28
submitted 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) by davel@lemmy.ml to c/personalfinance@lemmy.ml

These US healthcare systems are effectively scams. Yes in theory they can save you money, however in theory there is no difference between theory and practice, while in practice there is.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[-] ioslife 6 points 11 months ago

It works incredibly well for my family. We can put $3,200 in the FSA next year and not get taxed on it as well as spend the money tax free. You can buy cold medicine, advil, go to the dentist, go to the doctor, etc.

[-] akilou@sh.itjust.works 3 points 11 months ago

Same. I put in $1,500 last year and saved like $450 in taxes. I just elected to put in $2,000 next year. It's totally worth the few seconds it takes to snap a pic of a receipt in an app to save $450 or more.

[-] deegeese@sopuli.xyz 1 points 11 months ago

Why are your health expenses taxable in the first place?

Don’t fall for “orphan crushing machine” policies.

[-] akilou@sh.itjust.works 2 points 11 months ago

I'm not saying we have a good system. I mean a better system would be to write off medical expenses when you file your taxes after the end of the year rather than this awkward in-advance thing. I'm just saying that FSAs are not a scam in that they're intentionally designed to fleece you. The whole system sucks.

[-] deegeese@sopuli.xyz 1 points 11 months ago

If you follow the intentionally onerous rules, you might get to spend some of your own money on healthcare without being taxed.

Ask yourself why you had to jump through those hoops in the first place.

These are policies created by bad people to rip off ordinary Americans. Making healthcare appear affordable also deflects calls for universal healthcare like they have in every other developed country.

Basically HSAs are a scam put out by health insurance lobbyists.

this post was submitted on 15 Nov 2023
28 points (81.8% liked)

Personal Finance

3799 readers
4 users here now

Learn about budgeting, saving, getting out of debt, credit, investing, and retirement planning. Join our community, read the PF Wiki, and get on top of your finances!

Note: This community is not region centric, so if you are posting anything specific to a certain region, kindly specify that in the title (something like [USA], [EU], [AUS] etc.)

founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS