Bowser Insurance Services

From time-to-time, I get the question “why would I choose an HSA over a copay plan?”  There are a number of reasons why actually.  First of all, a Health Savings Account is a special savings account, exclusively for medical expenses. It can be a great tool for families who don’t expect to use their health plan much in a given year. Plus, it can help you save on important tax dollars. What? A health plan that can help me save money on my taxes? Yep.  To start, you must have an HSA-designated High Deductible Health Plan. Just because it has what you consider a high deductible, doesn’t mean that it qualifies. It must actually be HSA designated by the insurance company. An easy way to tell would be if your plan qualifies is if there are no copays before you hit your deductible. Tax savings At work, you may have an HSA plan in your benefits offering. You also may have an actual Health Savings Account available to you. Sometimes, an employer offers an HSA plan and lets you elec...

Finding the right health plan for your organization can be a challenge. So many options. So many carriers. So many numbers.  Spreadsheet exhaustion might even kick in.  One of the biggest choices an employer has to make is between fully-insured and self-insured health plans.  A fully insured plan is what we are all used to … a network with copays, in either an HMO, PPO or HSA format. The company pays a premium to the insurance carrier, who assumes all of the risk. Risk? Yes, risk. That is what insurance is all about, right? Mitigating -- and minimizing -- risk. With fully insured plans, premiums are based on a community rating system. If your company is based in 77065, for example, your rates will be based on everyone in that zip code. You could have no claims throughout the year on a fully insured plan and still get a rate increase and not get any money back.  With a self-insured health plan, employers operate their own insurance plan. The company goes through under...