Health Savings Account-Health Savings Account Info

bobbi123 asked:


Employees where I work can have Health Savings Accounts. (HSA) Our employer will contribute 100 to our HSA each quarter IF we send something that proves we have had a physical, had our teeth cleaned, had an eye exam, etc. during that quarter. Is it legal for the company to require such proof in order for us to be eligible to receive the employer contribution?

Benjamin

Johnee asked:


Sources: House Ways and Means, Energy and Commerce, and Education and Labor committees; Kaiser Family Foundation

(CNN) — President Obama signed sweeping health care reform into law today. The Senate must now pass a package of changes that will reconcile the differences between Senate and House bills. If those changes are worked out, here is how health care reforms will affect you:

Within the first year

• Young adults will be able stay on their parents’ insurance until their 27th birthday.

• Seniors will get a $250 rebate to help fill the “doughnut hole” in Medicare prescription drug coverage, which falls between the $2,700 initial limit and when catastrophic coverage kicks in at $6,154.

• Insurers will be barred from imposing exclusions on children with pre-existing conditions. Pools will cover those with pre-existing health conditions until health care coverage exchanges are operational.

• Insurers will not be able to rescind policies to avoid paying medical bills when a person becomes ill.

• Lifetime limits on benefits and restrictive annual limits will be prohibited.

• New plans must provide coverage for preventive services without co-pays. All plans must comply by 2018.

• A temporary reinsurance program will help offset costs of coverage for companies that provide early retiree health benefits for those ages 55 to 64.

• New plans will be required to implement an appeals process for coverage determinations and claims.

• Adoption tax credit and assistance exclusion will increase by $1,000. The bill makes the credit refundable and extends it through 2011.

• A 10 percent tax will be imposed on amounts paid for indoor tanning services on or after July 1.

• Businesses with fewer than 50 employees will get tax credits covering 35 percent of their health care premiums, increasing to 50 percent by 2014.

2011

• Medicare will provide free annual wellness visits and personalized prevention plans. New plans will be required to cover preventive services with no co-pay.

• States can offer home- and community-based services to the disabled through Medicaid rather than institutional care beginning October 1.

• A 50 percent discount will be provided on brand-name drugs for Prescription Drug Plan or Medicare Advantage enrollees. Additional discounts on brand-name and generic drugs will be phased in to completely close the “doughnut hole” by 2020.

• Additional tax for health savings account withdrawals before age 65 for nonqualified medical expenses will increase from 10 percent to 20 percent. Additional tax for Archer medical savings account withdrawals not used for qualified medical expenses will increase from 15 percent to 20 percent.

• A plan to provide a vehicle for small businesses to offer tax-free benefits will be created. This would ease the small employer’s administrative burden of sponsoring a cafeteria plan.

• The Medicare payroll tax will increase from 1.45 percent to 2.35 percent for individuals earning more than $200,000 and married filing jointly above $250,000.

2013

• Health plans must implement uniform standards for electronic exchange of health information to reduce paperwork and administrative costs.

• Contributions to flexible savings accounts will be limited to $2,500 per year, indexed by the Consumer Price Index in subsequent years.

• The Employer Medicare Part D subsidy deduction will be eliminated. Employers will lose the tax deduction for subsidizing prescription drug plans for Medicare Part D-eligible retirees.

• There will be increases to the income threshold from 7.5 percent to 10 percent of adjusted gross income. Those older than 65 can claim the 7.5 percent deduction through 2016.

• The hospital insurance tax will increase 0.9 percentage points for those earning more than $200,000 ($250,000 for married filing jointly), and it includes net investment income.

• A 2.9 percent excise tax on the first sale of medical devices will be established. Excepted are eyeglasses, contact lenses, hearing aids or other items for individual use.

2014

• Citizens will be required to have acceptable coverage or pay a penalty of $95 in 2014, $325 in 2015, $695 (or up to 2.5 percent of income) in 2016. Families will pay half the amount for children, up to a cap of $2,250 per family. After 2016, penalties are indexed to Consumer Price Index.

