Health Savings Accounts

The Health savings account is beginning to gather steam as more individuals research their options now that the health care reform bill has made its entrance. This is a tax-deferred savings option that many families will soon consider an asset rather than a liability.

The responsibility of reigning in the hefty health care costs and skyrocketing health insurance premiums is now something for all individuals to take a second look. Gone are the days when visiting the community health care provider was a rarity. As the population ages and individuals become less active, more diseases of the past are making a new appearance.

The health savings account or HSA is a formidable way for families to cope with the rising costs of their annual health insurance policy along with the rising cost of health care treatment when a member becomes ill. Diabetes and asthma have become very predominant in our society today when it was considered rare by the medical health community years past.

Those families who have had a health savings account in the past were able to accumulate up to five thousand dollars per year toward their health care. The monetary funds remaining in the health savings account at the end of each fiscal year could be rolled over into the next year with the option of additional funds.

The option to accumulate up to five thousand dollars a year has now been lowered through the passing of the health care reform bill, but it is still a viable source of ready cash when a major illness occurs. The new savings limit per year is now set at two thousand five hundred dollars, but this will still come in handy for most unforeseen emergencies.

The health savings account or HSA is a viable source of monetary funds that still remains non-taxable. Unlike many of the other health insurance plans available, which now are taxable, this is not because it remains for a specific purpose. You have the ability to withdraw funds for the purpose of medical expenses, but you may not withdraw funds for a weekend retreat or for a family vacation.

The health savings account or HSA will combine the high deductible health insurance policies with a tax-exempt policy to open the arena for personal responsibility with regard to health care issues and the medical treatment options that are currently available. Perhaps in time this new feature will attract more families and help to reign in the overall cost of health care for everyone.