How To Guide For: A Look At Health Savings Accounts -- What You Need To Know

A health savings account (HSA) is a savings account used in conjunction with a high-deductible health insurance policy that allows users to save money tax-free against medical expenses. Having a health savings account has it's advantages like for starters you decide how much money to set aside for health care costs. Another pro to having a health savings account is that your employer may contribute to your HSA, but you own the account and the money is yours even if you change jobs. Another great advantage to having a HSA is that any unused money at the end of the year stays in your account and rolls over to the next year. A disadvantage to having an HSA is that illness can be unpredictable, making it hard to accurately budget for health care expenses. Another disadvantage is if you take money out of your HSA for non-medical expenses, you'll have to pay taxes on it. How do you set up an HSA -- this is done through your employer or through a bank or other financial institution. But in order to qualify for an HSA you need to make sure that you are enrolled in a high-deductible health insurance plan. To get more information on Health Savings Accounts and what you need to know -- click the pictures below to read the articles.