Do you have an HSA?

No, but should read, in my case, 'Not yet.' They are good for the insurance industry, AND the employee! Whee! Forgive my skepticism.

 

Yes, but I don't use it (knock on wood), so I can't really say whether or not I like it.

h34r:

 

We are on the verge of opening one - start date to be April 1, 2006.

We currently have Oxford Freedom with an add-on dental plan that will shortly be runnng us almost $1,900.00 per family.

BC/BS offers an HSA in NY State. We will be taking the maximum deductible of $5,000.00 per family. With all the additional riders including eye care, prescriptions, etc, etc our monthly charge for a family plan will be less than $600.00.

Additional benefits include being able to deposit in the HSA a total of $10,000.00 per year (family plan) that will be managed by Mellon Bank and will accumulate tax free. It can be withdrawn for medical or dental expenses tax free whenever, and after age 65 can be withdrawn for any reason at all and taxed at your tax rate at that time.

AmEx is joining BC/BS this year and will offer an HSA debit card to manage the deductible.

Being a BC/BS product you are in network almost everywhere - there are over 88,000 providers! Who does not take BC/BS - everyone I know does - I should know too - I am a physician.

There are no referrals, no oversight, no denials, no nothing. Like the good old times.

HSA's were started by President Bush in 2003 and already has over 3,000,000 subscribers.

 

i'm a grad student. the very thought amuses me! :lol:

my mom has one though, (she has one of those "jobs") it ended up being of much use to her.

 

dbermanmd, as a physician, you undoubtedly realize that some of your patients can't absorb more of their healthcare costs. I don't mind some accountability in healthcare expenses, but placing healthcare further out of reach for the poor is criminal.
The fact that this country doesn't provide its citizens healthcare without regard to the cash in their pocket is pathetic.

 

I think I misunderstood the question when I voted and said I had one, and liked it. I actually have an employer sponsored HSA with a bi-weekly contribution that augments my medical insurance to pay for non-covered items and deductibles, etc.

The only thing I don't like about the employer sponsored plans is that they require that you forfeit anything you don't use (the company gets to keep it). Last year I saw stats for this kind of thing, they said that companies are retaining about 18% of the money at year end.

So I'm only putting $40 per bi-weekly check into the account. I would do more if I could get the money back at the end of the year (less taxes, of course). I will end up using most of it this month ... with a crown ... but I didn't know that when I signed up for the deduction.

Dr. Berman's experience reads more like what the poll is after. And for someone paying the full load of a health insurance plan directly, they do seem to be a good idea.

 

ah. then i was talking about an FSA too. so this is an individual-sponsored plan? as in, to be used in lieu of health insurance? hmm.

 

A Health Savings Account is very useful for the self-employed, as I am. It allows you to put money into a savings account tax free. The money you can fund is limited to your deductible that you have on your health insurance. In my case and my spouse, health insurance is very expensive if we were to purchase a low deductible plan. We have purchased a high deductible plan and funded our HSA. The HSA can be used to meet our deductible, dental expenses, eye exams, etc. If we don't need the money for medical expenses, after we hit medicare age we can convert the HSA into an IRA. It's been very good for us.

 

Sure.

 

That is true, and I also realize as am employer that companies can not afford to shoulder all or part of an employees health care cost. This actually will bring market forces back to bear on the health care field.

When you take consumer choice and competition away from any marketplace, entropy takes over. There is not one single payer system or socialized health care system that works - especially when it comes to covering 300,000,000 people with diverse genotypes, wants, needs, desires.

I am not sure what the answer is, although we take care of those without insurance for free (I am an attending physician at Mt Sinai Hospital in NYC), I can tell you it does not involve governmental control - we have enough of it already and it only makes the delivery of healthcare that much more complicated, dangerous, and inefficient.

Anyhow, have a nice evening. I think HSA's as they are rolled out to cover more people will have a large impact on the healthcare marketplace.

Two quick fixes that could solve the problem almost in its entirety:
1. Make medical malpractice No-Fault and change the payout system to an annuity - save the 40-45% the lawyers clear from the plaintiff
2. Means testing for Medicare patients - I get very upset taking care of multimillaire medicare patients who use it and dont need to. There should be a cost rate based on income and net worth.

 

net worth is a poor qualifier as we have here people (elderly) who have their own home, and a very modest pension, who are trapped in an ever increasing realestate market where their little modest house is worth a million dollars and they live on 875$ a month federal pension. Income based yes and Pre Tax.

 

I have a very good Employer paid health plan. I pay 10% of the premium. My co pay is $15 and prescriptions are tiered $5, $17, and $27. I pay 10% of my premium.

I think our health care system is shameful but I put equal blame on the gov't, Insurance companies, AND the consumer. Our entitlement mentality is bad. We are willing to spend $50 month on cell phones, ditto cable, lease new cars beyond our means, no problem paying for car repairs but DANG IT, we should get our medical care free...and as MUCH as we want.

I like high deductible (2K to 5K) catastrophic insurance for ALL and HSA's for ALL. HSA input would be based on your income making some completely gov't paid and others self paid.

Until consumers have to spend some of their own money....why should anyone care about "fixing" the problem.

Currently I see the debate as just fixing it by having the Gov't pay for EVERYONE. Well, there is not enough money in the nation to do that....even if we got out of Iraq.

We need a PARADIGM shift.

 

No, we shouldn't get it free, nor as much as we want. IT SHOULD BE PAID FOR WITH OUR TAXES TO BE THERE FOR ALL WHEN THEY ARE MOST IN NEED. 'As much as we want'? Nooooo, nobody is suggesting liposuction be free for all, however it might improve the view.

And, what, pray, do we do about those unable to afford your 'high deductible'? Throw them away? Let their conditions worsen until we see them in the ER, since that has proven such an affordable method of coping? Maybe they should be put on an island somewhere, since disease and disability can make some uncomfortable.

I don't believe that the vague notion that a person may have to spend money someday down the road will be a deterrent against a primal drive like appetite. The threat of DEATH sure hasn't served to deter people from potentially harmful behaviors throughout history.

With all due respect, I wonder if you've ever been close enough to real, honest to goodness poverty to realize what it means to be afraid for your family should anything happen to your health.

"Well, there is not enough money in the nation to do that....even if we got out of Iraq."

I disagree.

 

I am one of the fortunate few. My employer provides full coverage (medical, dental, vision) for me and my family. No deductible, no co-pay. We do not abuse the system, but appreciate what we have.

 

I am in the minority in that my employer, a joint union high school district, provides FULL coverage for me and family members. There has been no charge up until now. We just renegotiated our contract for the next three years and agreed to pay $25 per month. Otherwise, full coverage for medical, dental and vision.

Upon retirement this will be a different story, I will have to seek and pay for coverage. A HSA will be welcome at that time.