eTXHealthinsurance Analyzes How to Fight Rising Texas Health Insurance Costs in a Troubled Economy

With the cost of Texas health insurance climbing on individual and group coverage, eTXHealthinsurance explains two ways to save on Texas health insurance premiums, out-of-pocket medical expenses and taxes.
 
Dec. 13, 2011 - PRLog -- Texas State Representative John Smittee says, "You look at the cost of health care in general and it's increasing faster than the cost of living." In the past eight years, individual Texas health insurance premiums rose by almost fifty percent, according to a Commonwealth Fund report.  The rise in family premiums was greater. The Kaiser Family Foundation’s 2011 survey found that the cost of insuring employees rose 118 percent for large firms and 103 percent for small firms in the past decade. eTXHealthinsurance’s Complete Protection Strategy (http://eTXHealthinsurance.com/The-eTXHealthinsurance-Complete-Protection-Strategy.htm) shows how business owners, as well as Texans who buy individual policies, can save on health insurance.

Health Savings Accounts are available to Texans who purchase their own health plan, who are self-employed or who have access to these plans as an employment benefit. Beginning in 2004, certain high-deductible health plans permitted policyholders to start a Health Savings Account or HSA. These policies should refer to “IRC Section 223” or state “Qualifying High Deductible Health Plan” on the declaration page.

HSA-qualified plans have lower premiums and fewer rate hikes than traditional policies. The cost of HSA plans was shown to rise at a rate of one third to one half that of traditional plans by a United Benefit Advisors study of more than 12,000 employer-sponsored health plans. Released in 2005, the finding showed premiums had increased by an average of 9.6 percent for all plans overall, while HSA plan premiums had risen 3.4 percent.

Deloitte Center for Health Solutions also released a survey reporting that HSA plan premiums rose by an average of 2.8 percent between 2004 and 2005, while the aggregate cost of health plans rose 7.3 percent.

Many employers have found that switching from group coverage to HSA plans offered in the individual market results in savings that allow them to fund a HSA for each employee. HSA plans now cover preventive health care from in-network providers with no out-of-pocket costs before policyholders have spent enough to meet a deductible. When medical expenses are not covered, workers can withdraw HSA money tax-free to pay for their out-of-pocket costs.

According eTXHealthinsurance’s president Wiley Long, “A Health Savings Account may be combined with a Health Reimbursement Arrangement (HRA) as long as the HRA does not reimburse expenses that would otherwise go toward the deductible of the HSA-qualified health insurance.”

A HRA makes it possible to be reimbursed for health insurance premiums and other out-of-pocket health care costs, such as dental and vision services. Without a HRA, medical expenses are only deductible to the degree that they exceed 7.5 percent of adjusted gross income (AGI).  For someone with AGI of $80,000 and $8,000 of medical expense, only $2,000 may be deducted. Setting up a HRA would make the entire $8,000 deductible as a business expense.

The deadline to get a HRA in place for 2012 is December 31, 2011. eTXHealthinsurance offers online resources explaining how to establish and use a HRA at http://www.eTXHealthinsurance.com/texas-hra.htm. Educational resources regarding Health Savings Accounts are available at http://www.eTXHealthinsurance.com/health-savings-accounts.... A comprehensive look at more methods to fight the rising cost of Texas health insurance may also be found at http://eTXHealthinsurance.com/The-eTXHealthinsurance-Comp....

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About eTXHealthinsurance:

eTXHealthinsurance has become a leader in providing educational resources that enable Texas families, individuals and small businesses to keep their health care costs low. Online information explaining how to keep premiums and out-of-pocket costs down is available at http://www.eTXHealthinsurance.com/how-to-guide.htm and http://www.eTXHealthinsurance.com/health-savings-accounts-in-texas.php.

Texas residents seeking health insurance options in the individual market may use eTXHealthinsurance online resources to compare plans and apply online. Individuals and small companies may also schedule consultations with professionals to compare coverage options by calling 1-866-585-7664 between 9 AM and 11 PM Eastern.

eTXHealthinsurance also provides tools to lower healthcare costs that are not covered by insurance at http://www.eTXHealthinsurance.com/additional-benefits.htm.
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