.)
If you have a chronic condition that requires pharmaceutical drugs or medical supplies or on-going doctor visits, please do this calculation for yourself or let us do it for you. Compare the amount that you'd be paying out-of-pocket to the amount of money you'll save with a lowered premium payment each month. You might be pleasantly surprised!
And, of course, if you have a relapse or a catastrophic health event, your insurance policy will kick in once you hit the deductible, and you'll enjoy full coverage after that.
Health Savings Acccounts (HSAs) are a wonderful tool to help you reduce your health insurance costs. They are a perfect fit for the self-employed and the small business. And they are available today! Visit us today to see if an HSA is right for you: http://www.Health--Savings--Accounts.com
Who knows? You might have an extra $250 or more coming into your bank account next month!
Posted by Wiley Long at 10:39 AM | Comments (0)
November 24, 2006
Health Savings Accounts Cover Alternative Medicine
A Health Savings Account (HSA) does not cover every type of alternative medicine. However, a person using a Health Savings Account can withdraw money from their HSA account for any type of "qualified medical expense". Qualified by whom... the IRS.
So, the IRS pretty much thinks that proper medical expenses are any types of Western medicine - pharmaceutical drugs, surgery, doctor visits, etc. However, there are many things on the list that are alternative medical options. For example, chiropractors are on the list and so is acupuncture.
With acupuncture, it must be considered medically necessary. That means that a doctor (MD or DO) must say that he thinks you should see an acupuncturist and write a prescription for it. Then you can see an acupuncturist and pay for it with the money from your HSA.
But there's one more thing. When you are using an HSA in conjunction with a high-deductible health insurance policy, you start seeing the real costs of everything you do, up until you hit that high deductible each year.
When you start seeing the real costs of Western medicine, at that point, alternative medicine might start to look really good.
Consider the following:
A routine doctor visit done before you meet your deductible may cost you about $100. That is one hundred dollars for about a seven-minute visit. (HMOs like doctors to have short visits with their patients.)
Now think about an alternative medical provider. Let's take a naturopath as an example. A naturopath may charge about $90 for your first visit. That visit will probably take about an hour and a half.
Let's look at the cost in dollars-per-minute:
- The doctor visit costs $14.28 per minute.
- The naturopath visit costs $1.00 per minute.
You might think a doctor is better qualified to understand your health problems, but do you think they are 14 times better qualified.
Health Savings Accounts will cause all of us to evaluate our options. We'll look at all the aspects of Western medicine and alternative medicine (or integrative medicine) and we'll choose the ones that make the most sense.
Health Savings Accounts will change how we think of health insurance. They are a wonderful tool that almost every American can and should benefit from. And they're available today!
See all the HSA Qualified Expenses.
Posted by Wiley Long at 02:23 PM | Comments (2)
September 20, 2006
Rewarding Health Savings Account Workers for Improving Health
Recent federal rule clarifications regarding Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) will let employers put more money into the HSA accounts of employees who participate in health-wellness programs and improve their health as a result.
Such incentives will be allowed starting at the beginning of 2007 due to a clarification handed down by the U.S. Department of Treasury earlier this summer. Wellness-program advocates say such incentives could cause more people to take part in the programs and that could lead to a healthier work force, which ultimately would help keep employers' insurance premiums down.
“In the end, it does make a huge difference,” says Kathy Gordon, director of the work-site health promotion program at the Physician Hospital Community Organization, a Spokane-based health-plan administrator commonly known as the PHCO.
For employers, health savings accounts are said to be a less-expensive alternative to offering conventional group health-insurance plans that carry low deductibles for insureds. Health savings accounts are used in tandem with a high-deductible health plan, sometimes referred to as an umbrella plan or a major-medical plan.
Generally speaking, an employer pays for the umbrella plan and also puts a certain amount of money into each employee’s health savings account at regular intervals. The employee also contributes pre-tax money to his or her account, usually through payroll deduction.
Mark Newbold, employee-benefits adviser for Spokane-based Moloney O’Neill Benefits, says federal guidelines set the minimum deductible for umbrella plans at $1,050 for individuals and $2,100 for families. Oftentimes, however, employers chose umbrella plans with much higher deductibles than that, greater than $2,000 for individuals and more than $2,500 for families, to realize cost savings.
