by KYW's Salil Gutt
The ever increasing cost of health insurance has many of us signing up for health savings accounts, HSA's. A none too subtle push by employers keen on cutting premium dollars is also fueling the trend.
HSA's are high deductible health insurance policies. Deductibles can range from $1,000 to $5,000 per person. A couple of years into this program, some interesting trends are emerging.
First, HSA' s are generally a good deal for the more affluent and also for self employed people. Next. Insurance carriers are making mistakes at the expense of the insured. For instance, they are failing to give users the in network discounts. In this era of $10 aspirin you will be out of pocket your entire deductible in a hurry. Also, participants in HSA's end up paying the full cost of prescription drugs with no negotiated discounts.
And finally, the investment accounts linked to the HSA's have high fees and expenses. Smart consumers are paying smaller or entire deductible amounts out of pocket rather than tapping into the investment portion of this program.
Given that HSA's are the direction in which health insurance is headed makes it worthwhile to understanding them better.
E-Mail Story
Print Story
