Running My Own Show - Health Savings Accounts
Every North Carolina health insurance consumer loves the idea of lower premiums.
However, low premiums are a tradeoff: typically, they come attached to higher deductibles, which can complicate life just when you need it to be the least stressful-in the middle of an accident or illness.
It just doesn't seem logical to lower monthly health insurance premiums when those savings are offset by staggering deductibles.
Fortunately, the US government has crafted a plan to help insurance customers avoid just that trap.
Called Health Savings Accounts (HSAs), these new insurance vehicles allow for tax-deductible savings toward the resolution of future medical problems.
Over three million consumers nationwide are already taking advantage of intelligent insurance plans which attach a low-premium, high-deductible health insurance plan to a tax-free health savings account.
By federal law, citizens can contribute yearly to these plans, with no taxes on their contributions or withdrawals, provided those withdrawals are for legitimate medical purposes.
The yearly cap on contributions rests at $2900 for individuals or $5800 for families.
An additional benefit resides in the tax-free status of any earnings on these accounts, a bonus which no standard health insurance plan can claim.
Because HSAs have the distinction of being, in effect, self-directed medical insurance policies, these funds can often be used to cover alternative or preventive measures that would be unacceptable to a standard health insurance plan.
Additionally, HSAs are portable, tied to an individual's tax return, rather than an employer--which means they travel with the owner wherever they go.
And in contrast to insurance plans with health care "networks" which limit consumer freedom in choosing doctors and hospitals, HSAs allow the owner to spend their medical dollars wherever they choose-which makes sense, since it's not just your money; it's your body.
However, low premiums are a tradeoff: typically, they come attached to higher deductibles, which can complicate life just when you need it to be the least stressful-in the middle of an accident or illness.
It just doesn't seem logical to lower monthly health insurance premiums when those savings are offset by staggering deductibles.
Fortunately, the US government has crafted a plan to help insurance customers avoid just that trap.
Called Health Savings Accounts (HSAs), these new insurance vehicles allow for tax-deductible savings toward the resolution of future medical problems.
Over three million consumers nationwide are already taking advantage of intelligent insurance plans which attach a low-premium, high-deductible health insurance plan to a tax-free health savings account.
By federal law, citizens can contribute yearly to these plans, with no taxes on their contributions or withdrawals, provided those withdrawals are for legitimate medical purposes.
The yearly cap on contributions rests at $2900 for individuals or $5800 for families.
An additional benefit resides in the tax-free status of any earnings on these accounts, a bonus which no standard health insurance plan can claim.
Because HSAs have the distinction of being, in effect, self-directed medical insurance policies, these funds can often be used to cover alternative or preventive measures that would be unacceptable to a standard health insurance plan.
Additionally, HSAs are portable, tied to an individual's tax return, rather than an employer--which means they travel with the owner wherever they go.
And in contrast to insurance plans with health care "networks" which limit consumer freedom in choosing doctors and hospitals, HSAs allow the owner to spend their medical dollars wherever they choose-which makes sense, since it's not just your money; it's your body.