Account holders use money accumulated in their accounts to pay for medical expenses up to the amount of deductible under the umbrella plan, and the umbrella plan’s coverage kicks in once expenses exceed that amount.
Because employees manage their own health savings accounts, the accounts are seen as a way to encourage employees to shop carefully for health-care services—ideally holding down costs through their own decision-making ability. Money that isn’t used in the year it’s contributed to an account can be carried over into following years. Employees can withdraw money from the account at any time for expenses not related to health care, but they then must pay income taxes and a penalty for doing so.
Federal guidelines set the maximum annual contribution amount, by both an employer and an employee, at the lower of the following: 100 percent of the plan’s deductible or $2,700 for individuals and $5,450 for families.
Wellness programs can be beneficial regardless of the type of health plan a company offers, Newbold says. He says, though, that offering wellness programs in conjunction with health savings accounts is especially important. Since employees manage their own accounts, they should try to remain healthy to keep from depleting their accounts.
“The two have to go hand in hand,” Newbold says. “One without the other, in the long run, is not going to accomplish the goals that you have.”
The PHCO and Community Health Association of Spokane are among those that offer wellness programs.
The PHCO conducts wellness fairs for companies in order, first, to educate people about how to lead a healthy lifestyle, then to help them monitor progress as they work to improve their health, the organization’s Gordon says.
At such an event, she says, the PHCO offers to test cholesterol, blood-sugar levels, blood pressure, body-fat percentage, body-mass index, hip-to-waist ratio, and bone density. It also offers a confidential health-risk assessment survey that covers general health, depression, stress and anxiety, and headaches, among other conditions.
Without divulging the details about any individual’s health, the PHCO puts together a companywide report on employees’ health for an employer to address in general terms where its work force stands in terms of health and makes recommendations of programs that an employer might consider offering based on that information, Gordon says. For example, she says, the organization has put together weight-loss programs for some companies and heart-health programs for others.
The organization has conducted wellness fairs annually for some employers—free of charge for employers whose plans the PHCO administrates—and it now has multiple-year results for some employees, Gordon says.
Incentives that involve adding more money to a person’s health-savings account likely will be geared toward encouraging people to attend wellness fairs or similar events, then eventually will evolve into incentives for showing results of improved health, such as lower blood pressure or an improved body-mass index.
Employers offer different kinds of incentives to workers to lure them to such events. For example, she says, one employer offered $25 gift certificates to employees who attended a wellness fair. The promotion worked well, she added; the event attracted more than 100 people, compared with an earlier event by the same employer that drew only 40 people.
“It would be nice if everybody wanted to be healthy, but usually it takes the incentives to get them to opt into the program,” Gordon says.
Health savings accounts were created in 2003. While they’ve have been touted for their cost savings for employers and the control they give employees, Newbold says they’ve received mixed reviews so far.
Inevitably, when a company begins offering such accounts, some workers will incur substantial health-care costs before they have enough money built up in their accounts, Newbold says. That means some employees could face substantial out-of-pocket costs, he says.
He says that health insurance claims typically follow the 80-20 rule, in which 80 percent of the claims are filed by 20 percent of the insureds, which can mean that health savings accounts might not work well for a company and its employees in the early days of such a program.
“Can employers get through that transition period knowing that 20 percent is going to be adversely effected?” he says.
Generally speaking, he says, health savings accounts receive positive remarks from professional concerns where the bulk of the employees make comparable wages, but companies with stratified work forces often have lower-paid employees encounter more problems in making the program work satisfactorily for them.
Find out more about Health Savings Accounts at http://www.health--savings--accounts.com
Posted by Wiley Long at 09:02 AM | Comments (0)
May 26, 2006
Health Savings Accounts will encourage preventive healthcare
Many Americans are failing to get the preventive medical care that could help them live longer, healthier lives, according to a new study by the American Journal of Preventative Medicine.
Preventive measures that can be paid for from a Health Savings Account, like a daily dose of aspirin, colon cancer screening and smoking-cessation therapy, are all effective ways to save lives and healthcare dollars, but fewer than half of Americans who need these services are getting them, the study found.
