Health Savings Accounts (HSA): Do I Still Submit My Bills to Insurance When Using HSA Money?


The Health Savings Account (HSA) is becoming well-known as an incredible tool to reduce health insurance premuims and still provide good security for healthcare emergencies.

This article is about submitting your medical bills while you are still under your insurance deductible, and what to consider before doing that.

Generally, submitting your documentation to your insurance company even when you are paying with HSA money is still a good idea.

I say this for two reasons.

First, if you using services from an in-network doctor, or you require prescriptions or any type medical device, submitting your bills through your insurance company will reduce your costs for these services and products.

This is because the insurance company has already pre-negotiated a set of prices with those suppliers (doctors, pharmacies, etc.) and they need to give you those prices whether or not you have reached your deductible.

The difference between the "average Joe price" and the "insurance company price" is often dramatic. I've personally seen cases where a the price of a CT-Scan went from $1200 for the average Joe down to $275 for the insurance company price. That's a 77% discount! Take advantage of the prices your insurance company has negotiated, you'll be happy you did. It won't apply to everything, but you'll be surprised how often it helps you out.

Secondly, it makes sense to submit your HSA-funded doctor visits and prescriptions through your health insurance, even though they won't pay for it because you haven't reached your deductible amount.

You may notice that, as you continue to submit the seemingly small amounts here and there throughout the year, it may eventually add up to your deductible and your health insurance will kick in automatically. Although those years will be rare when you spend $2,500 or $5,000 on these healthcare services, it still might happen in any particular year. So, for this reason too, it is good to submit those bills into your insurance company.

Your doctor may be willing to fill out the paperwork for you, or you may have to send it in yourself. In particular, the opted-out doctors, that is, doctors, who do not take any form of insurance, will not do the paperwork for you, in order to keep their fees low. In these cases, you'll have to fill it out yourself.

The cases where you should not submit the claims to your insurance are those where the claim will be rejected. For instance, if you see a naturopath, acupuncturist or reflexologist, you'll have to explain to your insurance company why you think these services should be covered. Almost no insurer covers these services, even though they are tremendously useful, effective and inexpensive. We'll just have to wait for the insurers to catch up to the rest of us on that one!

Health Savings Accounts (HSA) will help usher us into a new era of healthcare and out of the crisis we are in today. Be part of the future! HSAs are available today!

Daryl Kulak is the author of the book Health Insurance Off the Grid - A Wonderful Way to Use Alternative Medicine and Save Money on Insurance Using the New Health Savings Account (HSA). The book provides a nine-step plan to get your self-employed or small business health insurance costs under control using a unique approach you won't find anywhere else. The book is available for sale as an e-Book or paperback at the Website http://www.healthoffthegrid.com







Related News



Insurance floods state Senate race - Houston Chronicle

Insurance floods state Senate race
Houston Chronicle, United States -21 hours ago
By ALAN BERNSTEIN Insurance for wind and flood damage has become a dominant topic in the race for the Houston-area state Senate seat in which Republican ...
University of Texas Medical School Drowning in Costs After IkeBloomberg
all 4 news articles

Despite the Turmoil, Insurance Companies Appear Safe - TIME

Despite the Turmoil, Insurance Companies Appear Safe
TIME -Oct 10, 2008
Consumers could be forgiven for being jittery this week when news came that MetLife and The Hartford, two well known insurance giants, had experienced huge ...
Sector Snap: Insurance companies fluctuateForbes
Market Place Insurance Industry Joins Banking Giants on the Hot SeatNew York Times
Consider Staking a Claim in AllstateBarron's
Straits Times - Forbes
all 49 news articles

Sen. Pete Domenici on Mental Health - TIME

The Money Times

Sen. Pete Domenici on Mental Health
TIME -Oct 9, 2008
It requires group insurance plans to cover mental illnesses the same way as physical ones (no more higher co-pays, deductibles and limits on hospital stays) ...
Mental Health CoverageNew York Times
Bailout measure gives parity to mental health insurance coverageKansas City Star
Mental health insurance parity guaranteed in billThe Herald-Times (subscription)
AHN - The Herald-Times (subscription)
all 633 news articles

