Health Savings Account-Health Savings Account Info

. asked:


-Making all medical expenses tax deductible.
-Eliminating federal regulations that discourage small businesses from providing coverage.
-Giving doctors the freedom to collectively negotiate with insurance companies and drive down the cost of medical care.
-Making every American eligible for a Health Savings Account (HSA), and removing the requirement that individuals must obtain a high-deductible insurance policy before opening an HSA.

Doug Engessor

surge asked:


If I sign up for an HSA account would that disqualify me from getting an FSA account as well?

Jamie

gmeyers1944 asked:


He said that Republicans have no plan, but they have proposed that people be allowed to establish Health Savings Accounts, buy insurance from other states like with car insurance, and get tort reform to limit excessive judgments.
Grumpy: Yes, I listen to Rush. I also watch Keith Olbermann.

Kraig Darring

Jimmbbo asked:


DIRECT QUOTES FROM THE BILL

WILL IT RATION MEDICAL CARE? See pages 284-288, SEC. 1151:
‘(ii) EXCLUSION OF CERTAIN READMISSIONS.—For purposes of clause (i), with respect to a hospital, excess readmissions shall not include readmissions for an applicable condition for which there are fewer than a minimum number (as determined by the Secretary) of discharges for such applicable condition for the applicable period and such hospital.

WILL IT PUNISH AMERICANS WHO TRY TO OPT OUT? Pages 167-168, section 401:
‘‘(a) TAX IMPOSED.—In the case of any individual who does not meet the requirements of subsection (d) at any time during the taxable year, there is hereby imposed a tax equal to 2.5 percent

WILL HEALTH SAVINGS ACCOUNTS BE ILLEGAL? Pages 26-30, SEC. 122:
(A) IN GENERAL.—The cost-sharing under the essential benefits package shall be designed to provide a level of coverage that is designed to provide benefits that are actuarially equivalent to approximately 70 percent of the full actuarial value of the benefits provided under the reference benefits package . . .

WILL IT DESTROY PRIVATE HEALTH INSURANCE? Pages 149-150, SEC. 313:
(a) IN GENERAL.—A contribution [a tax on business, with payrolls over $400,000 per year] is made in accordance with this section with respect to an employee if such contribution is equal to an amount equal to 8 percent of the average wages paid by the employer during the period of enrollment (determined by taking into account all employees of the employer and in such manner as the Commissioner provides, including rules providing for the appropriate aggregation of related employers). Any such contribution—
[Business that now provide health coverage will be encouraged drop the plan, enroll their employees in the government plan, and pay the 8% “contribution.”)

DOES THE GOVERNMENT SET FEES FOR SERVICES? Page 124, Sec. 223:
(d) CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this subtitle shall be construed as limiting the Secretary’s authority to correct for payments that are excessive or deficient . . .
(e) CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this subtitle shall be construed as affecting the authority of the Secretary to establish payment rates . . .
(f) LIMITATIONS ON REVIEW.—There shall be no administrative or judicial review of a payment rate or methodology established under this section or under section 224.

CAN THE GOVERNMENT SEE OUR PRIVATE FINANCES? Pages 195-196, SEC. 431
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, upon written request from the Health Choices Commissioner or the head of a State-based health insurance exchange approved for operation under section 208 of the America’s Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009, shall disclose to officers and employees of the Health Choices Administration or such State-based health insurance exchange, as the case may be, return information of any taxpayer . . .
[and] ‘‘(v) such other information as is prescribed by the Secretary by regulation as might indicate whether the taxpayer is eligible for such affordability credits . . .

http://www.classicalideals.com/HealthCareBill8-2009.htm

As usual, libs resort to Alinsky Rule 5 – “Ridicule” instead of defending this POS.

Elias Brammer

scottso360 asked:


http://industry.bnet.com/healthcare/1000865/health-savings-accounts-much-ado-about-nothing/

HSAs are the free market solution to health care. looks like they don’t work.
nationwide that is.
Section 8. The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts and excises, to pay the debts and provide for the common defense and general welfare of the United States;

do you know where the above statement comes from?
blue cross has health savings accounts?
ayn randies want to go back to the 1800s.
well, health savings accounts have certainly not brought down health care costs.
HIP would work if people would be educated as to what insurance is for and what HIP is for.

so you realize they are not working.
they have certainly not brought down health care costs nationwide, have they?
well, i guess blue cross does have hsa’s then. that’s a big company. but it looks like very few of their customers want to switch to an hsa.
i think a friend of mine had an hsa. but they didn’t like it so they went back to blue cross to pay a premium of about $1200 a month. maybe more than that. i’ll have to ask her what happened with that.
Premiums have gone up so drastically that we had to go to a HSA just to be able to continue to offer our employees coverage.

that’s why we need obamacare.
i guess the hsa’s are not doing a very good job of educating people. they need to pull up those straps. consumers don’t want them.

and when consumers don’t want something, it should die. that’s the way of free enterprise and capitalism.
the funny thing is, repubs have not really mentioned hsa’s very much at all. they really are not offering any solutions, just bashing the president’s solution.
well, i should say some repubs are just bashing the president’s solution.