• Workers who are exempt from individual responsibility for coverage but don’t qualify for tax credits can take their employer contribution and join an exchange plan.

• Companies with 50 or more employees must offer coverage to employees or pay a $2,000 penalty per employee after their first 30 if at least one of their employees receives a tax credit. Waiting periods before insurance takes effect is limited to 90 days. Employers who offer coverage but wh

Shirley

foodcubes asked:


It just seems like such a terrible and unnecessary idea to just take peoples’ saved money because they haven’t spent it all within a year. I think it would make so much more sense to let people have something that functions as a normal savings account that can only be spent on medical care, with the tax benefit of an FSA.

I know that something like this exists, but it isn’t available to me, and probably a lot of people.

It just seems so wrong that they take your unspent money. What would it hurt to let you keep it, anyways?

Major Malkin

David asked:


I have a fix.

Instead of requiring people to get health insurance we simply require everyone to pay for a procedure or care before they get it! It’ll be like fast food. That way those of us that do have health care won’t have to foot the bill for those who don’t.

Heart attack? Better have a decent sized savings account. Tumor? Time to sell off that google stock whitey. It the ultimate way to make sure rich people stay healthy and poor people die which is what this is really all about isn’t it?

Arnold Major

What the fu– asked:


We have BCBS with a health savings account which we pay $200 a month for though my husband’s small massage school. Cheap right? Not so much when the employer doesn’t contribute to the HSA and we just can’t afford to. For that reason, I haven’t gotten my annual PAP or mammagram which I’m overdue for. Just going for a regular check up leaves us with an almost $100 bill. With Obama’s plan would we be able to quit that insurance and pick up something affordable?

Reed Patria

mark asked:


1) (it is unbelievable that this still exists). Why is it legal for doctors, hospitals, clinics to charge different prices for people that have different insurance or are uninsured? People paying out of pocket pay “Book Price” for services whereas some health insurers (and Medicare) pay a much lower price (because of negotiations for in-network services).

2) Why is virtually all health care costs pre-tax for some people and post-tax for others. If you have an employer health plan, your health care premiums are pre-tax. Your employer paid portion of the premium is a non-taxed gift. You also can contribute to a health care savings account to cover all out-of-pocket costs tax-free as well.
If you purchase private insurance because your employer does not offer insurance, 100% of your premiums are post tax. You do not have an option of health savings accounts nor do you get employer paid premiums. Also, you cannot even deduct any health care costs on your federal return until you exceed 7 1/2% of your adjusted gross income.
Red Legion

You are flat out WRONG on the the price differential. An uninsured person may pay 10k for an operation whereas a person with Horizon Blue Cross or Medicare may pay 5k for that same operation. This exists

Secondly, it is not the self employed that I am talking about. It is the people employed at a company that does not offer insurance (This is the lions share of the people). And this is a gigantic problem.

Lastly, the public option is CRITICAL. Health insurers are as important today as a blacksmith is. They offer virtually no service other than taking our money to pay their stock holders.
Red Legion

You are flat out WRONG on the the price differential. An uninsured person may pay 10k for an operation whereas a person with Horizon Blue Cross or Medicare may pay 5k for that same operation. This exists

Secondly, it is not the self employed that I am talking about. It is the people employed at a company that does not offer insurance (This is the lions share of the people). And this is a gigantic problem.

Lastly, the public option is CRITICAL. Health insurers are as important today as a blacksmith is. They offer virtually no service other than taking our money to pay their stock holders.

Lawerence Ridolfi

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

What the fu– asked:


We have Blue Cross Blue Shield with a health savings account that my husband’s employer doesn’t contribute to and we can’t afford to contribute to. So, husband went to doc last month for an ear infection. Paid $10 copay then we got a $74 bill in the mail. We pay $200 a month for this insurance. The deductible is $2600. It’s so absurd. My 1 year old has great health insurance through child health plus…thank god for that. We’ve had much better health insurance in the past but now, here we are in our late 30′s and we have the worstinsurance we’ve ever had.

I know we’re lucky to have any insurance at all. My husband and I work p/t. His hours got cut and will hopefully return to f/t in the fall but that won’t change our insurance.

