Consumer Driven Health Plans for Individuals

Now, you can combine the benefits of a Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Nebraska high deductible health plan with the tax advantages of an HSA. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Nebraska offers high deductible health plan options through our BluePreferred PPO and BluePreferred ValuePlan.

Health Savings Accounts (HSA)

A Health Savings Account is an alternative to traditional health insurance; it is a savings product that offers a different way for consumers to pay for their health care. HSAs enable you to pay for current health expenses and save for future qualified medical and retiree health expenses on a tax-free basis. They were created to help give control back to consumers and lower healthcare costs.

You own and you control the money in your HSA. Decisions on how to spend the money are made by you without relying on a third party or a health insurer. You will also decide what types of investments to make with the money in the account in order to make it grow.

You must be covered by a High Deductible Health Plan (HDHP) to be able to take advantage of HSAs. An HDHP generally costs less than what traditional health care coverage costs, so the money that you save on insurance can therefore be put into the HSA.

The following are some general features of a Health Savings Account:

• The voluntary contributions you make to your HSA will be deducted from your paycheck before taxes are calculated, which reduces your taxable income.
• Interest earned on your HSA money is not subject to income taxes — in other words, you don’t have to pay income taxes on the earnings generated by the investments in your HSA.
• You may make tax-free withdrawals to pay for qualified health care expenses.
• You own all of the money in your HSA and it is yours to keep — even if you change medical plans, leave the company or retire.
• Learn more about HSAs from the U.S. Department of the Treasury