Health Insurance Flashcards
FSA
flexible spending account
copay
amount you need to pay every time you see the doctor
co-insurance
amount of % you pay for a doctors visit
deductable
amount you will pay before insurance starts to pay
premium
monthly cost for having insurance
RAND study key findings
- people have better hypertension care when paid for
- cost share access health care necessarily and non necessarily less often (reduced health care utilization across the board)
- poor and chronically ill had worse outcomes for cost sharing groups
FSA funded by
employer-owned but employee funded
FSA contibution limits
2,600 as of 2017
FSA covered expenses
IRS approved medical/vision/dental expenses for paticipants and qualified dependents
FSA plan requirements
high deductible health plan not required
FSA tax advantages
contributions are tax-free
FSA rollover or grace period
rollover of $500 or an extra 2.5 months
FSA investment
no investment option
FSA protability
no portability
HRA
health reimbursement arrangement
HRA funded by
employer owned and funded
HRA contribution limits
determined by employer
HRA covered expenses
employer-approved expenses for employees and qualified dependents
HRA plan requirement
high deductible health plan not required
HRA tax advantages
contribution are tax-free for the employer
HRA rollover or grace period
yes, if allowed by employer plan
HRA investment
no investment option
HRA portability
no portability
HSA
health savings account
HSA funded by
employee owned and funded (employers may also contribute)
HSA contribution limits
in 2017: individual-3,400 or family-6,750
HSA covered expenses
IRS-approved medical/vision/dental expenses for participant and qualified dependents
HSA plan requirements
high deductible health plan required
HSA tax advantages
- contributions are tax free
- withdrawals for qualified medical expenses are tax-free
- interest earned on the account balance is tax-free
HSA rollover or grace period
yes, funds rollover at he end of the plan year
HSA investment
ability to invest funds after meeting minimum threshold
HSA protability
yes, HSA stays with the account holder
3 key findings of study
- In a large-scale, multiyear experiment, participants who paid for a share of their health care used fewer health services than a comparison group given free care.Cost sharing reduced the use of both highly effective and less effective services in roughly equal proportions.
2Cost sharing did not significantly affect the quality of care received by participants. - Cost sharing in general had no adverse effects on participant health, but there were exceptions: free care led to improvements in hypertension, dental health, vision, and selected serious symptoms. These improvements were concentrated among the sickest and poorest patients.