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| New study show a large increase of Health Savings Account plans. These type of major medical plans are becoming popular because they create a reduction in premium. Consumers are starting to look at health insurance for major medical events and then small claims fall on to them. When the consumer now pays the first $2,500 in claims in a plan year they are more likely to shop out a minor procedure. If one needs an MRI on your knee its amazing to see the different charges for the same procedure. It very common to a $2,000 difference in price from the cheapest to the highest charge. Looking at the HSA in another way is you have your deductible to meet and that is it. So you know as a policy holder your worst case scenario in claims in one year is your deductible. Consumers have an easier time budgeting for just the deductible. The last reason we are seeing a large increase in HSA plans is the tax benefit side. Now all of your medical expense are tax deductible. So if you fund you HSA custodial account you can write off your contributions.Ten million Americans are covered by Health Savings Account (HSA)-eligible insurance plans, an increase of 25 percent since last year, a new census released today by America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) finds. Health Savings Accounts were authorized starting in January 2004. Since then, AHIP has conducted a periodic census of health plans participating in the HSA/high-deductible health plan (HDHP) market.“HSA plans continue to be an important coverage option for families and small businesses across the country,” said Karen Ignagni, President and CEO of AHIP.
Key findings from the census include: • As of January 2010, approximately 10 million people were covered by HSA/HDHP products, an increase of 25 percent since last year. • Between January 2009 and January 2010, the fastest growing market for HSA/HDHP products was large-group coverage, which rose by 33 percent, followed by small-group coverage, which grew by 22 percent. • Thirty percent of individuals covered by an HSA plan were in the small group market, 50 percent of individuals covered by an HSA plan were in the large-group market, and the remaining 20 percent were in the individual market. • In the individual market, 2.1 million covered lives are enrolled in HSA plans, while nearly 3 million lives were enrolled in HSA/HDHP coverage in the small-group market and almost 5 million lives were covered in the large-group market. • States with the highest levels of HSA/HDHP enrollment were California (1,018,000), Ohio (651,000), Florida (639,000), Texas (637,000), Illinois (575,000), and Minnesota (361,000). For more information about the 2010 HSA/HDHP census, please visit www.AHIPResearch.org. |
