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Day 16 - Health Insurance
By JLP | April 13, 2006
I have to be honest with you. Of all the personal finance topics, health insurance (or any insurance for that matter) is my least favorite. I find the subject dry and boring. However, health insurance should be part of every financial plan.
Most people get their health insurance through their employer. Employer-sponsored health insurance is typically less expensive than health insurance you can buy on your own because the risk is spread out over a number of individuals rather than a single family. If you are eligible for employer-provided health insurance, GET IT!
There’s a new health insurance option available that seems to gaining some attention. It is called a Health Savings Account (HSA), which operates like an IRA for health expenses. An HSA must be paired with high-deductible health insurance. I’m still learning about these new accounts, so I’m definately not an authority on this topic. For more on HSAs, check out:
The Healthcare Cost Crisis: HSAs - Financial Planning Magazine. This article is written from the financial planners point-of-view.
All About HSAs (pdf) from the U. S. Department of the Treasury. I read through this booklet. It is a decent resource for HSAs.
HSA resource page on the U. S. Department of the Treasury’s website is also a pretty good resource.
The New Health Insurance Solution
Unfortunately, health insurance is not a popular topic among personal finance bloggers. However, here a few health insurance-related posts by other bloggers for you to check out.
FiveCentNickel:
Appeal Your Health Insurance Denials
Be on the Lookout for Medical Billing Errors
MyMoneyBlog:
Health
Savings Account Search - Pros, Cons, and Free eBook
MakeLoveNotDebt:
Topics: Basics, Financial Planning, Insurance |