HSA Health Plans

Health Savings Accounts - HSA's are the cornerstone of the shifting paradigm in healthcare towards consumerism, and are a big step towards more affordable health insurance for all Americans. But may experts in the health insurance field agree that even those who have open an HAS to save money on health insurance and reduce there medical costs, miss the "flipside" benefit of an HSA. Remember funds in an HSA build tax free till retirement like any other annuity - and any funds that have not gone towards your healthcare costs, will be there for you when you retire. There are several ways to reduce what you pay for healthcare and therefore protect these assets.

Experts agree that the best thing to do to protect the assets in your Health Saving Account and allow them to build toward retirement, is to dip into them less. And the best way to do that is to stay healthy. In addition find ways to minimize your out of pocket health expanses when you do require care. You can accomplish both of these things with wellness programs and discount health plans.

Wellness Programs - You know recent studies have shown that 70% of claims made against health insurance could actually be avoided through preventive care. Many of the medical complications that often require treatment for those with chronic conditions like diabetes, high blood pressure, or Arthritis can be avoided with diet, exercise and other lifestyle changes. Wellness programs educate consumers about these. Hospitals, clinics, and even most HMO'S offer wellness programs, as it is in their best interest to keep you healthy and reduce costs. It has been estimated that for every dollar that you spend attending a wellness program you save three.

Discount Health Plans - Discount Health Plans are not health insurance but rather a group you pay to become a member of, and then your are entitled to discounts at participating doctors, dentists, and even vision care specialists. Now remember these are the very costs that you are free to use funds from your HSA to cover, obviously redu cing the fees you pay means you will have more money in your HSA, and yet you are still working towards hitting your deductible. Also check with your local practitioners, many of them are willing to offer discounts even if you do not join a discount plan.

And finally two other great ways to save money on what you pay out in healthcare costs is to quit smoking and try to avoid accidents. It has been estimated 62 % of all visits to an emergency room are due to injuries from accidents, almost 60 million office visits to doctors last year were for treatment of accidental injures. That translates to about 1 in 19 people experiencing an accidental injury requiring medical treatment every year. Now besides trying to take preventive measures to reduce the risk of accidents and injuries in your home, you may want to consider purchasing an Accident Medical Insurance Policy. This is a specific policy that covers you and family members for any medical expenses due to any kind of accident. This can be a good compliment to a High Deductible Health Insurance Plan, as you will only have to pay the deductible on your Accident Insurance, usually around 100.00, out of your HSA.