INScompanies Blog

HSA pioneer joins with Exante Bank to enhance long term savings potential, expand consumer choices and ease of using health savings account

Indianapolis, IN (August 8, 2006) - UnitedHealthcare’s Golden Rule Insurance Company, pioneer of health savings accounts (HSAs) in the individual market, today announced that it has begun offering its HSA customers a broad selection of high-quality mutual fund investment options as well as an innovative debit card and online account management and bill paying services through Exante Bank.

Golden Rule helped pave the way for HSAs when it introduced the first medical savings account more than a decade ago. More than 41 percent of Golden Rule’s customers currently are covered by health insurance plans that include health savings accounts. As of June 30, 2006, these customers had accumulated more than $170 million in their health savings accounts; the average account balance exceeded $2,400.

With Exante Bank serving as custodian, Golden Rule HSA customers earn 4 percent to 5 percent interest on their FDIC-insured accounts. Once the balance in their health savings account reaches $2,000, customers now have the option to invest any amount in excess of $2,000 in a choice of eight no-load mutual funds, all of which have a Morningstar rating of 4-Stars or higher.

New online account management tools mean that Golden Rule HSA customers also can monitor and change their investments at any time, check balances, pay bills and withdraw funds. The customer, at no charge, can set up automated recurring mutual fund purchases to occur whenever the account balance exceeds $2,000.

Moreover, the Exante MasterCard® Prepaid Debit Card provides Golden Rule customers with multiple ways to access their HSA funds, including use at participating pharmacies and doctors’ offices or through ATM withdrawals. In addition to the debit card and online bill paying features, customers can use wire transfers as well as a more traditional checkbook if they choose.

“The mutual fund options greatly enhance the long-term savings potential for our HSA customers, while other new consumer-friendly capabilities expand consumers’ choices and the ease of using their HSA,” Golden Rule CEO Rich Collins said.

Collins said that the application process is a seamless one for consumers, and that HSA deposits are set up on the same payment plan as premiums for the Golden Rule health insurance coverage.

“Our experience shows that customers are saving for current and future health care needs as Congress intended when it passed enabling legislation for HSAs,” Collins added. “Today’s announcement is the next step in giving consumers additional tools and resources to manage their own health care spending.”

Health savings accounts pair a high-deductible health insurance plan with a tax-advantaged savings account. Because HSA plan premiums typically cost significantly less than more traditional health insurance plans, consumers can place some or all of the money saved on premiums into the savings account that can be invested and withdrawn to pay the insurance deductible and other qualified medical expenses. Unspent dollars in a health savings account accumulate year over year, and earn interest like an IRA. The consumer owns the HSA account and decides when to save and when to spend.

Importantly, HSAs offer triple tax advantages: Contributions to health savings accounts go in taxdeductible, grow tax-deferred and can be withdrawn tax-free as long as they are used for qualified medical expenses including vision and dental services.

For more information about Golden Rule HSAs, consumers can call 1-800-974-4472, visit http://www.goldenrule.com or contact an insurance broker who offers Golden Rule health plans.

Short Term MedicalSM bridges the gaps in coverage between jobs, and for recent graduates, students not covered by parents plans, early retirees

INDIANAPOLIS (March 14, 2006) - As a nurse, Sandra D’Annunzio of Sterling Heights, Michigan knows just how costly medical care can be. That’s why the working mother turned to Golden Rule short term health insurance for her two young adult daughters who were no longer eligible for coverage under her plan. “It’s all about peace of mind,” D’Annunzio said. “Injury and illness can happen to anyone at any age. No one is immune.”

Golden Rule Insurance Company, a UnitedHealthcare company and leader in the individual insurance market for 60 years, today introduced its newest generation Short Term Medical plan to fill in gaps in coverage for individuals and families in times of transition and change.

With Golden Rule’s new Short Term Medical, consumers can opt for one to six months of coverage and also choose from a range of deductibles and payment options that best meets their individual needs. Customers also have the flexibility to drop the plans at any time without penalty or to apply for another one to six months of coverage.

In addition, UnitedHealthcare’s comprehensive national network of health care professional and facilities provides substantial discounts on medical services.

“We designed an affordable, easy-to-understand plan with a simple, quick application process because we know that life circumstances change,” Golden Rule CEO Rich Collins said. “Peace of mind comes from knowing that you and your family are protected regardless of your temporary situation.”

