This guide will help you understand Health Savings Accounts (HSAs), and how they could work for you as an insurance plan.
As poker players, many of you are probably both: 1. Self-employed and 2. Young and in generally good health.
If you meet the 2 conditions above, an HSA is ideal for you.
An HSA is basically a savings plan where you receive tax benefits for funding your own health care. This is bundled with a high-deductible health plan (HDHP).
An example is probably the best way to explain this, so here we go:
You sign up for an HSA plan through one of the many providers (Humana HSA Saver, United Health Care Golden Rule, etc).
Your monthly premium will be around $40-50 a month. In return, you get:
- a $3000 deductible
- some include preventative care costs
Now, the basic idea is that if you're in a major accident, the most you'll be out of pocket is $5000.
What about smaller care? Where does that money come from?
Every year, you can deposit a certain amount of money into your HSA. This money can be deducted from your income at tax time, so you'll effectively get a 25% discount.
Each year, if you don't use this money, it rolls over to the next year. That's right - you get to KEEP your money, rather than just spending $400 on a premium and losing it each month.
They then provide you with a normal insurance card, so when you go to the doctor or ER, you still provide a health insurance card and pay all of the normal insurance rates (which are typically lower than self-pay rates).
Overall, here are the benefits of using an HSA:
- tax advantages
- low premium cost
- you keep all of the money in your account - it's never lost
- you can visit ANY physician you want - not limited to a network
- you are protected against a catastrophic event with the HDHP
Anyone without health insurance should get something immediately. An expensive surgery could bankrupt you quickly, and these plans only cost $40-$50 a month.