How to cut your costs with HSAs

Are you looking to cut your health insurance premium cost's.  Look no further than moving to an HSA compatible plan.

The below link will take you to a comparison of 3 plans of health insurance coverage from Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois for a 35 year old male living in Chicago.


http://bit.ly/bWHWFo

The comparison will show 2 traditional plans of coverage that have office visit copays with 1 HSA compatible plan that does not provide office visit copays, but will cover annual physicals under a $20 copay.


The comparison will show the costs for someone who has been having issues with their stomach and acid indigestion.  The insured first seeks care at their internist who then must refer to a Gastroentologist, a specialist.

In the comparison all 3 plans have the same cost exposure other than for office visits.  The HSA compatible plan is the most beneficial in this scenario, since it has the lower deductible and provides 100% coverage after the deductible is met...and did I mention it is the lower cost in premium..??

As for the Rx illustration, none of the plans have a copay.  With BCBSIL you must select a $500 or lower deductible in order to receive a $10 copay for generics and cost share for preferred and brand name drugs.  The presented plans will all discount the cost when purchased in-network and the final paid will be applied to the plans deductible.

In this scenario, if the insured has an HSA compatible, they are allowed to take up to a $3,050 above-the-line tax deduction for 2010.  The insured would have to open a Health Savings Account (HSA) at a local bank for free or for a $2-$3 monthly fee.

In this example, the insured could pay for these expenses out-of their own pocket or via credit card (get miles) and can definitely work out a payment plan with the provider.  The insured would then have to make deposits into their HSA for any amount up to the total amount of expenses prior to 4/15 of the following year.  A deduction can only be taken for the total amount on the HSA ledger.

Now...when the insured is to contribute monies into the account, he/she can then immediately withdraw the money as a reimbursement to what they had paid out-of-pocket or on credit card.  This then allows them to use the HSA strictly as a tax-vehicle for medical expenses, rather than a savings account.

Hope this is all making sense.  There is no need to pay the insurance company more in premium to have office visit copays or to have a lower deductible.

Please call the shoppe with any questions!

-The Shoppe