Keeping Your Health Insurance Premiums Low
Health Savings Accounts offer tax deductions for medical expenses, and the opportunity to set up an additional retirement account. But regardless of any other positive benefit of HSAs, lower premiums are the primary reason that thousands of Americans have chosen Health Savings Accounts as the best way to protect their family’s health and assets. Here are some key suggestions on how to keep your health insurance premiums low.
Average group health insurance premiums rose by 9.6% last year and rose over 10% for each of the previous six years. Individual plans went up even more. Yet it is expected most HSA plans will experience much lower rate increases. A very large study was recently published showing that rate increases over the past year for consumer-driven plans such as HSA plans was only 3.4%. Blue Cross of Minnesota has reported that its HSA customers spent 8% less than their traditional insurance clients. Humana has reported claims’ costs of 4.9% for consumer-driven plans, versus a 19.2% increase in claims for other plans. In fact, average HSA premiums for individuals have actually dropped 19.5% over the last two years.
The reason these plans have lower rate increases is that people who have HSA-qualifying high-deductible health plans are likely to pay closer attention to costs, and take better care of their health. For instance, an HSA owner offered a statin drug to lower her cholesterol may be more likely to request a generic version, or ask her doctor if inexpensive nutritional supplements such as niacin or fish oil may be a solution. These actions save the insurance company money and should result in lower rate increases.
2. Raise your deductible as your HSA account grows.
When you fund your account you build up a financial “cushion” which allows you to raise your deductible as your account grows. Every time you raise your deductible, your premium should go down.
By the way, don’t forget that every time you fund your account you get an instant tax-deduction. When you offset the tax savings against your premiums, you’ll find your net cost for an HSA plan can be very low.
The maximum allowable contribution goes up every year with the rise of the Consumer Price Index. Currently, the individual contribution limit is $2,700, and the family limit is $5,450. So each year you can deposit greater amounts into your HSA and continue to raise your deductible, if you choose.
3. Stay healthy, so you can switch plans.
All health insurance plans have rate increases, and weve even seen premiums jump on some HSA plans. If a rate increase happens to you, you can switch to a different insurance company but only if you pass their underwriting requirements. If chronic disease develops, you may be stuck with your current plan, and its accompanying rate increases, for eternity. Or at least it may seem that long
If you pay attention to the pharmaceutical commercials, you learn lifestyle really has nothing to do with disease, and it is natural and healthy to be on many medications for the rest of your life, which will then solve your health problems.
If you pay attention to the science, you know the truth is quite different. It appears lifestyle is probably 95% of the picture, and we know the occurrence of degenerative disease can be dramatically reduced and even prevented.
Fortunately, most HSA owners are interested in health, wellness, and disease prevention. After all, theyre paying for their own doctor visits if they do get sick. HSA owners are also “forward thinking” people, and like to plan for their future both financial and physical. You can improve your odds of excellent health with just a few key habits:
Eat very high quantities of fresh vegetables and fruits. Shoot for 35% of your calories. This will lower your risk for diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, cancer, and much more.
Limit your intake of sugar and starchy carbohydrates like bread and pasta. The majority of health problems in the U.S. are related to metabolic diseases that involve insulin resistance.
Exercise and lift weights. Exercise guru Jack La Lanne turns 93 on September 26, and he says if you have muscles you never feel old.
4. Compare your plan to other available plans at least once a year, or whenever you get a rate increase.
Often-times people keep their plan much longer than they should, and end up paying too much. If your rates go up, you should compare a wide variety of plans to determine if you are in the right plan for your needs and budget.
By using these four strategies, the typical family can save thousands of dollars in health insurance premiums and still protect themselves against unexpected major medical expenses.
Watch the video related to health plan
Congressional Democrats and Republicans gathered at Blair House for a discussion on health care legislation with President Obama. He first announced the idea for this event during a Super Bowl Sunday interview with CBS news Anchor Katie Couric. Since then, the President has released a health care plan drawing largely from two bills passed by House and Senate Democrats. We heard opening comments from the President and congressional leaders followed by discussions on health care costs, insurance reforms, deficit reduction and expanding coverage.
Help answer the question about health plan
Can online students still be covered for health insurance under parents plan?I'm under my parents health plan and i turn 19 in January and thats when my coverage will be terminated unless I show proof im still a "full time student"..
Im currently enrolled in college but online..
Does this still qualify under full time student?
@teknoguy2002 Yes, I agree, the people who have completely legitimate reasons for health care should have it, but just until they are back on their feet. We shouldn’t give it to people who just don’t try. We are heading in a direction that all health care will be controlled by the government. I don’t mind us helping one another for short periods of time but health care is a private business and the government should interfere as little as possible.
@pcsassy03 Well what do you expect? Shes just misdirected. Shes focused in the wrong direction, smart yeah.. But its in vain when misdirected.
You got it!!!
An excellent question.
Insurance is supposed to spread the risk around so we can be free from disasters. But what happens with health "insurance" is that get in between us and our doctors every single check up, every single prescription. That's not insurance its an extra hand in the till.
It is just absurd that we institutionalized these parasites.
The thing is, people that are uninsured generally didn’t apply themselves. They never tried to make something of their lives and as a result didn’t make enough money to pay for insurance in case something happened to them. When something does happen, they come whining saying how they have never had a chance. They have always have had a chance and never took it. So now the productive, tax paying members of society have to pay for someone not feeling like applying themselves.
