With the advent of Obamacare, more Americans are eligible for a health-savings account (HSA), but most don’t have the information they need to take advantage of them, according to a survey by insuranceQuotes.com. In fact, 86% say they don’t understand HSAs. Fifty percent of Americans say they are somewhat or very likely to use an HSA to cut their taxes. But only 8% have an HSA.
Many Americans are confused about eligibility and benefits. For example, only 14% know that an HSA has to be paired with a high-deductible health insurance plan. Many Americans are confused about which medical expenses HSAs can be used for; 52% think they can use HSAs to pay for over-the-counter medications, and 51% think they can use HSAs to pay health insurance premiums, both of which are untrue. Popular expenses that HSAs can be used for include prescription medications, doctor visits, dentist visits and eyeglasses.
People who buy coverage on the public health insurance exchanges are especially good candidates for HSAs, since most of the purchased plans under Obamacare are high-deductible plans including Silver and Bronze plans. For more information, visit http://www.insurancequotes.com/health/HSA-and-high-deductible-health-plans.
