Few Consumers Will Deduct Out-of-Pocket Health Care Costs: GoHealthInsurance Survey

CHICAGO, IL--(Marketwire - Feb 29, 2012) - To prepare for the tax season, GoHealthInsurance.com experts have surveyed consumers to test their knowledge about health care tax deductions.

GoHealth survey results found that 81 percent of respondents had out-of-pocket health care costs in 2011; yet only 34 percent of surveyed individuals plan to deduct those out-of-pocket expenses from their 2011 taxes.

"Deducting out-of-pocket health care expenses is an easy way for consumers to save more on their 2011 taxes," said Mark Colwell, Manager of Consumer Marketing at GoHealthInsurance.com. "We are trying to spread the word about these tax benefits and help anyone who faced out-of-pocket health costs last year."

The survey also found that:

• Only 13 percent of those surveyed spent nothing out-of-pocket for health care in 2011.
  
  
• 23 percent of respondents said they were self-employed. Of those, only 18 percent knew that monthly health insurance premiums were completely tax deductable.
  
  
• One-third (33.65%) of respondents had a high deductible health insurance plan at the time of the study. But only 11 percent of total respondents had a Health Savings Account (HSA) and 10 percent of respondents plan on deducting HSA contributions from their taxable income.
  
  

"According to this survey, consumers are unaware they can deduct out-of-pocket health care costs and that consumers who have high deductible plans may not be utilizing other tax benefits like a Health Savings Account," added Colwell.

Common out-of-pocket health care costs include medications, dental services, eyeglasses and contact lenses. For more information about tax deductible health expenses and survey results please visit the Health Care Tax Resource Guide.

GoHealth has also created an infographic, called Deducting Health Care Costs, to help consumers understand the process of filing health care expenses.

About GoHealthInsurance
GoHealthInsurance.com is the most complete health insurance comparison resource online and has helped more than 2 million Americans obtain coverage. Consumers use the GoHealth platform to research, compare, and purchase coverage from the nation's top insurance companies using online technology, by phone, and through a nationwide network of trusted advisors.