TAX TIME! Maximize your Tax Deductions for 2010

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Take your personal HSA tax deduction on line 25

Since this blog is dedicated to offering the most up-to-date Health Savings Account information, we want to make sure you maximize your HSA for 2010. Remember, if you were covered by an HSA qualified High Deductible Health Plan (HDHP) on or before December 1st, 2010 then you have until you file your taxes (or April 15th 2011) to finish up your 2010 contributions and get a 2010 tax deduction.

2010 Contribution limits:
Single – $3050
Family – $6150
Catch up contribution (age 55 or older) $1000 per person*

2011 Contribution limits:
Single – $3050
Family – $6150
Catch up contribution (age 55 or older) $1000 per person*

*If both are 55+ then both have to open HSA accounts for both to participate in catch up contribution

These limits are also stated on the U.S. Department of Treasury website.

These maximum contributions will not be pro-rated if your HSA qualified health insurance plan (HDHP) was either in force all 12 months of 2010 OR if it was in force by December 1st of 2010 AND remains in force all 2011.

Your tax deduction is based on how much you DEPOSIT into your HSA, not how much you spend.

You do not have to itemize to get the tax deduction.

You do NOT have to pay your eligible expenses out of your HSA.

HSA Eligible Medical Expenses

You are required to keep receipts of your eligible expenses in case the IRS audits you. You can choose to reimburse yourself at a later date up to the medical receipts you have accumulated without being subject to 20% penalty or taxable income.

The triple-tax advantages (tax deductible deposits, tax free interest earned, and tax free withdraws for eligible medical expenses) only available with HSAs make them an important tax planning tool that is unmatched when used properly.

Other statistics show that nearly half of the 10 million Americans covered by the required HDHP insurance plans have not established their HSA account, and therefore are not participating in the tax savings they offer. Although OFM Benefits is one of the nation’s premier HSA focused insurance agencies, there are probably some of you that have procrastinated setting up your account. If you have been covered by your HDHP before or on December 1st, 2010 and haven’t set up your HSA, it’s not too late!

OFM is proud to recommend HSA Bank because of their great combination of low fees, competitive interest rates, and a large number of investment options.  With over 350,000 HSA accounts and over $1 billion in HSA deposits, HSA Bank has established themselves as one of the nations leading HSA administrators.  They also recently eliminated all setup fees.

As many Americans are facing huge health insurance premium increases and revenue decreases, HSA qualified plans are becoming even more popular. The average household pays over $13,000 per year for health insurance premiums! We feel HSA qualified plans offer the best value in healthcare today.

If you are self employed or a business owner and would like to receive the premium savings and tax deductions only available with HSAs, please visit www.missionHSA.com

http://www.missionHSA.com

Scott Borden
Host of “Insurance Talk with Scott & Mike” Saturday mornings 7-8 on KCMO Talk Radio 710
  OFM Benefits Consulting, LLC
6400 Glenwood, Suite 307
Overland Park, KS 66202
913-432-2732
913-432-2061 fax

“INSURANCE TALK with Scott & Mike” Saturday morning talk radio show

As most of you know I have been a frequent guest on other talk radio shows for over 3 years now.  We (finally) decided it was time to take on a full hour every Saturday morning.Dave Ramsey tells everybody to get an HSA three hours a day five days a week, but people still don’t understand them. As the Endorsed Local Provider (ELP) here in Kansas City for Dave Ramsey listeners we feel education is the key.  If people fully understood just how much premium can be saved with an HSA qualified High Deductible Health Plan (HDHP) along with the triple tax advantages only available with an HSA then everybody would want one!

One hour every Saturday morning is a good start…

Be sure to tune in to the live show between 7 and 8 central time Saturday mornings here in Kansas City on KCMO Talk Radio 710 or on the internet at www.710KCMO.com.  Feel free to call in to the radio show at 913-576-7710 with specific questions about HSAs, HRAs, FSAs, individual or group health insurance.

Click here to access our podcast page where you can listen to or download our most recent shows.

Here are the podcasts of some of our shows along with a listing of the Business of the Week (BOTW)

InsuranceTalk July 16, 2011 – Introducing new radio show sponsor HSA Bank

InsuranceTalk April 16, 2011 Guest Host – Marcus Hood, BOTW – Dr. Alyssa Zonarich – First Choice Chiropractic, www.DrAlyssaOnline.com

InsuranceTalk April 9, 2011 special guest interview with  Judy Brigham and Ken Hunt, www.cityofiola.com

InsuranceTalk April 2, 2011 BOTW – Ed Roche, www.StrategyNewMedia.com

InsuranceTalk March 26, 2011 BOTW – Bob Bonebrake DC bbonebrake@hotmail.com

InsuranceTalk March 19, 2011 Guest Host Marcus Hood www.marcushood.com, BOTW – Andrea Corbin andrea_corbin@sbcglobal.net

InsuranceTalk March 12, 2011 BOTW – Mark Durkin www.mdurkinplanning.com

InsuranceTalk March 5, 2011 BOTW – Marcus Hood OFM Benefits Consulting www.MarcusHood.com

InsuranceTalk February 26, 2011 BOTW – Dr. Steven Johnson DDS sljdds81@gmail.com

InsuranceTalk February 19, 2011 BOTW – Myra Schulze, Summit Insurance Group myra@summitinsurancegroup.com

InsuranceTalk February 12, 2011 BOTW – Jeff Voorhies, Voorhies Cleaning www.voorhiescleaning.com

InsuranceTalk February 5, 2011
BOTW – Shane Jones, The Astra Group www.ASTRAgroup.com

InsuranceTalk January 29, 2011
Guest – Dr. Michael Monaco – www.mdvip.com/Choose-a-doctor/dr-michael-monaco-md-1523.aspx
BOTW – Phil Crafton – Commercial Property Solutions Corp Phil@cps-kc.com

InsuranceTalk January 22, 2011
BOTW – Judy Brigham, City Administrator of Iola, KS www.cityofiola.com/administration.