The findings, published online by the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, are based on an analysis of more than 8,000 previously published studies. Researchers with the non-profit groups Partnership for Prevention and HealthPartners Research Foundation ranked 25 recommended preventive services according to their potential health benefits and medical-cost savings.
Besides aspirin therapy, colon cancer screening and smoking cessation, the most effective preventive services include childhood vaccinations, blood pressure screening, Chlamydia screening for young women, and immunizing adults against the flu and pneumonia, the researchers conclude.
Yet, with the exception of childhood vaccinations, the majority of Americans may be missing out on at least one of these services, according to the report.
"If these services were more consistently offered to the American people, fewer people would die and fewer people would suffer from diseases that are preventable," study co-author Ashley Coffield, an analyst with the Washington, D.C.-based Partnership for Prevention, said in a statement.
For example, low-dose aspirin therapy has been shown to be a cheap, effective way of lowering the risk of heart disease and stroke. If doctors discussed aspirin therapy with all at-risk patients, the study authors conclude, it could save 80,000 lives annually.
Similar benefits could be seen if doctors asked all patients about their smoking habits, then offered smokers brief counseling and recommendations for cessation therapies, according to the researchers.
Not only would this spare many people from lung cancer, heart disease and other ills, but it could also save $3 billion in medical costs each year, Coffield and her colleagues estimate.
According to the researchers, their rankings of preventive services do not negate the importance of lifestyle factors, such as diet and exercise. But, they say, the study does highlight those medical practices that create the greatest health benefits for the lowest cost.
Visit us at http://www.health--savings--accounts.com
Posted by Wiley Long at 10:22 AM | Comments (0)
April 13, 2006
Specialty Hospitals offer quality options for Health Savings Account owners
A study conducted by researchers at RTI International, funded by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and published in mid-February in the healthcare policy journal Health Affairs, confirmed what Health Savings Account owners have been hoping for: physician-owned orthopedic, cardiac, and surgical specialty hospitals provide high-quality patient care and offer valuable services to their communities at a competitive price. RTI’s study director, Jerry Cromwell, PhD, comments, “Specialty hospitals actually stimulate a competitive environment that could have positive effects on the quality of care.”
Detractors of specialty hospitals will never be convinced and will continue to spew their propaganda, but for the true believers, this confirmation serves as yet another valuable piece of arsenal for the battle. Even the American Medical Association (AMA) agrees. AMA president-elect William G. Plested III, MD, comments:
“The AMA supports specialty hospitals as an innovative way to promote high quality, cost-effective care. Specialty hospitals can and should be part of an integrated healthcare system dedicated to providing patients with high-quality and choice in care. Studies based on hard data by both the government and private sector support the AMA’s position that specialty hospitals provide high quality care to patients. In fact, (the RTI) study ... finds clear quality advantages in specialty hospitals. Risk-adjusted 30-day mortality rates were significantly lower for specialty hospitals than for community hospitals, and Medicare patients reported very high satisfaction. The study also found that specialty hospitals provide more net community benefits through uncompensated care and taxes than not-for-profit competitors as a share of total revenues. Specialty hospitals give patients more choice, forcing existing hospitals to innovate to keep attracting new patients. (The study) found that specialty hospitals stimulate a competitive environment in some markets. As we strive to provide patients with the highest quality care, innovation — not stagnation — is the way of the future.”
Just a quick glance at the recent headlines in Health Affairs signals an introspection among hospitals contemplating their future along the healthcare delivery continuum. In the paper, “Could U.S. Hospitals Go the Way of U.S. Airlines?” the authors state that increased price transparency and focused competition can squeeze out inefficiencies, restraining prices and making some consumers better off, but that competition has a dark side. They say that hospitals can treat Medicare and Medicaid patients at less than cost, care for the uninsured, and provide other money-losing services because they can cross-subsidize. By 2025 the need for general hospitals to cross-subsidize will greatly increase, but their ability to do so will be diminished, and so U.S. hospitals could begin to resemble U.S. airlines: severely cutting costs, eliminating services, and suffering financial instability.
