The HSA - What Is It?

The HSA stands for Health Savings Account. Simplyapproved HSA savings account to invest into, on a
put it is an insurance policy paired with a savingsmonthly basis.
account. Personally, I love them. To me the HSA is aSay for example that you have an HSA that pays
great insurance policy for people of all walks of life.100% after the deductible. Your deductible is $2850 for
If you a sickly person the HSA is appropriate, becausethe year, and you contribute $300 per month into the
it reduces your out of pocket costs to your deductible,savings account.
On the other hand, if you are a healthy person thatIf you are a sickly individual that sees doctors each
rarely sees the doctor, it provides a tax break on yourmonth, then the deductible will be exhausted rather
health insurance costs, and it allows you to build up aquickly and then for the remainder of the year your
savings account to cover any medical costs up to thehealth care is then covered at 100%. You continue to
deductible amount.contribute every month into the savings account, and
A typical HSA has a deductible that can range fromthat gives you a leg up on meeting next year's
$1100.00 up to $10,000.00 depending on the companydeductible. What is the benefit to this? There are
that you choose and your personal preference onmany; small deductible that is easily achieved and paid
premiums and deductibles. Typically after you meetfor using the savings account, a generous tax break at
the deductible, the HSA then covers your health carethe end of the year, should something else happen
costs at 100%. There are exceptions to this, in that,your have 100% coverage, and you are still building the
some companies offer the HSA with 80% coverageamount in the savings account so that you will have
after the deductible is met.the deductible covered with less out of pocket than
That is the gist of the HSA. Complicated? No. It is verythe year previous.
simple. Now there are additional benefits for the HSAIf you are healthy and have no medical expenses
that are not commonly in your traditional 80/20 plans.throughout the year, then you reap the benefit of
The additional benefits are in the form of your money.accumulating $3600.00 into the savings account for
You contribute in a HSA to a savings account thatuse on future claims. This plan is a huge winner on all
you set up concurrently. You can choose anyaccounts.