Should I open a Health Savings Account (HSA)? Health Savings Account (HSA) is a savings account intended for your medical expenses. It’s clear to many that HSA has tax advantages, that is, contribution can be taken from your taxes in an above-the-line deduction, or depending on the set plan of your employer that contribution is taken from your paycheck directly. Is it a right investment for you? Well it depends on your circumstance and need. It’s for you if you are after securing your health care expenses. It becomes beneficial if you are on the verge of your retirement age when you begin to expect for offset costs of medical care and treatment. On the other hand, if you foresee the need of expensive medical care while having a hard time to meet a high deductible, HSA may not be …show more content…
It’s your decision how much money will you set aside for health care expenses. 2. It’s in your control how the HSA money is spent. You may shop around for medical needs according to the quality and cost of your preference. 3. A change of job doesn’t affect your HSA. You own it even if some contributions come from your employer. 4. The money is kept safely in your account from this year to the next and so on. 5. No tax payment for the money you put into. Possible Problems These are the common problems often faced by account owners in handling HSA. 1. Illness is unpredictable. Sometimes, it’s hard to budget your health expenses accurately. 2. Information about medical quality and cost is pretty hard to find. 3. The habit of saving can be a tough job for others, especially to older individuals. Reports show that accounts of younger individuals have more savings compared to older. 4. The need to seek medical care is sometimes compromised by the need to save more. Some account owners would prefer not to touch their HSA money even if they are badly in need of it. 5. If the reason of pulling out your money from an HSA isn’t medical related, there is an imposed tax that you need to
This could be controversial, if older, sicker people who need the coverage most enter the market, but younger groups decline to do so. The insurance pool will be unbalanced and the cost of coverage will rise correspondingly. The process of choosing a health insurance provider should be more consumer friendly. People covered by their employer can clear their doubt about health insurance by conversing with the Human Resource department, whereas people who buy through marketplaces or health insurance exchanges, as in the case of ACA, may not have any resource to give further explanation.
What is it for? It is call the “Affordable Healthcare Act,” to make it affordable for everybody in the United States to afford doctors, hospitals and prescriptions. Also that the government can control...
The ACA is difficult to understand for low-cost health insurance because the price is set for high-cost. As a result, it disqualifies people from qualifying for insurance subsidies. The exemptions for ACA to qualify for subsidies are the myths about tax penalties for who really gets the benefits from subsidies and who pays for them. Under the ACA, nothing changed for senior citizens covered by Medicare and Medicaid.
HSAs and HRAs provide an exciting new possibility for employers who seek to better control their health care costs. These plans also represent an opportunity for employees to become more active in the management of the health care that they receive. The choice between an HSA and an HRA deserves an employer’s careful consideration. The administrative, practical, and tax implications of each must be carefully considered.
HMO's can and do conduct their business quite ruthlessly. Patients are continuously unable to receive the necessary treatment due to the insufficient HMO coverage. Many HMO's actually make more money if their doctors see or treat fewer patients. According to the Associated Press, “Consumers who have been denied a treatment that the HMO says is not covered, or who inadvertently fail to follow HMO guidelines in seeking treatment and are therefore denied reimbursement, will continue to have little recourse.” (2) Many people must drive for hours, generally sick or injured, simply to receive treatment from a doctor that will be covered by their HMO.
There are many reasons I have used health care services at different times in my lifetime from birth to the present time. I have utilized pregnancy healthcare services. I have used health care services for preventive care such as a yearly Pap smear or health physicals. My friends, family and my co-workers may use health care services for the same reasons as mine, especially if they are of the same gender.
Many people with terminal illnesses rely on their health insurance to help with paying for the many surgeries and treatments, but some insurance companies refuse to pay for the medical bills because the treatments weren't covered in the contract the customer signed. Well, that's what they claim. If clients started costing the insurance company too much, they decide that the client did not need to stay in the hospital anymore and they stop paying for the doctors and the bills. According to Bonnie Drew, a victim of a rare disease, the insurance companies can dictate what the doctors can and cannot do. She says Blue Cross Blue Shield insurance company sent her home from the hospital to die.
There are several issues concerning the uninsured and underinsured patient population in America. There are many areas of concern the congressional efforts to increase the availability of health insurance, the public image of the insurance industry illustrated by the movie "John Q", the lack of good management tools, and creating health insurance coverage for all low income Americans. Since the number of uninsured Americans has risen to 43 million from 37 million in the flourishing 1990s and could shoot up even more severely if the economy continues to decrease and health care premiums keep increasing (Insurance No Simple Fix, 2001).
Healthcare plays an important role in almost every person’s life at one point or another. Many times, one can get caught without, or underinsured and it can be detrimental to their livelihood. With the rising cost of healthcare, it is likely that having a national healthcare policy in place, and as an individual, being able to afford and obtain adequate health insurance has not been required until now. With the new national healthcare plan, it is required for all citizens to obtain and maintain some sort of public or private insurance policy. The rising costs can be attributed to many things. A significant reason for the astronomical cost of health care is because of the staggering amount of uninsured or underinsured individuals receiving medical attention and almost many never paying the bill. Those who do have insurance have seen a gradual increase in their premiums and deductibles to make up for this.
Medical savings accounts (MSAs) were proposed in 1997 as a supplemental mechanism for financing health care services. Medical savings accounts are used to accumulate funds for health care expenditures just as individual retirement accounts (IRAs) accumulate funds for retirement. Changes in the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Tax Code permit tax-deductible contributions by employees and employers to MSAs and allow interest and earnings to accumulate without taxation. Funds can be withdrawn without penalty only for medical expenses, for the purchase of health or long-term care insurance, or for other expenditures that are stipulated in the tax code. Each person owns and controls his or her account, regardless of changes in employment, and therefore has a financial incentive to make cost-effective use of health care resources. Coupled with high-deductible health insurance, MSAs empower cost-conscious patients in health care decision making, increasing competitive pressures to reduce health care costs.
Healthcare has now become one of the top social as well as economic problems facing America today. The rising cost of medical and health insurance impacts the livelihoods of all Americans in one way or another. The inability to pay for medical care is no longer a problem just affecting the uninsured, but now is becoming an increased problem for those who have insurance as well. Health care can now be seen as a current concern. One issue that we face today is the actual amount of healthcare that is affordable.
Many people have different opinions about the Affordable Care Act, but overall it is a good idea for America as a whole. Many Americans already like this health care reform. It will benefit many people and, in conclusion, is constitutional.
Health insurance provides benefits for sickness, injury, surgery, and prescription medication. There are a variety of plans with different
Saving:-Along with the support of medical care that a policy provides, it is also important to note financial benefits that it gives. You save in two different ways with a medical insurance
Health care has always been an interesting topic all over the world. Voltaire once said, “The art of medicine consists of amusing the patient while nature cures the disease.” It may seem like health care that nothing gets accomplished in different health care systems, but ultimately many trying to cures diseases and improve health care systems.