I was just wondering what people do? We just had a friend who spent a month and a half in the hospital with swine flu. Luckily his wife is a college professor and has good insurance but what if that happened to us? It’s just so scary. What if we’re in a car accident? Ugh.

Lana Leming

Gina G asked:


I’m 24 yrs old and work 2 part time jobs. I’ve never had any medical problems, take good care of myself, eat right, not overweight. I only go see a gynocologist once a year. I want something that can cover me in case anything happens. Should I look for a cheap health plan or try an HSA? Thanks!

Leonel Ullrich

Saikka asked:


Health Care in France is Often Held Up as a Model the U.S. Might Follow Yet the French Have Their Own Problems that Show There’s No Such Thing as a Free Lunch — or a Free Doctor’s Visit

By INVESTOR’S BUSINESS DAILY | Posted Wednesday, August 26, 2009 4:20 PM PT

Call it the grass-is-greener syndrome. Advocates of national health care, acknowledging the flaws in ObamaCare yet despising the current U.S. system that has the best medicines, the best medical equipment and the shortest waiting lists, have turned their eyes lovingly to places like France.

As City Journal contributing editor Guy Sorman notes, the French would also love to have the low-cost, high-service system some Americans gush about. Unfortunately, they don’t. France’s system isn’t that cheap and is financed by high taxes on labor that have heavy economic consequences.

Sorman notes that a Frenchman making a monthly salary of 3,000 euros has 350 of them deducted for health insurance. Then the employer throws in an additional 1,200 euros. This raises the cost of labor to prohibitive levels and puts a brake on economic growth. This helps explain why French unemployment hovers around 10%.

France imposes an additional tax levy to cover the constant deficits that national health insurance runs.

The French Parliament raises this levy, which applies to all forms of income, every year. Altogether, Sorman writes, “25% of French national income goes toward what’s called Social Security, which includes health care and basic retirement pensions for all.”

Drugs developed in America at enormous expense do cost less in France, which decides what drugs are to be used and at what prices. American patients in effect subsidize the French, who take the same pills at half the price because American pharmaceutical companies don’t want to lose the French market.

French taxpayers fund a state health insurer, Assurance Maladie. Assurance Maladie has run in the red since 1989, and this year’s shortfall is expected to be 9.4 billion euros ($13.5 billion) and 15 billion euros in 2010, about 10% of its budget.

Regardless of the cost, does the French system produce better outcomes? Not always. Infant mortality rates are often cited as a reason socialized medicine and single-payer systems are better than what we have here. But according to Dr. Linda Halderman, a policy adviser in the California State Senate, these comparisons are bogus.

Official World Health Organization statistics show the U.S. lagging behind France in infant mortality rates — 6.7 per 1,000 live births vs. 3.8 for France. Halderman notes that in the U.S., any infant born that shows any sign of life for any length of time is considered a live birth. In France — in fact, in most of the European Union — any baby born before 26 weeks’ gestation is not considered alive and therefore doesn’t “count” in reported infant mortality rates.

France reimburses its doctors at a far lower rate than U.S. physicians would accept.

As David Gratzer, a physician and senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, wrote in the summer 2007 issue of City Journal: “In France, the supply of doctors is so limited that during an August 2003 heat wave — when many doctors were on vacation and hospitals were stretched beyond capacity — 15,000 elderly citizens died.”

After the tragedy, the French parliament released a harshly worded report blaming the deaths on a complex health system, widespread failure among agencies and health services to coordinate efforts, and chronically insufficient care for the elderly.

It’s hard to imagine that happening here, where hospitals have enough air-conditioned beds and doctors that aren’t on vacation.

Fact is, most Americans like their health care. There are ways to provide expanded coverage at lower cost, such as pushing individually owned health savings accounts, malpractice reform and allowing insurance to be bought across state lines.

We needn’t be forced to sacrifice quality for cost. Nor do we need to look to the French for a better solution. They don’t have one.

http://www.ibdeditorials.com/IBDArticles.aspx?id=336178343967257

Neal Tecklenburg