If hospitals are merely surviving rather than thriving, of course they will latch onto any anti-competition doctrine they can use as a lifeboat. Perhaps the hospital association’s lobbyists can throw out a lifeline from their yachts, because the old way of providing healthcare is sinking fast.
The continued growth of specialty hospitals will give health savings account owners more options for quality healthcare at affordable prices.
For more information on health savings accounts, visit us at: http://www.health--savings--accounts.com
Posted by Wiley Long at 11:09 AM | Comments (0)
March 18, 2006
Unhealthy Health Savings Account Critics
Most critics of Health Savings Accounts claim HSAs are only for the "fill in the blank" and healthy. A Health Savings Account is only for the "young" and healthy, or "rich" and healthy, or "unemployed" and healthy. It seems Health Savings Account critics are biased against "healthy" people.
What critics don't say is these accounts produce more healthy individuals. Higher rates of healthy individuals is needed to help solve our healthcare problems.
Our nation is now going through an obesity epidemic unrivaled in human history. This has already led to record levels of heart disease and cancer. The fastest growing disease is now diabetes, and will one day could be Alzheimer's as this same group of people grows older. This is a tragic situation, because the overwhelming majority of these people have brought the disease and disability upon themselves through careless lifestyle choices. Our healthcare system must have more incentives for people to take better care of their health.
Health Savings Accounts do just that. They reward people for staying healthy by giving them a tax-free savings account. People who don't use their funds can securely move toward higher deductible health insurance plans as their savings grow. Any health expenses they incur can be paid tax-free.
Some people mistakenly feel like if they don't use their health insurance, they aren't getting their money's worth. (They don't make the same mistake with life insurance, though). But HSAs turn that logic around, by rewarding people for not using their coverage. You can even pay for preventive tests and treatments from your Health Savings Account, charges traditional health insurance plans won't pay. If HSAs can encourage more people to take better care of themselves, it will be a huge step toward improving the healthcare challenges of the United States.
Posted by Wiley Long at 03:56 PM | Comments (6)
March 14, 2006
Control family healthcare costs with a Health Savings Account
Health care is going to eat big portions of family budgets as record numbers of Americans become seniors.
In 10 years, health care could consume 20 percent of household income, according to government analysts in the journal Public Health. With a Health Savings Account and some preventative care, you can lower your healthcare costs.
The pocketbook will motivate Americans to take better care of themselves, with smoking and obesity major factors in controlling medical care.
But more than 45 million Americans are without health insurance, leaving them unprotected against cost-saving early and preventive treatment.
Government programs can help, but those costs are spread out through taxes and hospital bills.
This year, Medicare's federal prescription-drug benefit kicked in for the elderly and disabled. But it will be a budget-buster, costing the government between $750 billion and $1 trillion over the next 10 years.
President Bush is promoting tax-exempt health savings accounts to assist individuals to pay for medical expenses. It could be applied toward insurance that has high front-end costs but low premiums making HSAs an affordable option for the uninsured.
People can help themselves. The best place to start is the kitchen table. Eat less and better. Exercise more. It really is that simple.
Personal responsibility is an account worth opening. Adding a Health Savings Account will reward all your hard work with lower health insurance costs.
Posted by Wiley Long at 09:39 AM | Comments (0)
February 03, 2006
Take charge of Obesity with a Health Savings Account
One of the key aspects to a Health Savings Account is putting the consumer in charge. Not only thier hard earned money, but also their overall health.
America's problem with bulging waistlines has reached pandemic proportions, according to federal health officials, who warn that obesity is becoming society's No. 1 killer.
As doctors wrestle with the problem, economists have been pondering which corporations and industries benefit, and the role that changes in the overall economy have played in making us fat to begin with.
It turns out, economists say, that changes in food technology (producing tasty, easy-to-cook food, such as french fries) and changes in labor (we use to be paid to exercise at work, now we pay to exercise after work) combined with women's importance in the workforce, not the kitchen, have combined to produce industries able to cheaply and efficiently meet the demands of our busy lives.
For many corporations, and even for physicians, Americans' obesity has also fattened the bottom line:
- William L. Weis, a management professor at Seattle University, says revenue from the "obesity industries" will likely top $315 billion this year, and perhaps far more.
