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| Without a doubt, Health Insurance is used more than any other kind of insurance. Many insurance products such as homeowners, auto, life, disability, etc. are purchased with the hope of either never using, or not using for a long - long time. Health insurance is used not only when there is a problem, but for routine care and proper maintenance to prevent problems. You know you are going to need health insurance - it is simply a matter of time! You could pay premiums a long time and never have a claim - however with the cost of medical care these days, all it takes is one incident to recover all the premiums you have ever paid and then some! |
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| Getting caught without health insurance could prove to be a real financial disaster! Even a moderate hospital stay could take years to repay. And the last thing anyone wants to worry about during an illness or accident are the bills and expenses of care. |
 Individual Health Insurance - Most of us have grown accustom to having medical insurance available through our employers. For many of us that is true but for more and more people these days either the coverage is not very good, or the premiums are too high. Also, employers normally pay a large percentage of the 'employee's cost' of heath insurance, but what about dependents? With the high cost of group medical coverage these days, many times the employee is required to pay the full cost for their dependent coverage. If you are required to pay most or all of the cost for your dependents coverage, you should get a quote for an individual policy. You will be pleasantly surprised to see that individual policies offer similar if not the same benefits as a group plan, but for a more reasonable cost. Our firm has seen a major increase in the number of people opting to buy individual health insurance coverage, rather than pay for the high cost of group coverage at work! |
| If you are Self-employed and have no other eligible employees, or if your employer does not offer health insurance coverage - an 'Individual Policy' is a good option. We have recently seen many self-employed individuals and small businesses turn to individual policies for themselves and their employees, in order to hold down the spiraling cost of group health insurance! In addition, new Health Savings Accounts (HSA or medical IRA plans) have become very popular. Please read more about HSA plans below. |
| Normally an application is all that is required to apply for coverage. We have a number of competitively priced plans, however our number one seller by far is offered by CareFirst or Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield. You have freedom to choose your care Provider and Anthem or CareFirst Blue Cross/Blue Shield coverage is universally accepted by most Capitol Metro area providers. That means no claim forms and no balance billings. |
| You may be eligible to apply for an individual policy without answering a medical questionnaire. Click here to review eligibility under HIPPA. |
| Individual Health Insurance
Quotes - If you are a Maryland, District of Columbia or Northern VA
resident click here
to get a cost estimate and compare the available plans on line. Maryland
residents may also click here
to view information about the most popular CareFirst individual health plan
called Personal Comp. |
| If you are a resident of Virginia in Fairfax county your area is split between CareFirst and Anthem BC/BS. Generally those residing west of Rt. 123 are in Anthem territory and East of Rt. 123 is CareFirst territory. If you are in Anthem's territory, please click here for an individual health plan quote request form. |
Health Savings Accounts (HSA's) - also known as the 'Medical IRA' is for Sole Proprietors, Partners, LLC's, PLLC's, owner's of S-Corporations and individuals (as long as nobody else claims you as a dependent on their tax return). HSA plan owners may make tax deductible contributions to their HSA account up to their annual health plan deductible amount, or the stated annual maximum. Contributions are deducted on personal tax returns as any IRA is. HSA's must be accompanied by a Qualified 'High Deductible Health Plan'.
Maximum deductible contributions to a HSA plan for 2005 are listed below.
The monthly HSA maximum contribution for an eligible individual with self-only coverage under a high deductible health plan (HDHP) is 1/12 of the lesser of:
- The HDHP’s annual deductible
- $2,650 (up $50 from 2004)
The monthly HSA maximum contribution for an eligible individual with family coverage under an HDHP is 1/12 of the lesser of:
- The HDHP’s annual deductible
- $5,250 (up $100 from 2004)
One of the big features for HSA accounts is the funds can be invested just like any other IRA or Retirement plan assets and all earnings are tax-deferred. Therefore, you may invest HSA account proceeds in securities, fixed and/or guaranteed investments, etc. In addition, as long as the funds are withdrawn to pay for eligible expenses, withdrawals are tax and penalty-free. You may withdraw funds to pay the following expenses at any time:
- Expenses that apply towards your 'HDHP' calendar year deductible
- Qualified Long Term Care insurance
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To pay for eligible unreimbursed expenses that your health plan doesn't cover such as:
- Dental Care
- Orthodontic Care
- Vision Care
- Certain alternative medicines
- Certain nonprescription drugs
For 2005 HSA eligibility, an individual’s HDHP cannot have an annual deductible that is less than $1,000 for self-only coverage, or $2,000 for family coverage and must limit annual out-of pocket expenses (deductibles, co-payments, and other amounts, but not premiums) to no more than $5,100 (up $100 from 2004) for self-only coverage and $10,200 (up $200 from 2004) for family coverage.
Catch-up contributions for 2005 increase to $600 (up from $500 in 2004) for HSA owners at least age 55 and not enrolled in Medicare. You may view the IRS press release updating 2005 maximum HSA contributions by clicking here. You may view IRS Publication 502 - Medical and Dental Expenses by clicking here.
Beginning January 1, 2005, an HSA MUST be established with a Qualified Trustee or Custodian BEFORE qualified expenses can be eligible for reimbursement. Insurance companies and banks (including a similar financial institution as defined in section 408(n)) can be an HSA trustee or custodian. In addition, any other person already approved by the IRS to be a trustee or custodian of IRAs or 'Archer MSA's' is automatically approved to be an HSA trustee or custodian. Other persons may request approval to be a trustee or custodian. Most insurance companies make it easy by offering a HSA account along with the health plan at no charge. Most administrators offer either checks and/or a Smart Visa/Mastercard based Debit Card in order to access your HSA funds at point of service. An account statement is provided by the custodian (usually monthly), like any other bank or IRA account statement detailing your beginning and ending HSA account balances, the activity of your account for the month, etc.
Kelley Insurance & Financial is your premier HRA/HSA Solutions Provider. We make understanding and implementing these plans easy. Call our office today or click here for a HRA/HSA proposal for your firm and bring your benefit plan into the 21 century.
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| Short Term/Temporary Health Insurance - Just graduate, between jobs, waiting for health insurance to begin under a new employer? Nobody can afford to get caught without valuable health insurance protection! Click here to instantly shop rates and benefits for the most competitive short term individual health insurance plans available and apply for coverage instantly. You will need to input some basic information including the desired days of coverage (minimum is 30 days and maximum is 6 months). You will be prompted for our Agent number, which is 42924. The earliest coverage may begin is 12:01 midnight the day after the on line application is submitted, or the requested effective date. Get your quote now and make sure you have the protection you need! |
| International Travel Health Insurance - Are you a US or Non-US Citizen that will be traveling abroad? Or a Non-US citizen traveling or spending time within the United States? Many US insurance companies impose limitations, or do not cover US citizens while traveling abroad. In addition, many US health care Providers do not recognize foreign health plans for payment and require payment when services are rendered. Use this link to instantly shop rates and benefits for the most competitive Travel Health Insurance plans available and apply for coverage instantly. You will need to input some basic information including the desired days of coverage (minimum is 30 days and maximum is 6 months). You will be prompted for our Agent number, which is . The earliest coverage may begin is 12:01 midnight the day after the on line application is submitted, or the requested effective date. Get your quote now and make sure your you have the protection you need! |
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