Are you struggling with cost-prohibitive health insurance premium hikes? Trying to find a way to maintain a health insurance plan for yourself or your employees? An HSA may be the solution you’re looking for.

Here’s how this relatively new opportunity basically works, step by step:
1.Purchase a qualifying high deductible health plan. The higher the deductible, the
lower the premium, thus keeping more money in your own pocket.
2.Establish an HSA account with a qualified HSA custodian.
3.Contribute up to 100% of the allowable contribution limit (set by the IRS annually)
into the HSA account. Think of it as using the premium savings to fund your HSA.
4.Get a federal tax deduction for your contribution, reducing your taxable income and again, keeping more in your own pocket.
5.Use the money in your HSA account to pay for qualified medical expenses tax-free as you incur them, if you wish.
6.What’s left at the end of the year stays in your HSA account (it’s your money), and can be used on future years’ medical expenses.

Looking at the “big picture” an HSA can revolutionize health care in that it puts the consumer (not the insurance company) back in the driver’s seat when it comes to purchasing health care services. The concept, of course, is that if the consumer will be paying for a medical product or service, they’ll only request it if it’s truly necessary, and they’ll first inquire as to the cost and/or less expensive comparable alternatives. Since they’ll be spending their own money, they’ll become wiser shoppers as they strive to use the dollars as efficiently as possible.

To learn more about HSAs, view a presentation or visit the Department of Treasury HSA website.