Health Savings Account-Health Savings Account Info

Bernese Love asked:


haha, no I’m not the kind of sacrifice my pets’ health for my own benefit – I’m the kind of person that would live off bread and water for a month if my pets got the health treatment they need.
This is obviously a strange question, so bare with me.

I know after a certain age pet insurance can become expensive or impossible to attain. With previous pets in my house we’ve stopped paying it at a certain time and just paid out of our money whenever bills have arisen, which is often pretty costly but better than dealing with awkward insurance companies from personal experience.

I have about £5,000 I plan to keep as an emergency standalone for veterinary bills, with additional money being put into it every month. That would be in an account that wouldn’t be touched for any other reason. Do you think it’s a good idea to have this as well as insurance, just as a reserve after my dog gets older, or instead of having insurance for my next dog? Also, if anyone has any positive experiences with insurance companies once your dog gets past 10 years old, please tell me.
Lou – exactly! I’m planning to buy my second Bernese Mountain Dog, and given the health issues and short life span, they’re likely to give me a high premium. I’m going to spend a lot of money buying a quality puppy from a quality breeder, but what do the insurance companies know?

Vicente Agostinelli

Jimmbbo asked:


so why in God’s name would we want 0bamacare over reformed private insurance?!

Allow insurance companies to sell across the country – reduces costs by competition

Tort reform to to keep frivolous lawsuits out and cap payments to a rational level – reduces malpractice insurance costs (currently $100,000 a year)

Do NOT require ALL people to have healthcare insurance – it is OPTIONAL

Buyer pays (or buys insurance) for routine medical exams and procedures. Tax deductions for insurance premiums.

Tax credits for Individual Health Savings accounts

Government assisted insurance for the truly poor.
NO ILLEGAL ALIENS on government insurance.

Government funds a catastrophic illness/pre-existing conditions fund, run by a medical board and administered by insurance companies on a cost-plus basis.

It WON’T take over 1000 pages to define.. more like 50, and it keeps government bureaucracies OUT of medical care for the vast majority of citizens.

Trish Aitken

lee asked:


I have a financial evaluation appointment at the hospital to see how much I can pay for my hospital bill (I got injured with no health insurance), the hospital bill came out to $5,000. I make $1,000 p/month almost minimum wage in Florida, and I have a lot of expenses. I want to set up a payment schedule with the hospital where I can pay about $20 p/month. I have a bank account with some savings (roughly $5,000), will I be forced to pay the hospital bill in one lump sum with the money from my bank account or will they let me set up a payment schedule? Do I have to tell them that I even have some savings in a bank account?

P.S. When you set up a payment schedule, do they charge interest on that?

Any advice would be appreciated.

Ezra Alexandropoul

J” asked:


According to the Republicans and the Health Insurance Industry it will destroy private enterprise. My question is, Is what America’s Health Care System IS,,what Each and Every American is Happy with?? And if Insurance Companies are raising rates yearly by 10 to 20 percent,and continuing to fight and deny claims,how much longer will it be before ALL of all Americans health plans will cost prohibitive,and the deductibles will be YOU pay the first $6000.00?? The companies with H S A ‘s (health savings accounts) are with a $6000.00 deductible right now !! Do we all want that kind of plan??
Obamanable FAUX, Everyone KNOWS what health care is now and everywhere in the world. Problem with your answer is,There is no answer. If America thought the way you think, We wouldn’t have gone to the moon or constantly working towards discoveries and cures for ailments. Yes, we can’t continue as we are, but just reiterating the current dilemmas is not a solution but just an excuse to do nothing. I’m sure the health insurance industries would give you 100 thumbs up for your answer !!

Julie Matthews

Vboy303 asked:


So I’ve got a crappy temp agency dental insurance and have accumulated $3000 worth of dental work. My question is can I use the funds from my HSA (Health Savings Account) to pay for the balance from my GE CareCredit which is supposedly No Interest for 24 months.
Just to clarify. a GE Carecredit account health medical related. It is a 12-24 month no interest credit card that can only be used to charge medical services such as dentist, doctor’s visits, prescriptions and even vet services for you four legged friends.

Cassandra Cardiff

DAR asked:


And does anyone care what Lindsay Graham thinks?

The GOP plans are based on health savings accounts, vouchers and tax credits leaving the individual to control their medical care, and would drive down costs by keeping govt and managed care out of it.

Graham appears ‘ready to deal’ for the insurance company and big pharma preapproved ‘no public option’ version of Obamacare with all the elements the same except govt only writes requirements for the plans and controls them, and doesn’t adminster them.

Does that solve the issues for any of us here?

