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Bank to be Opened by Insurance Firm

The Blue Healthcare Bank has gotten the green light to be opened by The Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. Its consumer-directed health plans will be given out by the bank. President and chief executive officer, Scott Serota, says the goal is to simplify the health savings accounts and other similar plans` management throughout the United States. The bank will be stationed in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Currently, the HSA`s offered by Blue Cross insurers are handled by third-party banks. Serota says the banking industry should not be concerned because the Blue Healthcare Bank would only offer financial services related to the management of the health plans, `You`re not going to be able to have checking accounts. There is plenty of room for us to work in concert, instead of in competition, with those banks.` Association spokesman, Chris Hamrick, says Blue Cross hopes to have the bank up and running by the summer of 2006.

Serota says, `By being closely aligned and integrated with your benefits, we will be able to ensure that your account is paid properly and that your deductible will be applied correctly.` Health savings accounts, (HSAs), can be set up by consumers who have high-deductible insurance plans. Both workers and their employers can deposit money into the accounts, which grow tax free and can be used to pay for medical expenses. Unspent money in the account accumulates and can be invested through the HSAs administrator.