Health Savings Accounts (HSA)

Health Savings Account Teleseminar Friday, July 10th

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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 Accounts are a Better Reform Option
If we are to review of the history of health care in this country since the U.S. government's entry when Lydon Johnson signed into law Medicare and Medicaid, we find disturbing trends. The unconstrained, growth in size and shameful increases in cost and liability have crippled the system putting both in danger of collapse. And yet, we the people have allowed our improvident government to further politicize private health care, further exacerbating cost to every component within the system. Many questions remain about how to solve our health insurance crisis in this country, but Health Savings Accounts have already proved to have a positive effect on health care.

Attack on Health Savings Accounts
Some lawmakers want national health-care reform to include new constraints on health savings accounts, a move that banks and insurance companies warn could discourage saving at a time when it is needed more than ever. Proposals in the Senate would set tighter limits on contributions to Health Savings Accounts, and would require more oversight of how money in them is spent. Annual contribution limits for 2009 are $3,000 for individuals and $5,950 for families. One proposal would reduce these limits to the deductible amount of the Health Savings Account owner's health insurance plan, if that deductible is less than the set limits.

Health Savings Accounts a Viable Option
House Democrats finally unveiled their long-awaited 852-page health care "reform" legislation that engineers a government takeover of medicine. The bill is a staggeringly expensive bureaucratic nightmare that Democrats will try to defend in a series of hearings that have already begun. As details of this leviathan bill begin to emerge, what is becoming increasingly clear is this plan, if passed, will cost American jobs.

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.

Over 8 Million Now Enrolled In Health Savings Accounts
A new census release by America's Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) has found that over 8 million Americans are covered by Health Savings Account eligible insurance plans which is 31 percent increase since last year. Since 2004, when Health Savings Accounts were created, AHIP has conducted a periodic census of its members participating in the Health Savings Account market. Another report by AHIP found HSA account holders have a broad range of incomes across the country. The report, Estimated Income Characteristics of HSA Account holders in 2008, used a geo-coding technique to estimate the income characteristics of HSA account holders.

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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