:: Health Savings Accounts ::  

As Americans we like options. When our car needs a cleaning we have the choice of a foam wash complete with chassis cleaning, interior detailing and hand polishing or we can choose to park the car in the driveway and wash it down with the backyard hose. When we’re looking for our morning coffee we can march down to Starbucks for a toffee nut crème latte with steamed non-fat soymilk and whipped cream topping or we can heat up some instant coffee on our way out the door. Either way, as Americans we understand the power in choices. However, when it comes to health care, our options often seem limited at best.

With the rapidly rising cost of health care millions of Americans are finding it increasingly more difficult to afford health insurance today. To help combat this problem, Congress passed legislation that created Health Savings Accounts (HSA). HSAs allow individuals to place money into a savings account tax-free for future medical expenses. They are available to everyone with a high deductible health insurance plan, the only limitation on the health plan being that the annual deductible must be at least $1,000 for individual coverage and at least $2,000 for family coverage.

Health Savings Account funds can be used to cover the health insurance deductible and any co-payments for medical services, prescriptions, or products. They can even be used to purchase over-the-counter drugs and long-term care insurance, and to pay health insurance premiums during a period of unemployment. And what is not used from the account each year stays in the account and continues to accrue interest on a tax-favored basis, just like an IRA. Here are five additional reasons to consider a Health Savings Account for your family or business:

1. Tax Savings

Contributions to the HSA by an employer are not included in the individual's taxable income. Contributions by an individual are tax deductible. Individuals, their employers, or both can contribute tax-deductible funds each year up to the amount of the policy's annual deductible, subject to a cap of $2,600 for individuals and $5,150 for families. Individuals aged 55-64 can make additional contributions.

2. Earned Interest

The interest and investment earnings generated by the account are also not taxable while in the HSA. Amounts distributed are not taxable as long as they are used to pay for qualified medical expenses, such as prescription and over-the-counter drugs and long-term care services as well as the purchase of continued health care coverage for the unemployed individual (via COBRA).

3. Reduced Insurance Premiums

Your insurance premiums may be lowered by 20%-40% when you change from a low-deductible to a high-deductible plan. You can use these savings to fund your HSA.

4. Portability

HSAs are portable, so an individual is not dependent on a particular employer to enjoy the advantages of having an HSA. Like an individual retirement account (IRA), the HSA is owned by the individual not the employer. If the individual changes jobs, the HSA goes with the individual.

5. Long-Term Savings

You can choose to let the funds in your account grow tax-deferred. Money not spent stays in the HSA and earns interest, giving healthy individuals fallback funds for later expenses. People who are at least 65 years old may withdraw money from their HSAs for any purpose without penalty, though the money drawn does become taxable.

When combined with a low-cost, high deductible health insurance policy, a health savings account can replace a traditional high-cost health insurance policy with its low co-pays and large number of restrictions on medical choices. A health savings plan will restore a degree of freedom of choice by allowing you to choose your own physician, typically from an extensive PPO directory, without the extensive restrictions imposed by HMO-type plans. While health savings accounts, just like the toffee nut crème latte, won’t suit everyone’s needs or desires, HSAs do add to the list of health care options. To learn more about Health Savings Accounts and whether they are right for you and your family, visit the US Department of Treasury at: www.ustreas.gov/offices/public-affairs/hsa.

:: National Poison Prevention Week ::

The third week in March each year is Poison Prevention Week, a nationally-designated week to highlight the dangers of poisonings and how to prevent them. “Poison” usually generates a thought of a substance such as cyanide. Surprisingly, most poisonings involve everyday household items such as medicines, cleaning supplies, cosmetics and personal care items. Further, 92 percent of all poison exposures occur in the home.

According to the American Association of Poison Control Centers (AAPCC), over 2 million calls are made each year to poison control centers, and 1.2 million of those calls are made due to poison exposure by young children under the age of five. Among the products referenced in the calls were personal care products such as mouthwash and baby oil, cleaning substances and over-the-counter medications such as ibuprofen.

The AAPCC offers the following tips to reduce the risk of poison exposure in your home:

1. Store poisons safely

- Keep medicines and household products locked up where  children cannot see or reach them.

- Store poisons in their original containers.

- Use child-resistant packaging, but remember nothing is child-proof!

2. Use poisons safely

- Read the label. Follow the directions on medicines and products.

- Are children around? Take the product or medicine with you to open the door or answer the phone.

- Lock products and medicines after using them.

- Is it medicine? Call it medicine, not candy.

- Children learn by imitation. Take your medication where or when children can't watch.

3. Teach children to ask first

- Poisons can look like food or drink. Teach children to ask an adult before eating or drinking anything.

If you think someone has been poisoned, call 1-800-222-1222, and you will be directed to your nearest poison control center for assistance.

For more information, visit the AAPCC's website at http://www.aapcc.org or the Poison Prevention Week Council's website at http://www.poisonprevention.org.