Independent insurance broker Bob Brow of HealthQuotes USA, who recommended Golden Rule Short Term Medical to D’Annunzio, agrees. “Anyone can break a leg or have a medical emergency and suddenly be facing $10,000 in bills,” he explained. “This can be financially devastating to someone just out of school or in between jobs, especially when you realize that affordable temporary health insurance was available.”

Brow, who’s based in Zionsville, Ind., but is licensed to offer health insurance in 20 states, said that 20 percent of his customers have purchased temporary health insurance. He recommends short term plans to recent graduates looking for work or students dropping off their parents plans, workers between jobs who find COBRA coverage too costly, early retirees waiting for Medicare eligibility and others whose lives are in times of transition.

As UnitedHealthcare’s individual insurance provider, Golden Rule offers health savings account (HSA) plans, other high deductible plans and traditional copay plans in addition to Short Term Medical. “Saver” options within many of the plans feature Golden Rule’s lowest premiums for consumers who previously thought they couldn’t afford health insurance.

Golden Rule helped pioneer the HSA which combines a high deductible insurance plan with a tax-favored savings account. Golden Rule customers typically save 45 to 55 percent or more in premiums by choosing a health savings account plan over a more traditional plan. In addition, HSAs offer triple tax advantages: the savings are tax deductible when deposited, grow tax deferred and can be withdrawn tax free as long as they are used for qualified medical expenses including vision and dental.

Today, 40 percent of health plans purchased from Golden Rule throughout the country are HSAs and its customers have accumulated more than $155 million in their tax-advantaged savings accounts.

Golden Rule currently does health insurance business in 28 states and is rated “A” (Excellent) by A.M. Best, and “A+” (Strong) by Standard & Poor’s, independent rankings that indicate financial strength and stability. In addition, for eight consecutive years, Golden Rule has been ranked by Ward Group as one of the 50 Life-Health top-performing companies that have done the best job of balancing financial safety, consistency, and performance over the past five years.

For more information about Golden Rule Short Term Medical and other quality health insurance plans, consumers can call 1-800-974-4472, visit http://www.goldenrule.com or contact a local insurance broker who offers Golden Rule health plans.

June 1, 2005 - Just 18 months after health savings accounts (HSAs) became available by law, Golden Rule Insurance Company today said that 40 percent of its customers are choosing an HSA over more traditional health insurance plans.

Golden Rule, a UnitedHealthcare company and a leader in the individual health insurance market, also confirmed that its customers have accumulated more than $132 million in their tax-advantaged savings accounts – strong evidence that the accounts are working the way HSA proponents intended they would.

According to Golden Rule Vice President of Health Products Mike Corne, “HSAs have moved into the mainstream.

“Millions of hard-working Americans are looking for affordable health insurance coverage for themselves and their families, and we see interest rising as more consumers hear and learn about how HSA plans work,” he said.

Corne added that continuing product innovations, such as Golden Rule’s budget-friendly HSA Saver introduced in February of this year, make HSA plans attractive and accessible to an even broader range of consumers. For example, a young family of four living in Ohio or Arizona or Michigan who chooses a Golden Rule Saver HSA plan with a $5,250 annual family deductible might have a monthly base premium of well under $200.

HSAs pair a lower-cost high deductible insurance plan with a tax-favored savings account. Money saved on the reduced insurance premiums can be placed into the savings account and withdrawn tax free to pay the insurance deductible and other qualified medical expenses, including vision and dental care.

Other key features that are making HSAs popular:

Unspent HSA savings accumulate year after year and even earn interest. Golden Rule currently pays its customers 4 percent annual interest on their savings, very competitive with rates paid today on most savings accounts .
Contributions to an HSA are 100% tax deductible up to the legal limit; savings accumulate tax deferred and, if withdrawn to pay qualified medical expenses, are tax free.
Consumers own their HSA and make the decisions how and when to spend their savings dollars. HSAs are portable and go with consumers if they change jobs, move or leave the workforce.

Golden Rule pioneered the Medical Savings Account, predecessor to the HSA, 12 years ago and began offering HSAs as soon as the law allowed on January 1, 2004. Golden Rule has offered individual and family health insurance plans for 60 years and became a UnitedHealthcare company late in 2003. UnitedHealthcare also offers HSA products to employers of all sizes who also are seeking to reduce health insurance costs.

For more information on health savings accounts, visit http://www.goldenrule.com or call 1-800-974-4472.