HDHP/HSA Pairing May Help Control Medical Costs
If your employer offers health insurance benefits, one of your options may be a high-deductible health plan (HDHP) with eligibility for a health savings account (HSA). These plans offer potential savings by encouraging you to make cost-effective choices in your medical spending. If you do not have employer-sponsored health coverage, you can choose from a variety of individual HDHPs, including plans through state or federal health insurance exchanges.
更低的保费，更高的免赔额
Premiums for HDHP coverage are generally lower than for traditional preferred provider organization (PPO) coverage. 作为交换, you pay a larger annual deductible before the plan begins to cover a percentage of expenses.
某些类型的预防保健, 比如年度体检, 健康检查, 选定的药物, may be covered without a deductible (in some cases, 免费提供). HDHPs can also offer telehealth and other remote health-care services without a deductible through 2024. 不考虑免赔额, the costs for medical services may be reduced through the insurer’s negotiated rate.
To protect consumers from catastrophic expenses, most health insurance plans have an annual out-of-pocket maximum above which the insurer pays all medical expenses. HDHP maximums are generally higher than those of traditional plans. 但是如果你达到了年最大值, your total cost for that year would typically be lower for an HDHP, 提前节省保费. 如果你的医疗费用较低, the lower premiums also will generally make an HDHP more cost-effective. For other scenarios, the cost-effectiveness of an HDHP may vary with your situation. Although an HDHP might save money over the course of a year, some consumers could be hesitant to obtain appropriate care because of the higher out-of-pocket expense at the time of service.
三重税收优惠
You must be enrolled in a high-deductible health plan to establish and contribute to a health savings account, which allows 投资s within the account and offers three powerful tax advantages: (1) contributions are deducted from your adjusted gross income, (2) 投资 earnings compound tax-free inside the HSA, and (3) withdrawals are tax-free if the money is spent on qualified medical expenses (including dental and vision expenses). Note that some states do not follow federal tax rules on HSAs.
HSA contributions are typically made through payroll deductions, 但大多数情况下, they can also be made directly to the HSA provider. In 2023, 捐款限额为3美元,个人850美元，外加7美元,一个家庭750美元（4美元）,150/$8,300 in 2024), 加上额外的1美元,如果帐户持有人年龄在55岁或以上，则为000英镑. Although 2023 payroll contributions must be made by December 31, you can make direct contributions for 2023 up to the April 2024 tax deadline. Some employers contribute to an employee’s HSA, and 任何 employer contributions would be considered in the annual contribution limit.
越来越明显的趋势
Percentage of covered workers enrolled in an HSA-eligible high-deductible health plan
资料来源：凯撒家庭基金会，2022年
为长期储蓄
M任何 people use HSAs to pay health-care expenses as they go, but there are advantages to paying from other funds and allowing the HSA to accumulate and pursue tax-deferred growth over time. HSA中的资产属于出资人, so they can be retained in the account or rolled over to a new HSA if you change employers or retire. Unspent HSA balances can be used to help meet health-care needs in future years whether or not you are enrolled in an HDHP; however, you must be enrolled in an HDHP to contribute to an HSA.
Although HSA funds cannot be used to pay regular health insurance premiums, they can be used to pay Medicare premiums and long-term care costs, which could make an HSA an excellent vehicle to help fund retirement expenses. 在你参加医疗保险之后, you can no longer contribute to an HSA (because Medicare is not an HDHP), but you can continue to use the HSA funds tax-free for qualified expenses. 65岁以后，你可以提取HSA基金 任何 purpose without paying the 20% penalty that typically applies to those under age 65. 但你要缴纳普通所得税, similar to a withdrawal from a traditional IRA, if the funds are not used for qualified medical expenses.
所有投资都有风险, 包括可能的本金损失, and there is no guarantee that 任何 投资 strategy will be successful.