I am serious.

If people thought we were just against the ‘public option’ and were pulling for insurance companies, they sure read me wrong, at least.

How many of you AGAINST Obamacare would be happy with it if only it didn’t have the public option — but still had reqs to buy govt crafted policies, cuts to medicare, committees to determine cost effective procedures etc etc.?

Basically Lindsay Graham would say ‘health savings accounts’ but no control over the plan you buy, the form will be mandated just as it would have been in a private plan under the original Obamacare bill.

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/ezra-klein/2009/08/is_there_a_deal_to_be_made_on.html?hpid=topnews

Essentially they are discussing the Wyden-Bennett bill.

http://www.heritage.org/research/healthcare/wm1849.cfm

What do you think, understanding that a number of you may not have had a chance to read the Wyden Bennett bill?

I have thought this is what they expected and were ready to fall back to, but think it is only infintisimally better than the first version. Yes, plans we can choose between are better, but if govt mandates what are in them, and mandates we get them, that isn’t what I want.

Does it work for you?
Carol that is nonsense because we know who we are and what motivates us. If you are just talking to hear yourself, great.

Actually, I’m still looking over the new one I haven’t yet read the actual bill but there were a lot of articles. Obamacare the bill was VERY different from the articles about it, however, so I will have to read the bill itself.
Joseph, if you pass a healthcare plan the people **** by forcing it down the nation’s throat, you will reap the whirlwind in 2010 and 2012.
Fascinating, here is a white paper by an insurance company lobbyist merging this with the Obama Baucus plan as it is called, specifically noting that the ‘cost effectiveness improvements and savings to medicare’ from the Obama Baucus plan could be incorporated in the other, etc. Presumably that means changing the standard to cost effective, the ‘council’ on what is reasonable and cost effective, and the half trillion in cuts to the medicare fund.

Looks like this was floated in the development of negotiations in April.

http://www.lewin.com/content/publications/LewinAnalysisWydenBaucusFeasibility.pdf

Well, having now spent some time looking at this it looks like discussions of making this the fallback assume incorporating a lot of the worst things about Obamacare, the panel to control costs, (apparent rationing) and it has different issues. The point is the bill as it is would not be the bill we would see.

Herb Nowitzke

Poke_the_Bear asked:


reform in the health care system? It will bring responsibility to the payer, they will look for the best bang for the buck. It wouldn’t cost the taxpayer anything. I’m not saying it is the only answer, but it certainly adds an option. Why are dems so opposed?

Irish Flansburg

DAR asked:


A BILL
To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to make health care coverage more accessible and affordable.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the `Comprehensive Health Care Reform Act of 2009′.

SEC. 2. REFUNDABLE CREDIT FOR HEALTH CARE COSTS.

(a) In General- Section 35 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to health insurance costs of eligible individuals) is amended to read as follows:

`SEC. 35. HEALTH INSURANCE COSTS.

`(a) In General- In the case of an individual, there shall be allowed as a credit against the tax imposed by this subtitle an amount equal to the sum of–

`(1) the amount paid by the taxpayer for insurance which constitutes medical care for the taxpayer and the taxpayer’s spouse and dependents, plus

`(2) the amount contributed to a health savings account of the individual (or the individual’s spouse).

`(b) Limitation- The credit allowed by subsection (a) for the taxable year shall not exceed the sum of–

`(1) the taxpayer’s net income tax for the taxable year, plus

`(2) the taxpayer’s Social Security taxes (as defined in section 24(d)) for such taxable year.

For purposes of paragraph (1), the term `net income tax’ means the sum of the regular tax liability plus the tax imposed by section 55, reduced by the credits allowable under this part (other than this subpart).

`(c) Denial of Double Benefit-

`(1) IN GENERAL- Any amount allowed as a credit under this section shall not be taken into account in determining the amount of any deduction under this chapter.

`(2) COORDINATION WITH HEALTH SAVINGS ACCOUNT CONTRIBUTIONS- For purposes of paragraph (1), amounts taken into account under subsection (a) for a taxable year shall be treated as being attributable to amounts paid for insurance to the extent of such payments.’.

(b) Conforming Amendments-

(1) Section 223(b) of such Code, as amended by section 4, is amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph:

`(4) COORDINATION WITH CREDIT FOR HEALTH INSURANCE- The limitation under paragraph (1) shall be reduced by the amount treated as being taken into account under section 35(a)(2).’.

(2) Section 223(e)(3)(B) of such Code, as amended by section 4, is amended by inserting `nor treated as being taken into account under section 35(a)(2)’ before the period at the end.

