Even though health insurance provides coverage for medical expenses, people often find that insurance isn’t enough. On top of that, health insurance may not provide coverage for things like dental care or over-the-counter medications, and these costs can add up quickly. One way to balance out these uncovered costs is through a health savings account (HSA).
An HSA is a savings account that can be used to pay for expenses that insurance doesn’t cover. Many healthcare items and services can be paid for using HSA funds, including prescription medications, visits with healthcare professionals not covered by an insurance plan and more.
Most HSAs come with a spending card that functions just like a normal credit card. When you spend HSA funds on healthcare-related expenses, you simply swipe or insert your card, and the transaction is processed digitally.
Distributing HSA Funds
In order to utilize HSA funds, these monies need to be distributed. An HSA distribution is basically the process of utilizing funds from the account. Any time funds are taken out of an HSA account, this counts as a distribution.
If you spend HSA funds on items or services that do not qualify, this money can be taxed. In some cases, you may also be subject to fines and fees for using funds on non-healthcare expenses.
It would be a good idea to check with any healthcare provider you plan to visit to ensure that you’re able to spend HSA funds on services. While almost all healthcare-related expenses will qualify, there may be some limitations. Checking beforehand can help you to avoid surprises in the future. If you are looking for a health care savings account with Lively, visit this website.
Tracking Your Distributions
Because healthcare expenses can be frequent for some individuals, it’s a good idea to utilize tracking tools for HSA distributions. One popular tracking tool is Lively, a digital platform that helps people manage HSAs.
Using Lively, you can not only see activity on your HSA to include investments and distributions, but you can also measure your spending against parts of your health insurance plan like deductible limits.
Read a similar article about health care savings account here at this page.
