Georgia Health Insurance 411

Posts Tagged ‘HSA’

The contribution limits for Georgia Health Savings Accounts (HSA’s) have changed for 2010.

For 2009, the maximum can you can contribute to a Health Savings Account is a $3,000 for single coverage and $5,950 for family. Minimum HDHP deductibles are $1,150 (self-only coverage) or $2,300 (family coverage).

For 2010, the maximum can you can contribute to a Health Savings Account is a $3,050 for single coverage and $6,150 for family. Minimum HDHP deductibles are $1,200 (self-only coverage) or $2,400 (family coverage).

If your HSA-qualified coverage began in any month other than January and no later than December 1st, 2009, you can still make the full HSA contribution for the calendar year 2009. For example, if your coverage under an HSA-qualified policy did not begin until July 2009, you can contribute the full $3,000 self-only coverage or $5,950 for family coverage for 2009. However, you must keep your HSA-qualified coverage through at least the end of the following calendar year which would be December 31st, 2010 or you may have to pay back some of the contribution (and maybe interest and penalties). If you know that you’re not going to keep your HDHP for one reason or another until December 31st, 2010 you may be better off prorating your contributions for 2009 and 2010.

For any year that you drop or lose your HSA-qualified coverage before the end of the year, you will not be able to make the full contribution to your HSA. You will need to pro-rate your contribution for that year. Count only those months for which you had HSA-qualified coverage on the first day of the month. For example, if you drop your HSA-qualified coverage at the end of June, you would only be able to contribute 50% of your allowed contribution for that year.

A Health Savings Account (HSA) is an affordable alternative to traditional health insurance that offers Georgia residents an alternative method to pay for their health care. HSAs enable you to pay for current health expenses and save for future qualified medical expenses on a tax-free basis.

The Health Savings Account is a great way to save money on premiums and taxes.

What is a MERP and what does it have to do with Georgia health insurance?

A long time client called the other day with the same question. He has a high deductible health plan with an HSA, but needed a way to extend his tax breaks beyond the limit of the HSA. A family member needed to have inpatient psychiatric care and the $5,000 monthly bill would stretch the limit of his HSA.

Someone had suggested a MERP so he called me for advice.

Frankly, MERP’s are something I have not used, or even thought about, for some time. The Medical Expense Reimbursement Plan (MERP) is allowed under Section 105 of the Internal Revenue Code. We helped clients set up quite a few MERP’s long before HSA’s and HRA’s came along.

So what is a MERP and how does it work with health insurance?

The MERP is a specialized bank account that is established by an employer for the purpose of reimbursing employees (and their dependents) for certain eligible medical expenses. We found several sites that provide information on MERP’s including the one here. We also located a sample MERP document as well as a MERP explanatory PDF.

If you are looking for Georgia health insurance rates and information on MERP’s you have found the right place.

Are high deductible plans better or worse? How do high deductible plans put YOU in charge of your health care dollars?

We have several video’s about health care and health insurance. Use the search bubble or click “video” in the tag cloud. To view the full article, including the video, click the title of the blogpost.

Compare plans, including high deductible, HSA’s by visiting our website and running your own rates. We are always available to answer questions on the phone or by email.

It seems that consumers everywhere are complaining about the cost of health care and health insurance.

At the same time they are throwing away dollars like there was no tomorrow, buying phantom insurance and other ways to waste their money.

Here are a few examples.

A lady called looking for health insurance. Her current plan was increasing to over $600 per month. Among her health issues was high cholesterol. Every year her doctor ordered a lipid panel test as part of her physical exam. He also had her on an expensive cholesterol reducing med.

I suggested a carrier that would insure her but would not cover her cholesterol med or her lipid panel.

The premium was $280 less than her renewal.

The med would run $140 per month. The lipid panel around $80, once a year.

She opted to keep what she had and pay the higher premium.

She believes she has coverage but all she really has is phantom insurance. Read the rest of this entry »

How does health insurance with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Georgia work?

In today’s market (2/12/2009) BCBSGA offer’s a mixture of old and new plan designs.

About half the plans available have whiskers. The HSA compatible HDHP is mostly overpriced for the Georgia market. The old Blue Value series of copay plans are still available, but not online.

The newer series, SmartSense and Premier, were introduced in the summer of 2008 and are available for review online.

Blue’s underwriting can be Read the rest of this entry »

How does health insurance with Aetna work?

In today’s market (2/11/2009) Aetna offer’s the best overall value of any carrier in Georgia.

Of course, that can all change.

Aetna’s underwriting can be the most onerous in some ways and flexible in others. I have a reasonably good offer rate for applications submitted through my office. This is mostly due to the extensive pre-screening I do. Even still, about 10% of applications submitted through my office are declined.

Those who submit direct to Aetna typically experience a significantly higher rejection rate.

Aetna has some of the best HSA plans on the market.

The also have some plans that leave much to be desired, such as Read the rest of this entry »

What is the difference in an HSA, HRA, FSA and all the other mix of letters assigned to different types of plans?

All are similar, but different.

Most of these plans are available only through an employer, but consumers can still take advantage of some of these options even without an employer plan.

Sadly, very few consumers are in charge of their health care. They take what their employer offers, even if it is wrong for their needs. Or many times they buy a plan that is similar to what they had under an employer plan.

These plans are terribly outdated and considerably overpriced. In addition, the plan design causes you to pay more for health care than is needed.

Fortunately, CDHP (Consumer Driven Health Plans) are becoming more prominent.

I teach consumers how to make wise choices in their coverage and health care. By making good use of your total health dollars families often save $500 per month or more vs. plans they would pick on their own.

Most people don’t realize they are paying too much until we show them their plan side by side against a true, consumer driven plan.