- That includes $133.7 billion for fast-food restaurants, $124.7 billion for medical treatments related to obesity, and $1.8 billion just for diet books -- all told, nearly 3 percent of the overall U.S. economy.
"Put simply, there is a lot of money being made, and to be made, in feeding both oversized stomachs and feeding those enterprises selling fixes for oversized stomachs," Weis wrote in 2005 in the Academy of Health Care Management Journal. "And both industries -- those selling junk food and those selling fat cures -- depend for their future on a prevalence of obesity."
These are sad sad facts. There are a lot of societal presures working against you in the battle of the bulg. Encouraging individuals to sign up for a health savings account could help put a dent in American's waistlines.
When individuals are put in charge of their own health care dollars, staying in shape and living a healthy lifestyle will be a major goal for HSA owners because it will save them money. More money... one of the greatest motivational factors in our society. Now put down those fries and start saving money!
Visit us at www.health--savings--accounts.com to get started.
Posted by Wiley Long at 11:02 AM | Comments (0)
August 26, 2005
United States fatter than ever
If you own a Health Savings Account (HSA), you owe it to yourself to stay healthy. The CDC just released its obesity data, and once again we, as a nation, are fatter than ever. 22.7 % of adults are officially obese. Obesity is defined as a body mass index of over 30. This means that a man 5'10 could weigh 201 and not be considered obese. A 5'5 woman could weigh up to 179.
The fatest states are Mississippi, Alabama, West Virginia, Louisiana, and Tennessee. These are also the states that are most likely to experience rapidly rising health care costs due to increased rates of diabetes, cancer, Alzheimer's, cardiovascular disease, arthritis, and just about every other chronic disease that is caused or influenced by excess body fat.
If you own a Health Savings Account, you owe it to yourself to stay healthy. You'll have loads more money when you retire, and who wants to be sick anyway? One of the most important steps is avoiding the fate of the rest of the nation, and staying lean.
Eating a diet based on vegetables, fruit, and lean protein, and which eliminates or sharply limits grains and dairy will make it fairly difficult to stay overweight. Combined it with weight training and a little aerobic exercise, and it will be virtually impossible to maintain a fat body.
Remember, you're in charge - the decisions you make today will guide both your financial future, and your health future.
Find more Health Savings Account inforamation at HSA for America
Posted by Wiley Long at 10:03 AM | Comments (0)
June 30, 2005
Stay Healthy, Get Wealthy with Health Savings Accounts
Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) appeal to forward thinking people. "A lot of the health care cost in America today is driven by wasted cost that need not be incurred if people took better care of themselves and truly understood the consequences of their health-related decisions."
This is a quote from a guy named Bigalke with the accounting firm Deloite & Touche. But it doesn't take an accountant to understand that if you take better care of yourself and are more proactive concerning your health, you won't spend as much money on medications, doctor visits, and hospitalization. Not only that, but you'll feel a lot better!
If a person under 45 fully funds their Health Savings Account every year, they have the potential to accumulate hundreds of thousands of dollars in their HSA. But it won't happen if they get sick and have to spend all the money.
Health Savings Accounts tend to appeal to people who are forward thinking, who look forward to the future, and anticipate having more money because of what they have saved on their health insurance, and accumulated in their HSA account.
For most Americans, the Grim Reaper is going to come in the form of heart disease, cancer, diabetes, or some form of dementia in which the body is still alive but the mind is gone. Fortunately for those who take a proactive approach, the latest science indicates that at least 80% of cancer is preventable, and at least 90% of all dementia and diabetes is preventable. Heart disease is almost 100% preventable, using strictly lifestyle and nutrition. The same goes for arthritis, osteoporosis, and most other diseases that strike the "elderly".
More and more people are finally discovering that no one will take care of their future, other than themselves. Those who do take responsibility now will reap the benefits of good health and financial independence in their retirement years. In future posts, I'll cover strategies to help you stay young and healthy, so you can enjoy the tax-deferred wealth accumulation your Health Savings Account will bring.
