Health Insurance

In a statement made by the Texas State Representative John Smittee, “You look at the cost of health care in general and it is increasing faster than the cost of living.” According to the Commonwealth Fund report, we have seen a Texas individual health insurance premiums rose nearly 50 percent in the last eight years. The increase in family insurance premiums and the Texas group health plan is even greater. A 2011 survey conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that the cost of providing health benefits to employees increased by 118 percent for large companies and 103 percent for small companies in the last 10 years.

Health Savings Accounts Made Available To Texans

Under the “IRC Section 223″ or state “Qualifying High Deductible Health Plan,” certain high-deductible Texas insurance plans are allowed to pair with a Health Savings Account or HSA. Health Savings Accounts started back in 2004. Since then, there had been an influx in people enrolling in HSA plans. Health Savings Accounts are available to Texans who buy their own TX health insurance plan, who are self-employed or who have employer-provided HSA plans.

In a study by United Benefit Advisers it showed that HSA-qualified plans have fewer and lower rate hikes as well as lower premiums compared to traditional health care plans. The rate of HSA premium increases is one third to one half that of what traditional plans has been. Results showed that the cost of HSA plans had only risen by an average of 3.4 percent while premiums for all plans combined increased an average of 9.6 percent in 2005 alone.

Between 2004 and 2005, Health Savings Account plan premiums increased by an average of 2.8 percent while the combined cost of Texas health plans rose by 7.3 percent as affirmed by a survey released by the Deloitte Center for Health Solutions.

Employers And Employees Can Both Benefit From A Health Savings Account

Since Health Savings Accounts started, many employers have realized that switching from group coverage to Health Savings Account plans offered in the individual market increases their savings that permit them to fund an HSA for every employee. Thanks to the new health care reform law, HSA plans now cover preventive health care from in-network providers with no out-of-pocket costs. This is even before the policyholder meets their deductible. If the medical expenses are not covered by their health insurance plan, employees can withdraw HSA money tax-free to pay for qualified medical expenses.

How Can Health Reimbursement Arrangements Help?

Health Savings Accounts and Health Reimbursement Arrangements (HRA) can be used together. However, their use must not overlap each other. For example, you are not allowed to reimburse medical expenses that are meant to go toward the deductible of the HSA-qualified Texas health insurance. The main purpose of HRA plans is to reimburse workers for health care costs not covered by health plans as well as health insurance premiums. HRAs offer flexibility to employers because they can control the healthcare benefits of their workers without compromising the healthcare they receive.

Everyone, at some point in his life, will need to seek medical care. American health care system is a billion dollar industry, and discards those who cannot afford their services. The current health care system is divided into two groups – health care for the treatment of the insured and there is no or limited health care for the uninsured. Types of medical and personal care that individuals receive under the current system of American health care depends on a person’s insurance status. In the land of equal opportunity, segregation is still practiced.

It is a well known fact that people that have health insurance receive much better medical and personal treatment from health care providers than people that don’t have health insurance. The insured are treated with dignity and respect. Sadly, the uninsured are treated with indifference and disdain. For uninsured people, obtaining health care can be an extremely demoralizing and frustrating experience.

When a person calls a medical practitioner for an appointment, the first question of the medical office staff is if the person has health insurance. If the person doesn’t have health insurance, the attitude of the office staff changes dramatically. A lot of times the person is asked abrasive and invasive financial questions. Cash payment is requested before the visit will be scheduled, or at the time of the visit prior to services being provided. Some medical offices refuse to provide medical care if there is no health insurance and the person is unable to pay cash in advance. Uninsured people seeking medical care face embarrassment because they cannot pay in full for medical services without benefit of a monthly payment plan. They are made to feel like their health does not matter because they are uninsured.

In some hospitals and physician’s offices, the type of medical care that is rendered to uninsured patients is much different the medical care that is provided to insured patients. During a personal interview with Carolyn Hagan, an uninsured Oregon resident, it was revealed just how shoddily uninsured patients are treated. According to Hagan, because she doesn’t have health insurance, she is unable to obtain the necessary medical care for her heart condition. Hagan stated, “I have so much trouble getting medical care because I am uninsured, and I can’t afford the cost of health insurance. I can’t afford the high cost of the medical tests that I need. None of the doctors will treat me except for occasional brief checkups because I am not profitable to them. Every health insurance company that I contacted to see if I could get insurance refused to insure me because I have heart trouble. I have had to cancel medical tests because funding that I applied for to help with the cost became unavailable. The care that I need is expensive, and it is so frustrating because no one is willing to help me. I feel like no one cares.”

Hagan is a productive American citizen that works and pays taxes, and she is among the working middle class that is wrongfully victimized by the American health care system. Due to health insurance company exclusions, she is not insurable, and she is unable to pay cash in advance for the care that she needs. What the current health care system in America is telling her is that even though she is a hard working American citizen, she doesn’t matter because she can’t help increase the bottom line of the health care industry. Read the rest of this entry »