Health insurance offers significant medical security for your family, along with the obvious monetary benefits. In the event of large medical bills, your insurance will kick in to cover charges over the amount of your annual deductible and co-pays.\r
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Yet, for some people, reaching that deductible still presents a challenge. For example, if your deductible is set at $6,000 per year, this means you will pay for the first $6,000 in medical bills before your insurance plan takes care of the rest. If you’re like a lot of people, perhaps $6,000 dollars in medical bills sounds like a heavy burden to shoulder all at once.\r
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A health savings account offers a creative solution to this problem. With an HSA, you can set aside pre-tax dollars in a special savings account. The money can be used on qualified healthcare expenses, such as co-pays, deductibles, and prescription medications.You can also access your HSA to pay for uncovered medical expenses, like vision and dental services. For convenience, you can even have the money diverted directly from your paychecks and into the account.\r
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If you don’t use all of the funds in your HSA during any given calendar year, the money is not lost. Funds roll over from one year to the next, and you can even carry the account with you into retirement. At that point, any unused funds can be used for Medicare premiums and other qualified medical expenses. So, not only can an HSA help you now; the money will always belong to you and can even be used as a secondary way to save for medical bills in retirement.\r
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Since the funds are deposited on a pre-tax basis, you won’t owe income taxes on the amount you divert into the HSA. In this way, an HSA can also function as a valuable tax benefit.\r
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Only some health insurance plans allow for a health savings account, most notably the Bronze high-deductible policies. To find out whether you’re eligible for a health savings account, give us a call. If you already have an HSA Qualified Plan, set-up your HSA, don’t delay. If you do not, it is something to consider at the next Open Enrollment when you can change plans.