Consumer Driven Health Care Plans – The Solution to High Health Insurance Costs

Consumer driven health care plans are an effective solution to continuously rising health care costs. Below you can read more about the two components of the most popular and effective consumer driven plan and you will find out how you or your family will benefit from using one.
Currently the most popular consumer driven health care plan arrangement is the qualified high deductible health plan coupled with a health savings account.
The Qualified High Deductible Health Plan
The first component of a consumer driven plan is the health plan. These plans are called “qualified high deductible health plans” and are designed to cover catastrophic medical expenses in the event of something big. However, they do not cover everyday expenses like office visits or prescriptions. As the insured it is your responsibility to cover the everyday stuff. The great part about these plans is that they are very, very affordable. Most people can save hundreds and more often than not, thousands of dollars per year in health insurance premiums.
The Health Savings Account
Once you have a qualified high deductible health plan in place, you are eligible to open a health savings account with your local bank or credit union. Once the health savings account is open, you are eligible to deposit money pre-tax into the account. This money is accumulated and saved until you have medical expenses. When medical expenses arise, you can use money from your health savings account to pay them, tax free. It’s the only kind of account like it in the world. Money goes in pre-tax, and comes out tax free.
This can add up to a significant savings on medical costs throughout the year. If you have money left over at the end of each year, it simply rolls over to the next year.
The Bottom Line
Qualified high deductible health plans together with health savings accounts provide a powerful financial solution to rising healthcare costs.