Japan in desperate effort to halt its own downward economic spiral - Telegraph.co.uk

Telegraph.co.uk

Japan in desperate effort to halt its own downward economic spiral
Telegraph.co.uk, United Kingdom -8 hours ago
Testimony to this were the nation's first direct victims: the 1000 employees of Yamato Life Insurance, as well as its 170000 policy holders, ...
Japan considers stimulus packageFinancial Times
Japan's Yamato Life Insurance files for bankruptcyHindu
Japanese insurance co Yamoto collapses; files for bankruptcyHindu Business Line
The Daily Yomiuri - Wall Street Journal
all 364 news articles

Insurance on Lehman Debt Is the Industry’s Next Test - New York Times

Telegraph.co.uk

Insurance on Lehman Debt Is the Industry’s Next Test
New York Times, United States -10 hours ago
David A. Paterson of New York, left, and Eric R. Dinallo, the insurance regulator, want credit-default swaps regulated. Nearly three weeks after the Wall ...
Lehman Auction Leaves Cloudy Picture For BanksForbes
Traders' worst fears realised at Lehmans auctionIndependent
Financial crisis: Lehman Brothers liabilities sale fails to pacify ...Telegraph.co.uk
Todays Financial News - Canadian Underwriter
all 226 news articles

Learning the hard way about FDIC insurance - San Francisco Chronicle

CBS News

Learning the hard way about FDIC insurance
San Francisco Chronicle,  USA -3 hours ago
That experience motivated Quittel to mount a campaign urging the FDIC to require banks to warn depositors if their account balance is over the insurance...
FDIC approves $250000 insurance limitInternational Herald Tribune
Protect your money by diversifyingSeattle Post Intelligencer
US Weighs Backing Bank DebtWall Street Journal
Business Line - Alaskajournal.com
all 619 news articles

Health Insurance – A Major Problem in the US - eFluxMedia

eFluxMedia

Health Insurance – A Major Problem in the US
eFluxMedia -15 hours ago
The report was based on data from all states across gender, age and income gathered by the Small Area Health Insurance Estimates (SAHIE), which is the only ...
Health Insurance Rates Lowest In TexaseMaxHealth.com
14.8 Percent of Lewis County Without Health InsuranceCentralia Chronicle
Health Insurance numbers released by census bureauWNCT
Annapolis Capital - AHN
all 75 news articles


The Problem With Tax-Exempt Health Insurance - New York Times

Washington Post

The Problem With Tax-Exempt Health Insurance
New York Times, United States -Oct 10, 2008
During World War II, the War Labor Board ruled that fringe benefits, like health insurance, did not violate wage and price controls. Then, in the mid-1950s, ...
Video: McCain, Obama Differ Dramatically on Health CareAssociatedPress
Obama: “Subsidize” Americans Who Can’t Afford Health InsuranceAfro American
Sorting out the truth on health careTampabay.com
Ithaca Journal - East Valley Tribune
all 1,631 news articles

Two More US Banks Fail - TheStreet.com

WWJ

Two More US Banks Fail
TheStreet.com -11 hours ago
The Michigan Office of Financial and Insurance Regulation shut down Main Street Bank of Northville, Mich., and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation was ...
Illinois, Michigan Banks Shut by Regulators; Toll Climbs to 15Bloomberg
Meridian Bank is closed by regulatorsChicago Tribune
Regulators shut Main St. BankDetroit Free Press
Reuters - MarketWatch
all 91 news articles

AIG's gallows humor gives bankers a laugh - Reuters

TopNews

AIG's gallows humor gives bankers a laugh
Reuters -6 hours ago
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Insurance giant American International Group, on the receiving end of a multi-billion dollar bailout from the Federal Reserve, ...
Sector Snap: Insurance companies fluctuateForbes
Taxpayer bailout tab could run into trillionsCNNMoney.com
AIG Increases Borrowings While Racing to Sell AssetsWall Street Journal
MiamiHerald.com - Austin American-Statesman
all 1,134 news articles