The Personal Finance Geek

Everywhere, healthcare is expensive, but especially so in the United States, where we pay more per person per year for healthcare than almost any country of comparable economic standing. One of the keys to navigating the healthcare system is knowing about the health insurance system. Health insurance, as the name suggests, is a type of insurance. Insurance is a collectivization of poeple who pay into a pool of money every so often (usually monthly) for the right to withdraw from the pool of money in exceptional circumstances. (For health insurance, when you need a medical procedure, need to stay in the hospital, give birth to a baby, or other events; for car insurance, which works the same way, when you get into an accident.) In this case, healthy people who don't need much care pay into the pool so that sick, injured, or disabled people can do the majority of the withdrawal from the pool when they need very expensive, intensive care. How much you pay every month, for the ri...

An HSA, or Health Savings Account, is a tax-advantaged account that can be used to save for qualified medical expenses. HSAs are available to anyone with a high-deductible health plan (HDHP). The main benefit of an HSA is that contributions are tax-deductible, meaning you can deduct them from your taxable income. This can lower your tax bill and give you more money to save for upcoming medical expenses. Another benefit of an HSA is that earnings grow tax-free . This means that the money you contribute to your HSA will continue to grow, tax-free until you withdraw it. Finally, withdrawals from an HSA are tax-free as long as they are used for qualified medical expenses . This means that you can use your HSA to pay for things like doctor's visits, prescription drugs, and hospital stays, and you won't have to pay taxes on the money you withdraw. If you have a high-deductible health insurance plan, an HSA is a great way to save for medical expenses. The tax advantages can mak...