Monthly Archive for January 2008

Consumer driven healthcare, which requires individuals to be more responsible for healthcare costs with higher co-pays, co-insurance, and deductibles, is becoming more common. A Health Savings Account, also known as a HSA, is a relatively new way of saving money to deal with these future healthcare costs. Benefits and Tax Advantages Unlike other previous medical savings accounts, the health savings account has many different benefits and tax advantages. Funds in these accounts can be invested like other financial vehicles into mutual funds and savings accounts. Dollars carry over to the following year if unspent. The account stays with you if you switch jobs. You and the employer can put dollars into the account. The Cons of Health Savings Account Rules There are plenty of specific health savings account rules, as defined by the IRS, that must be adhered to, which could be considered a disadvantage. Dollars can be put into […] Read More »

There is a major belief among employers, policy makers, and healthcare policy experts that if the American public had more financial responsibility when it came to healthcare that they would spend less and choose wisely. Known as consumer driven healthcare, these groups hope that by increasing co-pays, co-insurance, and deductibles and that with more “skin in the game” people will shop around for health insurance, doctors, hospitals, medications, and various medical procedures, much the same way they do for cars, restaurants, and other consumer goods and services. The Frightening Implications of Insurance Plans The implications are frightening for a variety of reasons. Given a choice, consumers don’t want consumer driven healthcare. They prefer traditional comprehensive health insurance. Early research suggests that they are switching to consumer driven health insurance plans because they don’t have a choice. The other problem is that for consumer driven healthcare to work as experts hope […] Read More »