(3) Section 4973(g) of such Code is amended–

(A) in paragraph (1) by inserting `or a credit under section 35′ after `section 223′, and

(B) in paragraph (2)(B)(i) by striking `maximum’ and inserting `sum of the amount treated as being taken into account under section 35(a)(2) plus the’.

(4) Section 162 of such Code is amended by striking subsection (l).

(5) Chapter 77 of such Code is amended by striking section 7527 and by striking the item relating to section 7527 in the table of sections for such chapter.

(6) Subpart B of part III of subchapter A of chapter 61 of such Code is amended by striking section 6050T and by striking the item relating to section 6050T in the table of sections for such chapter.

(7) Section 6103(l) of such Code is amended by striking paragraph (18).

(8) Section 6103(p) of such Code is amended–

(A) in paragraph (3)(A) by striking `(17), or (18)’ and inserting `or (17)’, and

(B) in paragraph (4) by striking `or (18)’ after `any other person described in subsection (l)(10), (16)’ each place it appears.

(9) Section 7213A(a)(1)(B) of such Code is amended by striking `subsection (l)(18) or (n) of section 6103′ and inserting `section 6103(n)’.

(10) Section 6724(d)(1)(B) of such Code is amended by striking clause (xiii).

(11) Section 6724(d)(2) of such Code is amended by striking subparagraph (DD).

(12) The item relating to section 35 in the table of sections for subpart C of part IV of subchapter A of chapter 1 of such Code is amended to read as follows:

`Sec. 35. Health insurance costs.’.

(c) Effective Date- The amendments made by this section shall apply to taxable years beginning after December 31, 2009.

SEC. 3. DISPOSITION OF UNUSED HEALTH BENEFITS IN CAFETERIA PLANS AND FLEXIBLE SPENDING ARRANGEMENTS.

(a) In General- Section 125 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to cafeteria plans) is amended by redesignating subsections (i) and (j) as subsections (j) and (k), respectively, and by inserting after subsection (h) the following:

`(h) Carryforwards or Payments of Certain Unused Health Benefits-

`(1) IN GENERAL- For purposes of this title, a plan or other arrangement shall not fail to be treated as a cafeteria plan solely because qualified benefits under such plan include a health flexible spending arrangement under which not more than $500 of unused health benefits may be–

`(A) carried forward to the succeeding plan year of such health flexible spending arrangement, or

`(B) paid to or
Essentially it creates personal health savings accounts not dependent on any employer, where you keep the interest and where every payment into the account, for health insurance or for health care gets a credit, up to the amount of your net income PLUS social security taxes withheld.

I included the whole thing because it isn’t a thousand pages long, which recommends it to me further. Control by the individual, not a third party payer, cuts costs for ALL. This lowers costs, it does not enrich big insurance companies nor big pharma companies. Even if subsidies were added by removing the limit on credits costs would still be REDUCED so the cost of subsidy would be reduced, and individuals remain in control of their health care.

Thoughts?
Teleprompter – no benefit in winning if the candidate is no good. This isn’t about presidential candidates, this is about a bill in congress. Or do you prefer Obama’s?
Free at last, actually, he did. But every year if a bill isn’t passed, you have to re-introduce it.
Teleprompter re: your second line, all those statements are patently false. Can’t you find anything true against him?
crud, not quite the whole thing attached, there is also a deduction for high dectible health insurance and for medicaid / medicare type payments.

type the bill number in at thomas.gov to get the last bit.
Reporter, you can buy a true health insurance policy JUST for catestrophic illness for that contingency and it will cost much less.

Carter Schlotzhauer

Poke_the_Bear asked:


reform in the health care system? It will bring responsibility to the payer, they will look for the best bang for the buck. It wouldn’t cost the taxpayer anything. I’m not saying it is the only answer, but it certainly adds an option. Why are dems so opposed?

Craig Ausley

Jewish Paladin JPA & Libertarian asked:


There is one.

http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c111:H.R.1495:

Essentially it creates personal health savings accounts not dependent on any employer, where you keep the interest and where every payment into the account, for health insurance or for health care gets a credit, up to the amount of your net income PLUS social security taxes withheld.

I included the whole thing because it isn’t a thousand pages long, which recommends it to me further. Control by the individual, not a third party payer, cuts costs for ALL. This lowers costs, it does not enrich big insurance companies nor big pharma companies. Even if subsidies were added by removing the limit on credits costs would still be REDUCED so the cost of subsidy would be reduced, and individuals remain in control of their health care.
Whoops, I didn’t put the bill into the details, my head is not here today.
John F, mind giving us some constructive criticism?

Lyndon Impson