Linette Slatter

DAR asked:


The insurance companies LOVE the Dem plan. The dem plan has two options: one, mandatory insurance for 300 million people with a public option, and two, mandatory insurance for 300 million people with NO public option. Those are both Dem plans. If you are an insurance company, what is not to like?

The GOP plans I am aware of, on the other hand, all revolve around portable health savings accounts, tax credits and vouchers, with control of one’s health care in the hands of the individual…. including whether to purchase insurance, at all.

Leaving aside the merits of which is better for the people or might actually drive down health care costs for all (although I have a strong opinion on that topic) why would insurance companies want that?

Insurance companies are not fighting the Dem plan at all. That is why advertising is $2 to $1 in favor of the plan. Go to opensecrets and see who got the money if you have questions on this topic.

Given that, how could anyone conclude that insurance companies were behind opposition to the plan?

And yes, I have read that some guy I never heard of before with an organization I never heard of before used to at one time work for an insurance company. If he has ever been a mover and shaker in mobilizing people accross the entire nation, please point us to precedent. The fact is there is a LOT of anger, groups have grown up loosely joined on a lot of issues and so many are mad they use those groups to coordinate, but there is no ‘strategy’ driving us. Anyone who thinks they are driving us is in for a real disapointment.

What do you think?

Can you articulate why an insurance company would be against BOTH Dem plans, as we are?

Shirley

T D asked:


How is this going to win over those who currently question their support for Obama?

———————————–
In a fiery speech that had her conservative Colorado audience cheering, U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann railed against the dangers of health care reform and other Democratic initiatives, warning the proposals “have the strength to destroy this country forever.”

“You’re either for us or against us on this issue,” she said after deriding U.S. Rep. Betsy Markey, a Fort Collins Democrat, for “[sitting] on the fence” about health care proposals at recent town halls.

Bachmann earlier this month joined former U.S. Rep. Marilyn Musgrave, the Republican ousted from office last year by Markey, in a telephone town hall where she told abortion opponents the health care “battle will be won – on our knees in prayer and fasting.”

“Right now, we are looking at reaching down the throat and ripping the guts out of freedom,” she said. “And we may never be able to restore it if we don’t man up and take this one on.”

Rather than hand over the health care industry’s “18 percent” of the economy to control by the federal government, which Bachmann warned would create “a critical mass [where] you are no longer a free-market economy,” she offered her own set of proposals to fix the system:

• “Erase the boundaries around every single state when it comes to health care,” enabling consumers to purchase insurance across state lines;

• increase the use of health savings accounts and allow everyone to “take full deductibility of all medical expenses,” including insurance premiums;

• and throw in tort reform.

“Do a few other tweaks and you’re there,” Bachmann said. “Your whole crisis is gone.”

Bachmann closed by urging the audience at the nonpartisan group’s fundraiser to defeat Democrats at the ballot box.

“You can win these seats back,” she urged the audience. “Hey, I got elected in Franken country!”

Kristina

pdooma asked:


“HSAs are high-deductible insurance plans that allow employees to make contributions to a savings account with pretax dollars. Employers may or may not match employee contributions. Any unused cash belongs to the employee. These high-deductible plans are different than health reimbursement accounts, or HRAs, which are funded by employers and which return any unused cash to the company. And an HSA should not be confused with a Flexible Spending Account, or FSA, which lets you save pretax money for health-care services. ”

http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/content/oct2008/db20081013_120591.htm

If so, do you like your plan? If not, why not?
I also have a HSA and they’ve lowered my personal out of pocket cost. I’m not sure about yours.

Samara Pasillas

Umapirate asked:


If it’s about reform why isn’t the administration talking about reform instead of gov’t takeover. Ie: tort reform, health care savings accounts just to name a couple of things…

Ronny Peregrino

Jennifer asked:


My job just implemented a Health Savings Account and I don’t understand if this replaces my health insurance. I feel like I’m getting ripped off but I may be misunderstanding this.

Brendon Lascody