Find more Health Savings Account inforamation at HSA for America
Posted by Wiley Long at 10:10 AM | Comments (0)
June 25, 2005
High Carb Diet Related to Cataract Risk
Because any funds in a Health Savings Account (HSA) that are not withdrawn to pay medical expenses continue to grow tax-deferred, an account-holder who stays healthy and uses less of their HSA money can end up with dramatically more funds in their account when they retire. One of the most powerful dietary strategies to reduce your risk of diabetes, heart disease, and other degenerative disorders is to limit the amount of high-glycemic carbohydrates you eat. Sugar, rice, pasta, bread, and other high-carbohydrate foods cause increased blood sugar and insulin levels, which appear to promote many different health problems, including cataracts.
A study was just published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition that compared incidence of cataracts in middle-aged women to the carbohydrate content of the food they ate. 17.2% of all Americans over age 40, an estimated 20.5 million people, have cataracts. Lens clouding begins months or even years before vision is affected. The main hypothesis is that the soluble proteins in the lense begin to "cross-link" by reacting with sugars and each other, eventually forming clumps that precipitate out of solution.
It appears that higher carbohydrate intakes and plasma concentrations of glucose result in chronically enhanced exposure of lens proteins to glucose. And sure enough, this study found that the women who ate the highest levels of carbohydrates had higher rates of cataracts.
More and more evidence continues to pile up showing that the high-carbohydrate diet that has been promoted by the establishment as "healthy", really is not. High levels of carbohydrates, such as found in sugar, grains, and potatoes, lead to quite a few health problems. Cataracts are just one of many - we'll talk about more later.
Posted by Wiley Long at 10:32 AM | Comments (0)
June 24, 2005
Health Savings Accounts appeal to forward thinking individuals
By choosing a Health Savings Account (HSA), one is betting on themselves, in a way. If you stay healthy, then with a typical health insurance plan you’re just out a lot of money. With an HSA, not only did you pay significantly less in premiums, but at the end of the year you have a nice deposit of up to $5,150 sitting in your account. Money on which you didn’t pay federal income taxes, state income taxes (with the exception of about six states), or social security taxes.
Let’s say a 30-year old man with a family opens an HSA, and has a medical savings plan that allows him to fund the account with $5,250 each year. If he takes $1,000 or less out each year for medical expenses, he’ll have $1,124,751 when he retires. (You can do your own calculations with our HSA Future Value Calculator).
The best way to do this is to stay healthy, so that you don’t need to access those funds to pay for medical expenses. The good news is that the vast majority of diseases and disorders people have are the direct result of their lifestyle choices. High blood pressure, cancer, diabetes, Alzheimers, digestive disorders, endometriosis, osteoarthritis, osteoporosis, and more, are all largely preventable.
The average guy doesn’t get it.
The average American lives as if social security, a few prescriptions, and some good luck will take care of him in his later years. So he saves little for retirement. He eats packaged foods like French fries, chips, cokes, pasta, and cold cuts. And over the years he puts on “a few extra pounds”, and he gets out-of-shape, and he gets high blood pressure, and high cholesterol, and eventually heart disease, cancer, diabetes, or Alzheimers.
Insurance companies get it.
Insurance companies do understand the tremendous impact lifestyle can have on health, and are beginning to institute programs to encourage healthy lifestyles among their customers. Healthy policyholders will use their coverage less, resulting in lower rates for them, and better customer retention and higher profitability for the insurance company. Pacificare and its subsidiary American Medical Security have just instituted a new program called HealthCredits, designed to help reward its customers for staying healthy. The online program provides a health risk assessment, a personalized health-improvement plan, email access to trainers, counselors, and nutritionists, and even credits that can be redeemed for health-related merchandise.
HSA owners get it.
People who open Health Savings Accounts are proactive. They act ahead of time, and think about how their actions now will affect their future. That is why they put away tax-deferred money for future possible health expenses, and that is why I think many are also interested in taking a proactive approach to their health. So in addition to talking about HSAs on this blog, I will also be giving information and tips about how to be optimally healthy. Choosing to live an extraordinarily healthy life, and actively making changes, is an activity that will bring tremendous returns. Tax-free, just like an HSA.
Posted by Wiley Long at 11:03 AM | Comments (0)