<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <HTML><HEAD> <META content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1" = http-equiv=Content-Type> <META content="MSHTML 5.00.2614.3500" name=GENERATOR></HEAD> <BODY> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Willem,</DIV> <DIV>Not quite, Wim. They don't lend you = anything. An MSA is in two parts.  One is the Insurance Policy and the rest is = the amount that goes into your savings account.  Past the high = deductable, the insurance policy pays a percentage of covered medical expenses like = other policies.   I've been insured by = Golden Rule's MSA since May of 1999 and it is handy to have access to those = savings to pay medical bills as they come up (provided you have enough in the = savings account.)  It is my experience though, that there is very little = that I use that their policy will cover, although if it's a deductable medical = expense, covered or not you can use the savings in your MSA to pay for  = it.  It's also been hard to find physicians in my area that are included on = their Preferred Provide list and their discounted Lab service is useless to my = Doctors and I've never had a perscription that their discount card was able to = help me with. My primary physician won't mess with filing their forms which = creates more of a hassel. This could very well be the case for any insurance I get, = even when I was paying almost $900 a month for me and my son my claims were = frequently denied. Now I pay half that and almost $300 a = month goes into the Savings account, less a $3 a month fee.  Also, (a = plus) anything in your Medical Savings Account at retirement gets rolled over = into an IRA.  Your insurance policy is a deductable expense and the amount = you pay into the savings account is deductable.  The interest is tax deferred.  I haven't found a policy that's perfect yet. Not = even close, but I can't afford to be uninsured.  A 5 hour trip to = the emergency room recently cost me about $2300. I guess I'd just = advise you read the fine print and watch out for those riders.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV> Laura Olsen, RPT Team2001 Institute = Director 44th Annual PTG Convention & Institute July 11-15, 2001 Reno, Nevada <A = href="http://www.ptg.org/conv.htm" = target=_blank>http://www.ptg.org/conv.htm</A>  </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV> [Laura = Olsen]  -----Original Message----- From: owner-pianotech@ptg.org [mailto:owner-pianotech@ptg.org]On Behalf Of Wimblees@AOL.COM Sent: Thursday, May 24, 2001 9:42 AM To: pianotech@ptg.org Subject: health savings = account was Re: health insurance </DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE>In a message = dated 5/24/01 1:44:06 AM Central Daylight Time, rbrekne@broadpark.no writes: <BLOCKQUOTE style="BORDER-LEFT: #0000ff 2px solid; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; = MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px" TYPE="CITE">I have found (through many past mistakes) that a = "Medical Savings > Account" is the best way to go. I have mine through = a company called Golden > Rule. They offer significantly = lower premiums than any other company that I > have seen. The = payment is roughly what i was paying before but the > difference = between the actual premium and the payment is what goes in the > interest = bearing savings account. This money can be used for any medically > deductible expenses you find throughout the year including but not = limited > to satisfying the deductible. Please do yourself the favor = of at least > checking into it. It really is the best thing going = IMHO! > > Greg > </BLOCKQUOTE> The way I = read this, the premium you pay goes into a savings account, and when you need = to, you can use the saved up amount to pay the bill.  What happens = when you have a bigger claim than what you have in your savings account? I = presume Golden Rule will "lend" you the money to pay the rest of the bill. = If so, what interest do you have to pay then? And if you decide to quit = the company, will you have to continue to pay off your "loan," in = addition to paying for your new insurance plan? Willem </BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>