Keep health insurance premiums Low

Health Savings Accounts (HSA) provide tax deductions for medical expenses, and the ability to create an additional retirement account. But regardless of any other positive benefit of HSA, lower premiums are the primary reason that thousands of Americans have chosen Health Savings Accounts as the best way to protect the health of their family and property. Here are some important tips on how to keep insurance premiums low.

1. Choose an HSA qualified plan increases lower rates. Media group health insurance premiums increased by 9.6% last year and rose more than 10% for the six previous years. Individual plans has risen even more. Yet most HSA plans are expected to experience increases in interest rates much lower. A very large study was recently published shows that increases in rates over the past year for consumer-driven plans such as HSA plans was only 3.4%. Blue Cross of Minnesota has reported that its HSA customers spent 8% less than their traditional insurance customers. Humana said the costs of accidents by 4.9% for the consumer-driven plans, against a 19.2% increase in requests for other plans. In fact, the average of the rewards HSA for individuals have abandoned 19.5% over the past two years.

The reason for these plans have the lowest rate increases is that people who have HSA-qualified high-deductible health plans are likely to pay more attention to costs and take better care of their health. For example, an owner of HSA offered a statin drug to lower cholesterol may be more likely to ask for a generic version, or ask your doctor if cheap food supplements such as niacin or fish oil may be a solution. These actions save money the insurance company and should result in lower rate increases.

2. Raise your deductible as your HSA account grows. When you fund your account is to build a financial "cushion" that allows you to increase the deductible on your account grows. Every time you raise your deductible, the premium should go down.

By the way, do not forget that every time you fund your account you get an instant tax deduction. When you offset the tax savings against the awards, you will find your net cost for an HSA plan can be very low.

The maximum allowable contribution goes every year with the consumer price index increase. Currently, the maximum individual contribution is $ 2,700 and the limit of a family is $ 5,450. So every year you can deposit a larger amount in your HSA and continue to raise your deductible, if you choose.

3. Stay healthy, in order to change plans. All health insurance plans have rate increases, and we also saw premiums jump on some HSA plans. If a rate increase that happens to you, you can switch to a different insurance company - but only if they pass their underwriting requirements. If the chronic disease develops, you may be stuck with the current plan, and its accompanying rate increases, for eternity. Or at least it may seem so long ...

If you pay attention to pharmaceutical advertisements, you learn lifestyle really has nothing to do with the disease, and it is natural and healthy to be in many medicines, for the rest of your life, then you solve your health problems .

If you pay attention to science, we know the truth is quite different. It appears lifestyle is probably 95% of the framework, and we know that the onset of degenerative diseases can be drastically reduced or even prevented.

Fortunately, most of the Health Savings Account owners are interested in preventive health, wellness and disease. After all, they are paying for their visits to their doctor if they get sick. HSA owners are "forward-looking" people, and how to plan for their future - both financially and physically. You can improve your chances of good health with only a few key habits:


Eat very large quantities of fresh vegetables and fruit. Shoot for 35% of calories. This will lower the risk of diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, cancer, and much more.
Limit your intake of carbohydrates, sugar and starch, like bread and pasta. The majority of health problems in the United States are linked to metabolic diseases that involve insulin resistance.
Exercise and lift weights. Exercise guru Jack La Lanne turns 93 on Sept. 26, and he says that if you have muscles does not feel old.
4. Compare your plan to other plans available, at least once a year, or when you get a rate increase. Often times people keep their plan a lot longer than they should, and end up paying too much. If rates rise, you should compare a variety of plans to determine if you are in the right plan for your needs and budget. Using these four strategies, the typical family can save thousands of dollars in health insurance premiums and still protect unforeseen major medical expenses ....