Less out-of-pocket, lower premiums-any intelligent North Carolina health insurance consumer is on the hunt to lower their insurance budget. With low premiums, though, comes another kind of cost: greatly increased deductibles, which can stress an already complicated situation, like accident recover, or a severe illness. In fact, it's often simply unwise to chase lower monthly health insurance premiums at the expense of outlandish deductibles.
Many prudent insurance customers, though, have discovered the perfect way to avoid the crunch of high deductibles. Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) are a relatively new insurance vehicle, allowing consumers the option of tax-deductible savings toward the resolution of future medical problems. That's still not enough, though: currently, less than 10% of consumers nationwide (a mere three million) are taking the intelligent step of enacting a low-premium, high-deductible health insurance plan linked to a tax-free health savings account.
HSAs are tax-free-completely. Deposits, earnings, and withdrawals to these accounts cannot be taxed, provided the accounts are used to fund legitimate medical expenses. Yearly, an individual can contribute up to $2900 tax-free; a family, $5800. An additional benefit resides in the tax-free status of any earnings on these accounts, a bonus which no standard health insurance plan can claim.
Additionally, these plans are completely self-directed, which means they aren't confined to the rigorous regulations of standard insurance policies, with their "preferred care providers" and "preferred networks." This means that HSAs are often able to cover alternative procedures and treatment plans that standard insurance policies would leave completely uncovered-and which you would have to pay for out-of-pocket.
Finally, health savings accounts have the advantage of portability; because they are linked to an individual's tax return, they travel with the owner, regardless of where they work or how often they change jobs.
Ultimately, it simply boils down to this: traditional insurance policies just can't compete with health savings accounts, as long as consumers are wise enough to save appropriately for their medical expenses.
Todd McLeod of McLeod Insurance Agency, an agency that has been helping clients find the right North Carolina Health Insurance for over 35 years and offers plans from Blue Cross and Blue Shield North Carolina (R). For more information please visit Nchealthbenefits.com
