From the HSAFocalPoint.

Here’s some of the highlights:

Humberto Cruz published a great article about Health Savings Accounts in the South Florida Sun Sentinel earlier this week. Mr. Cruz points to one of the often overlooked benefits of HSAs — use for retirement.

The conclusion that Cruz draws is that with insurance premiums rising more than three times faster than salaries, Americans should be calculating and factoring life-long health-care expenses into their overall financial planning and that one tool for funding this expense is a Health Savings Account.

Go on over and read the rest for yourself.

From an article in the Salt Lake Tribune about Health Savings Accounts:

  Whatever your point of view, consider the problem: According to an annual estimate by Fidelity Investments, a 65-year-old couple retiring this year without employer-sponsored retiree health insurance needs $200,000 just to cover medical costs in retirement.

This estimate, up an average of 5.8 percent a year since 2002, includes the cost of Medicare Part B and Part D premiums, co-payments, deductibles and excluded benefits, and of out-of-pocket costs for prescription drugs. It does not even include the cost of over-the-counter medications, most dental services and, if needed, long-term care.

Conclusion: With insurance premiums rising more than three times faster than salaries, Americans ‘’should be calculating and factoring lifelong health care expenses into their overall financial planning,” said Brad Kimler, a Fidelity executive.

It definatly makes a great case for starting an HSA now - to help prepare for your financial future.

In a recent statement - Cameron Truesdale, CEO of LTC Finanacial Partners had some positive things to say about funding your long term care expenses with your HSA:

Not everyone has a Health Savings Account, but more than three million do, up from one million in March 2005, according to a White House fact sheet (April 5, 2006). The number is projected to grow to 29 million. Health Savings Accounts (HSA’s) are tax-advantaged savings accounts restricted to health-related purposes. Funds may be withdrawn tax-free to pay for deductibles, co-insurance, dental and vision care, and other items including long term care (LTC) insurance.

“When it comes to financing LTC protection, your HSA is like found money,” says Truesdell. “Hardly anyone knows this. We’re spreading the word through our business partners and to consumers directly.”

What if you don’t have a Health Savings Account? Consider setting one up. Most Americans can participate. Those already covered by government health benefits — through Medicare or Medicaid, for example — are generally not eligible. You can open an HSA with a bank, credit union, insurance company, or other approved organization. Employers may also set up plans for their employees.

Should you set up an HSA just to pay for long term care insurance? “No,” says Truesdell. “If LTC protection is your only objective, there are more direct funding methods. But if you’re looking for more comprehensive health-care financing, the LTC factor can be a great trigger. It can motivate you to do a smart thing overall.”

You can read the rest of his article here.  It’s full of examples why HSA’s are the growing wave in the health care revolution!

Technorati Tags: HSA’s, Open a Health Savings Account, Long Term Health Care Solutions

Here are some execerpt from the President’s speech at the 2006 Presidential Dinner:

You know ours is the party that came here to Washington, D.C. and saw a Medicare system that wasn’t working. The Democrats were great about talking about making Medicare work; they could never get anything done. And we did. People say, what did you care about Medicare for? I cared about it because the government has made a commitment to the elderly to provide good healthcare. And once — my view is, once you make a commitment, you got to honor the commitment. And I saw a Medicare system that wasn’t working and so did a lot of the Republicans in the United States Congress.

I’ll give you an example of why it wasn’t working. We had a Medicare system that would pay $25,000 for surgery, but not one single dime for the prescription drugs that could prevent those surgeries from being needed in the first place. The system was old. It was tired. It wasn’t working. And Republicans came together to make sure we had a Medicare system that delivered modern medicine for our seniors. And if you’re a poor senior in America, we give you help. The days from choosing between an electricity bill and medicine are over, thanks to the Republican Party. (Applause.)

There is more work to be done when it comes to making sure health care is available and affordable. That’s why we support association health plans to help small businesses be able to afford health insurance. That’s why we support health savings accounts, so you’re in control of the health decisions. That’s why we support the advent of information technology to help bring excess costs out of the systems. And in order to make sure healthcare is available and affordable, we strongly support medical liability reform. We got to make sure these junk lawsuits stop running good doctors out of practice, and stop running up your bills.

