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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Emily Harding
Tel. 401-848-7708
Health
Plan Specialists Debunk the Myth: HSAs are just for the healthy
Experts in choosing the
better health insurance values for their clients prove with actual quotes for
co-pay plans and HSA qualified health plans that a well priced HSA plan provides
more than enough savings to provide better health care protection for less cost
than traditional co-pay plans – for both the sick and the healthy.
Newport
,
RI
January 13, 2006
– The general public has been misled by so-called “experts” who warn of
“risks” associated with high deductible health plans used
with Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) – especially for the unhealthy.
For far too long people have been advised to choose a plan based on their
current needs and that the best plan for someone with a chronic condition is one
that will “cover” or pay for the on-going expenses for that condition.
“What the “experts” have failed to do is take into consideration the
bottom-line cost for healthcare -- which includes the monthly premiums or cost
of the insurance plus all the co-pays, deductibles, and out of pocket costs”, said
Emily Harding, principal of Health Plan Specialists.
“Typically with even the most expensive “best” co-pay plan, the
co-pays for prescriptions, office visits, and the emergency room are unlimited.
They go on and on forever. There is no stop-loss protection like you have with an
HSA plan. A $50 co-pay for each of four non-preferred drugs adds up to an extra
$200. per month on top of a much more expensive premium for a co-pay plan. This
adds to the bottom line cost of healthcare” Harding said.
On the other hand, a high deductible plan used with an HSA provides
100 percent coverage for all expenses including prescriptions once the
out-of-pocket responsibility, (usually a deductible and sometimes an additional
coinsurance amount) is met.
Taking a closer look, an article at the Health Plan Specialists website, www.healthplanspecialists.com
, called “The Numbers Prove It! Health Savings Account
(HSA) Plans Beat the
Co-pay plans for Price, Protection and Value!”, compares a $10 office visit
co-pay plan available through a leading national health insurer to a family of
four to an HSA plan from the same carrier with a $4000 family deductible and
100% coverage for an identical family.
The $10 co-pay plan costs $1203.60 per month and the HSA plan with a $4000
family deductible and 100 percent coverage after that costs $766.42 per month.
The gross annual premium savings alone is $5246.16 – more than enough to fully
fund the HSA account with
$1246.16 savings remaining.
The savings with the HSA plan doesn’t even end there! Once tax savings
are taken into account, after the maximum allowable contribution into the HSA
account of $4000 is made, the family saves $1200 more in taxes at a 30 percent
tax bracket. Interest earnings on the HSA deposits save the family even more.
The unhealthy family who meets their deductible every year, with this HSA
plan still saves $1246.16 every year in gross premium savings. Additionally they
would realise $1200 in tax savings
every year. Interest earnings on the HSA deposits would add more savings for a
total savings in excess of $2446 per year.
An identical unhealthy family that chooses the $10 co-pay plan starts out paying
$5246.16 more in premiums even before they receive any benefit and then they are
responsible for unlimited co-pays on top of that.
“The truth is, contrary to past
advice about HSA plans from “experts”,
any detailed cost analysis will easily prove there are far more risks and less
protection for a much greater cost with co-pay plans than with properly priced
and selected HSA plan”-– even for the sick.” said Harding.
Health Plan Specialists is an
insurance agency in
Newport
,
RI
which provides small group and individual health insurance plans in
Massachusetts
,
Rhode Island
and
Connecticut
and strives to provide the best possible health insurance value to is clients
using only top rated carriers and plans that provide the best access to
hospitals and doctors nationwide.
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