Believe it or not there are still a lot of banks and credit unions out there that DO NOT offer a Health Savings Account program for deposits. Some banks even send their deposits to other banks.

“HSA Clearing Corp has been offering a low cost turn-key HSA program since 2004 and our program offers a positive ROI for our clients,” said Tim Morales, President of HSA Clearing Corp. “Offering HSAs is a great way to grow your deposits and build your customer base. Using our proven turn-key HSA solution banks and credit unions are ahead of the game from the start. Buying and maintaining a special HSA software program only costs them money and they have to pass along set up fees, monthly and annual fees to the customer. Late last year we saw a major core processor unload their platform because it was not cost effective. Our customers have found that whether they open 50 or 5,000 HSAs in a given year they’re still way ahead as they do not have monthly fees to pay out. These institutions came to us because we can get them up and offering HSAs in a matter of days without spending a lot of time and money on a costly integration program.”

“Health Savings Accounts are making a difference to millions of Americans across the country,” Morales said. “HSAs allow businesses, families and individuals to purchase affordable health insurance coverage and put away pre-tax dollars for into their HSA accounts for future health care expenses.”

With all the uncertainty in the banking industry right now we find it shocking that there are so many banks not offering a program designed for HSAs. For more information on this seminar check out HSA Clearing.

2009 is almost upon us so it’s time to get into what the contributions will be for next year. The numbers are adjusted each year for inflation.

For 2009, the maximum can you can contribute to a Health Savings Account is a $3,000 for single coverage and $5,950 for family.

There are a lot of deductions you can take with a health savings account, make sure you don’t miss any.

The main purpose of your Health Savings Account is to enable you to pay for qualified medical expenses with tax-free dollars. Qualified medical expenses are defined under Section 213 of the IRS Code (See IRS Publication 502: Medical and Dental Expenses). Most people remember to pay for doctor visits and prescription drugs from their Health Savings Account (or save the receipts and reimburse themselves later), but there are many medical expenses that people simply pay for, without realizing that because they own an Health Savings Account the expense is tax deductible.

Here’s a great resource for Health Savings Accounts, The Common Sense Guide to Health Savings Accounts by “Mr. HSA” Roy Ramthun. If you have questions about HSAs this is certainly the guy to ask.

Roy Ramthun is President of HSA Consulting Services and SVP of HSA Clearing Corp, a health care consulting practice specializing in Health Savings Accounts and consumer-driven health care issues. Prior to forming his consulting practice, Mr. Ramthun was the Special Assistant to the President for Economic Policy at the White House.

As a member of the National Economic Council staff, Mr. Ramthun was the senior health policy advisor to President George W. Bush regarding health care issues involving the Internal Revenue Code (primarily Health Savings Accounts), Medicare, Medicaid, and the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program.

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