Ten Reasons to Love the HSA Medical Plan
The Health Savings Account (HSA) medical plan is the plan of choice for most BMC employees. They have done the math—and saw that even with the HSA plan's higher deductible, they spend less over the course of a year thanks to lower payroll deductions and cash from BMC.
The HSA offers the same, comprehensive medical coverage and network of doctors, hospitals and providers as the PPO, and provides the same protection against high health care costs.
If you're enrolled in the PPO medical plan, the upcoming fall enrollment might be a good time to take a closer look at the HSA plan. Depending on how often you need medical care, you could end up saving on your total costs for 2015 when you enroll in the HSA plan.
Reasons to choose the HSA:
- Preventive care—The plan covers routine preventive care services at 100%, so you won't have to pay for the care you need to be healthy.
- Pharmacy coinsurance—You only pay a 15% coinsurance for medicines, like insulin, listed on the preventive drug list.
- BMC contribution—When you enroll in the plan and open an HSA, both you and BMC contribute to the account. BMC's contribution depends on your base salary and the how many dependents you cover.
- Tax savings—The money you put into your HSA is tax-free. If you're 55 or older, you can make an extra "catch-up contribution" of $1,000 each year until age 65. The earnings on your HSA, if any, are also tax-free.
- Control—You decide how much money to put into your HSA and how it's used.
- Options—Use your HSA to pay for current eligible medical expenses or save for future needs or retirement.
- Family friendly—You can use your HSA to pay for eligible expenses for your spouse and dependent children even if they aren't covered by your medical plan.
- Take it with you—Any money in your HSA is yours. If you retire or change employers, you can take your unused HSA dollars with you.
- Save more—Any money you don't use will roll over to the next year and grow over time.
- Invest larger balances—When your HSA reaches $2,000, you can invest up to $1,000 of your account into a money market sweep account or a self-directed brokerage account to help your money grow. Please see the April eNews for more information.
Learn more about the HSA medical plan in the 2014 U.S. Benefits Guide or watch the "What is an HSA" video.