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Health Savings Account (HSA)

We beleive this is the future of health insurance in the U.S.  It is slightly different from what we are accustomed to with regular plans.  A regular PPO plan usually have a doctor visit co payment of $25-$40 and similar co-payments for prescription drugs. 
With an HSA plan nothing is covered until you have met your deductible.  But you get some significant tax benefits.  HSA plans are regulated by the IRS.

There are two seperate componenets to an HSA.
1.  An HSA qualified Health Insurance Plan.
2.  An HSA bank account (Click Here to find the best bank for you)

The only link between these two components is that you can not open the bank account until you have the insurance plan in force.  The insurance company has nothing to do with the bank account.  The bank account is yours, and you can pick any bank that offers HSA accounts.  The IRS sets the limits for how much tax free money you can put into your bank account.  This limit is usually the same as the dedcutible on the plan you choose.  So if you choose an $2,500 deductible plan, you are allowed to put up to a maximum of $2,500 per year into your bank account.  The tax savings depends on how much you put into your savings account.  In this example if you put the maximum allowable of $2,500 and you are in the 25% tax bracket, you will actually save $2,500 x 0.25 = $625 on your taxes.

By selecting a higher deductible plan you will save on your monthly premiums.  You can use this monthly premium saving to fund your HSA savings account.  After a while you might have more than what your deductible is in your savings account, and know you technically have a zero deductible health insurance plan.  The money in your savings account can be used for a wide variety of medical expenses not usually covered by your health insurance.  The IRS sets the guidelines for what you can spend your mpney on without a penalty.  Over the years your account can accumulate and provide you with extra retirement funds.  As a short summary, the high deductible health plan and HSA provide:
1.  Lower premiums.
2.  Tax advantages.
3.  Flexibility.
4.  More cash at retirement.

For additional information or an analysis of how an HSA plan can benefit you, please call us at 915-231-9955 or send us an email at don@elpasoinsurancegroup.com

Some Banks offering the Savings Account Portion
American Health Value
HSA Bank       
MSaver       
Wells Fargo 
JP Morgan Chase (Contact your local branch)
HSA Resources Bank  
Wellfund  
First American Bank     

Additional Resources
United States Department of Treasury:  http://www.ustreas.gov/offices/public-affairs/hsa
Internal Revenue Service:  http://www.irs.gov
Council for Affordable Health Insurance:  http://www.cahi.org
HSA Insider:  http://www.hsainsider.com 
HSA Finder: http://www.hsafinder.com/
Health Savings Account Official Web Portal:  http://www.hsadecisions.org