Whether you are a business offering health insurance to your employees or thinking about purchasing individual coverage, a high-deductible health plan and health savings account may be the way to go.

HSAs were established as a tax-advantaged way to save money for future medical expenses. In order to contribute to an HSA, you must be covered by an HSA-qualified high deductible health plan (HDHP). HDHPs offer a relatively low premium for coverage. You pay "up front" for medical treatments received until you reach your deductible. Many plans cover preventive care at 100 percent and cover 100 percent of costs incurred once the deductible is reached.

HSAs allow you to pay for current medical expenses (including expenses that your insurance may not cover) and/or save money in your account for future needs. Many HSA accounts earn interest and you control everything from how much money you contribute to what investments to make with the HSA funds. The account is yours-meaning you keep your HSA even if you change jobs, change your medical coverage or lose your job. There are no "use it or lose it" rules for HSAs.

HSAs offer triple tax savings:

• Tax deductions when you contribute to the account;
• Tax-free earnings through investment; and
• Tax-free withdrawals for qualified medical expenses.

HSAs and HDHPs may be worth considering for many practices and individuals. Contact Andrea Levine at (720) 858-6287.

See all of COPIC Financial's health insurance options.

Five years ago, Sam switched from his employer-offered PPO plan to their high-deductible health plan option. Although initially nervous about "owning" a greater proportion of his health care dollars, he realized that the plan made sense for his family.

"As a family, we're pretty healthy. The fact that we are putting the majority of our monthly health care payment into an account for the family instead of paying a premium for services that we may or may not use, well, it just seemed so much smarter," said Sam.

But, even in the "not-so-healthy" years, Sam is still happy to have an HSA. And 2008 proved to be Sam's "year of the doctor."

But they had been saving. Sam, who in the last 20 years had been to the doctor for nothing more than a routine physical, found himself a regular fixture at Presbyterian/St. Luke's.

"I came down with influenza, broke my ankle, and was hospitalized for three days with some kind of weird illness. All told, we received bills totaling more than $20,000."

But it affected his family's budget minimally. He had saved enough to cover his $4,000 deductible, which he paid with a swipe of his HSA MasterCard. 

"The icing on the cake? After we reached our deductible, our plan covered everything at 100%, said Sam. "So that trip to the ER later in the year to remove a peanut from a certain little one's nose...well, it was covered."