Let's address the question of which is better, to buy your health insurance directly from the insurance company or to go with an independent agent and if you're going with an independent agent, is that going to cost you more money?

Now this is a very good question because obviously, there's no reason to pay more than you need to for your health insurance and if you were to buy a plan, say a BlueCross, BlueShield plan with a $2000.00 deductible just for example, are you going to have pay more if you buy it through an agent and how is the agent making money if not.

And so the answer is no, you're not going to pay more. You're going to pay the exact same amount as if you bought it directly from the insurance company. The reason for that is that health insurance rates are all regulated by the Department of Insurance. So for a given plan, given deductible and a set zip code for somebody your age and your health status, there's one rate and nobody can charge more and nobody can charge less.

So given that information, you definitely want to go with an independent agent. Here's why: If you go with an independent agent, you should be getting much more objective advice than if you buy directly from the insurance company. A good agent will have numerous insurance companies they represent so they can compare plans and help you find the plan that best meets your needs without feeling pressure or need to push one particular plan or a particular company to you.

The other advantage of going with an independent agent who is good is they should be offering what we call an "annual comprehensive policy review" and this is something where each year, your agent should look at your rates, go back, see what is available in the marketplace, do some comparisons and see if it might make sense to switch you to a different company. That's because the health insurance marketplace is very competitive. There are a lot of companies that want your business and a lot of companies that are coming out with new plans, with lower rates -- as a matter of fact, we saw that happen just recently for a company who was coming in 25% less than most of the competition. So by doing an annual comprehensive policy review, your agent should be able to help you stay in the best priced plan not only now, but each year as time goes on.

For more information on how to make the most of your Health Savings Account go to www.HSA-Resources.com. There you will also find information about how to open a Health Savings Account, about how health care reform will affect your HSA and why you should take advantage of the opportunity to own a Health Savings Account now.