“everyone NOW has access to healthcare”, the emergency room; is like saying, if everyone has a gun, we don’t need government intervention and force a dept of military on us.
I don't know who or what WGBH is but I came to a reality of my own yesterday when I recieved notice that my supplemental health insurance premium would more than double from $164.00 a month to $340.00 a month. This is in addition to the cost of Medicare. I can accept a lower cost plan, which is what I'll have to do, but it won't cover nearly what my original plan did. What is a senior citizen on a fixed income going to do? I've been in this insurance for over 30 years, it is partially subsidized by the State I worked for and retired from. It has never been free, even while working I paid premiums,
If only people could relate what happened to our educational system after the govt installed the Dept of Education to the complete takeover of health care, many eyes would be opened to the dangers.
And to think… the Dept of Education only meddled in the private markets' affairs on a smaller scale, and look at what it did.
Obamacare will wreck our economy without a doubt.
@dland95 (Sorry only needed like 40 more letters)
But for the most part, the uninsured aren’t that way by choice. And even then, they’ve been paying taxes just like everyone else.
@dland95 Charities are all well and good, but they jsut don’t end up helping everyone who needs it. Not by a long shot.
Let’s say I get laid off this week. I’ve been paying taxes all my life, paid into SS, and even have health insurance. After I lose my job, I no longer have my health insurance. If I get sick, I can’t afford to pay for it because I just lost not only my job, but my insurance as well.
I see where you’re coming from, and I do agree, some people just shouldn’t be helped.
She has valid concerns, as do all the people opposing the bill. But the long and short of it is, Rep. Grayson had a very good point. If you get hit by a bus, and you don’t have insurance, you have to pay all the medical expenses. If you have a job it’s not a problem, but you could lose it as a result of the accident. Then even with a payment plan, you can’t afford to pay. The hospital system then ends up footing the bill. People need to be responsible for themselves, not leave it to chance.
Yes, health insurance premiums will go up.
Since everybody will be required to have health insurance or be fined, the negotiating ability that a person has when he can walk away from a bad deal will be lost.
@dland95 Some people just can’t afford Health Insurance. Some people who CAN afford the insurance don’t get it, because even if they had it they can’t afford the copay. It’s not about who applies themselves, except in the case of extreme laziness, but I think that is actually rare.
Some people don’t get health insurance just because they don’t want to. Fine by me, but if something happens, there should be some guarantee to the healthcare system they go to for care that they will get paid.
@teknoguy2002 I do see your point about people who can’t afford it. I don’t see a reason why other people should pay for it when the uninsured can’t. That’s what charities are for.
The problem is that we manage the system for maximum profits for the insurance companies, that's our highest priority. In other developed countries the highest priority for their health care system is HEALTH CARE. The insurance companies know they can make more by insuring -some- people than -all- people, so they lobby for the right to refuse people that won't make them a profit, and the we all pay for their care.
This is only part of a bigger problem. The advantage of capitalism is that it creates wealth more quickly, so it has the potential to raise the country's standard of living. The pursuit of profit used to be seen as a means to an end, the end being a better life for everyone. But today profit is the end in itself, and we measure the success of the system just by profits themselves, even while 95% of people face a decline in their standard of living. For the last 30 years or so, since the 'Reagan Revolution', the great majority of us have seen a slow, steady decline in both our standard of living and our hopes for the future, while 0.1% have doubled their wealth every 5-8 years. That's just not sustainable.
When President Obama began his 2008 campaign he said he'd advocate a single payer plan, which was supported by >60% of the American people. But not too long after that he announced that he'd decided a single payer plan wouldn't work in 'a country like this', and he changed his plan to one where the fed. govt. subsidizes individuals to buy commercial insurance, and even buys insurance for some uninsured from the same corporations that own our health care today. This is really no more than a government subsidy for the health insurance industry. This same feature was in Bill Clinton's plan and GHW Bush's plan. Before this change of heart, Obama accepted millions of dollars in campaign funds from the health insurance companies. So he wasn't able to propose anything that might hurt their profits, or their control over health care.
And since the beginning of 2009 the insurance industry has spent more than 1 million dollars a day to lobby and advertise against Obama's health care plan.
In the meanwhile, the cost we pay for health insurance has more than doubled since 2000. And it was considered a crisis long before that.
My sweetie and I pay more for health insurance now than for our mortgage. It's really sick!
And the Republicans' opposition to Obama's health care plan has more to do with their outrage that there's a Democrat in the White House than with health care policy. They only want him to fail, so they will reflexively oppose anything he does or says or wants. The Republicans have convinced half of America that this is a matter of party, so they will even vote against their own best interests just to get control back for Republicans, no matter how crappy of a job they do.
Pelosi's big coverup…she and Obama continually criticize her opponents as not having any ideas, meanwhile they are stomping on their ideas and making sure the public never hears about alternatives to their government takeover.
You're exactly right. We spend more per capita on health care than any other nation by far, and are ranked 37th in health care by the WHO.
I just had this conversation this morning with an ER doctor friend of mine. No one is turned away from the emergency room, regardless of their ability to pay. It just costs far more to do it that way. We're all paying for it already; we just pay too much.
Ever notice how people tend to cling to something that clearly sucks, while rejecting better alternatives because they're not perfect?
No offense, but I think you ought to not get your information from random e-mails someone sent you! Go get your facts from a reputable source.