InsuranceTalk January 15, 2011
BOTW – Lance Tomlin, Results Technology www.ResultsTechnology.com

InsuranceTalk January 8, 2011
BOTW – Brenda Walters, Cornerstone Home Improvement www.chi-kc.com

InsuranceTalk January 1, 2011
BOTW – Cheryl Fromong, Keller Williams Realtor, www.CherylFromong.com

InsuranceTalk December 18, 2010
BOTW – Dr. William Bucher, Bucher Family Dentistry www.bucherdental.com

InsuranceTalk December 11, 2010
BOTW – Dr. Meagan Leahy, Leahy Chiropractic www.leahychiropractic.com

Here is a link to the radio show’s podcast page:

INSURANCE TALK with Scott & Mike

Of course you can call our office at any time (913-432-2732 ext. 1) or visit our website www.missionHSA.com if you want to see just how an HSA qualified health insurance plan would work for you or your business.  We look forward to hearing from you!

Health Savings Accounts survive Obamacare!

I thought Obamacare would have HSAs targeted to go the way of the dinosaur, but (thankfully) I was wrong!

Click on my tailgate to read ObamaCare vs HSAs

Since everyone will be required by penalty of law to purchase health insurance, the lower cost premiums associated with HSA qualified High Deductible Health Plans are poised to be more popular than ever! 

Yes, there had to be a couple small changes to HSAs such as not allowing over-the-counter medications to be tax deductible (also applies to Flexible Savings Accounts) and the penalty for withdrawals for non-eligible expenses will go up to 20% (currently 10%). Neither of these are enough to deter anyone from the amazing triple tax advantages only available with Health Savings Accounts.

And I was worried I was going to have to change my tailgate…

(UPDATE: Read ObamaCare vs. Health Savings Accounts article published in Ingram’s Magazine September, 2012)

Socialized Medicine the Ultimate Cure? No. Here’s the Other Side of This Story…

With so many current politicians correctly stating that our health care system is in need of drastic changes, some have declared single-payer health care systems and socialized health care systems as the only thing that would solve our problems here in the USA.  These politicians often praise the Canadian system as one we should look to.  Many Americans saw the movie “Sicko” and agree with Michael Moore’s portrayal of socialized medicine as the ultimate cure.

Stuart Browning has produced a short video series that shows the other side of the story: www.freemarketcure.com

Although there are many examples of our system not working correctly, we believe the current privately insured system can be fixed.  Health Savings Accounts, along with their qualified insurance plans, are showing tremendous promise in significantly reducing health insurance premiums and making quality health care affordable for millions of Americans that were previously uninsured. 

Limited Health Policies Vex Some Buyers

Did you read the article in USA Today on September 5, 2007 showing how some insurance companies have severe limitations that you should know about?

http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/insurance/2007-09-04-limited-coverage_n.htm

 Here is my response:

Why is it that we look at health insurance so much different than any other type of insurance we purchase?  Does our auto insurance cover oil changes and windshield wiper blades?  Does our homeowners insurance cover our washer/dryer or furnace?  Why is it we expect health insurance to cover every minor expense?  The problem with our current health insurance system lies in how the services are delivered.  What else in our free-enterprise society today is delivered in a “copay” system?  Imagine buying a car and paying a $200 copay with someone else paying the rest.  Would any of us be driving the same car we are today?  Of course not!  No wonder health care now consumes over 16% of our total GDP which is 60% more than Americans spend on housing! 

With skyrocketing health insurance premiums companies such as Mega Life and Health can easily sell these limited policies to people because they get insurance that includes copays for doctor’s office visits and some prescription drug coverage at a much lower premium than comprehensive major medical plans.   

There needs to be a change in vocabulary in order for people to understand how to purchase health insurance.  Most comprehensive major medical health insurance plans have 3 moving parts consisting of deductible, coinsurance, and copays.  These 3 combine to represent some sort of out-of-pocket maximum that is difficult to understand.  Most plans do not even count copays towards this maximum.  Those plans should be described as “unlimited” out-of-pocket.  Other than the new HSA qualified major medical insurance plans, which are required by IRS guidelines to have maximum out-of-pocket limitations, it can be very difficult to understand how much is covered.

This is why you should consider an HSA qualified comprehensive major medical PPO insurance plan.  Once you own a qualified insurance plan you are then allowed to open a triple tax-advantaged (pre-tax deposits, tax-deferred interest earned, and tax-free withdrawals for eligible medical expenses) HSA account.  You then pay your smaller bills out of your HSA at the in-network PPO discount while retaining insurance in case of a larger expense.  Whatever is left in your HSA account YOU KEEP!  The insurance deductible is offset by your HSA  so that your total out-of-pocket maximum is usually much lower than it is with traditional plans. 

I have read many of Julie Appleby’s writings and she has mentioned HSAs on many occasions.  Although most health insurance brokers are hesitant to recommend HSA designs experts are still predicting 10 million HSAs will be in use by 2008.  HSAs provide a vested interest in saving health care dollars for possible future expenses, or if we never spend it, keep it to help supplement retirement income (think IRA). 

I just wish the people victimized in this article had been given this information.

N. Scott Borden
OFM Benefits Consulting, LLC
6400 Glenwood, Suite 307
Overland Park, KS 66202
913-432-2732 ext. 105
www.ofmtorch.com