Click here for the full transcript.

Technorati Tags: President Bush, Presidential Dinner, HSA News

One of the underlying theories behind the Health Savings Account/High Deductible Health Plan system is that health care consumers will be influenced to seek out preventative care and try to achieve an overall healthier lifestyle than they currently live.

The reasoning behind this is simple - currently, there is no real financial incentive for good health.  Obviously, no one wants to get sick, but under a standard health insurance policy, it’s likely that your yearly health expenses won’t differ that much.

However, when consumers take control of their own health care dollars, suddenly a yearly checkup and regular trips to the dentist becomes much less expensive than waiting until illness takes hold to visit a physician.  This could, in theory, lead us to a healthier America as well as take a great deal of strain off of the currently overloaded health care system.

Some proof of this success was covered in a June 12 Chicago Tribune article, discussing the savings increases employers offering HDHP/HSA’s and Wellness programs to their employees are seeing.

Click here to read it (Registration Required).

Technorati Tags: Health Care, Wellness, HSA’s, High Deductible Health Plans

One additional benefit of HSA’s is that there can be significant tax advantages to the program.  The problem is, tax codes are greek to most of us.  Thankfully, First Horizon MSaver has a great HSA Tax Information Resouce on their site.  Check it out.

Who is eligible to open an HSA?

Health Savings account eligibility is based upon the eligibilty of the accompanying health plan.   You’ll have to contact your broker or HSA administrator to determine the eligibilty of your plan.

According to a story by Ann Meyer in Tuesday’s Chicago Tribune, employer adoption of consumer driven health plans is leading to insurance providers increasing their offerings.

Since the Chicago Tribune site requires registration, I’ll link to an excerpt from the First Horizon MSaver Agent Portal:

The story says that as a result of this growth, insurers are expanding their offerings. In 2005 Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois signed on 11,000 members to its first consumer-directed plans, according to Kirk Pion, director of strategy innovation and delivery. Now 209,000 of its total 6.9 million members are in consumer-directed plans, compared with 5.2 million in standard PPOs and about 860,000 in HMOs, he said. At employers offering the Blue Cross consumer-driven plans, the article says that about 45 percent of employees on average are opting for them.

Lots of acronyms get tossed around in the health care world.  One that comes up constantly in conjunction with HSA (Health Savings Account) is HDHP, or, High Deductible Health Plan.

An HDHP is the insurance policy that you must carry in order to be eligible for an HSA.  It usually has deductibles around the $2000 range, and provides you coverage in case of catastrophic illness or accident.  Generally, these plans are much lower in cost than traditional health care plans.

See Also: Health Savings Account FAQ’s 

Technorati Tags: HSA Faq’s, Health Savings Accoungs, HDHP, High Deductible Health Plan

Here is an interesting blurb I wanted to share from realclearpolitics.com concerning HSA’s. It seems the author is seeing the outspoken opponents of HSA’s for what they really are:

Like any change to the status quo, HSAs have powerful and vocal enemies. Liberal activists groups, policy analysts, and members of the media are attacking HSAs, claiming that only young, healthy, and well heeled Americans will find the innovative arrangements attractive. “You’re giving them peanuts,” gripes Columbia University professor Sherry Glied who authored an anti-HSA study for the Commonwealth Fund. “Very few people will gain insurance coverage because of tax preferences for health savings accounts.”

The evidence so far contradicts the critics. Health Savings Accounts have proven popular with both individuals and employers. Although a significant change from traditional medical insurance, more than three million Americans are now covered by HSAs.

Bravo to realclearpolitics.com for removing fear of change and personal agendas from the equation, and seeing all the good that health savings accounts can do.

Related Posts:
Sen. Santorum on HSA’s
Harsh Posturing concerning HSA’s

Technorati Tags: Politics, Health Care Policy, HSA’s, Health Savings Accounts