Are Health Savings Accounts In Your Future?

Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) were created by the Medicare bill signed on December 8, 2003. They are designed to help individuals and families save for future qualified medical and retiree health expenses on a tax-free basis.
 
You must be covered by a "High Deductible Health Plan" (HDHP) to be able to take advantage of HSAs. Normally, an HDHP costs considerable less than a traditional health insurance policy, so the money you save on insurance can be deposited into the Health Savings Account.
 
An HDHP, often referred to as a "catastrophic health insurance plan," generally, does not play for the first several thousand dollars of covered medical expenses (your deductible). However, your HSA is available to help pay for the expenses that are not covered.
 
With an HSA, you are now in control of your health care dollars and how they are spent....or saved. That is your choice. Also, the account is portable, so you own the account regardless of what insurance company insures you or where you work. And, with many plans, you may earn a small amount of interest on your HSA balances.
 
The maximum yearly contribution to an HSA in 2009 is $3,000 for individuals and $5,900 for families. People over age 55 can make "catch-up contributions" in addition to their normal contributions.
 
Ohioquotes.com, the premier Ohio health insurance website, offers free online HSA quotes to Ohio residents. All of Ohio's major companies are considered, such as Anthem Blue Cross, Aetna, UnitedHealthCare and Medical Mutual. Both Anthem and UnitedHealthCare offer "family deductibles," which can drastically reduce a family's out of pocket cost on catastrophic claims.
 
Health care reform is coming soon. Maybe in 2009. Maybe later. With the reform, may come socialized medicine and many problems along with it. However, HSAs allow for a competitive marketplace, resulting in lower costs to the consumer and higher quality health insurance plans.