Saving on Health Care Costs

Health care costs are still going up considerably even though the inflation rate is low these days. The cost of  health care insurance is also rising for both employees and employers.

Finding ways to save money on health care costs and insurance is possible with better health care management. The Obama administrator is trying to tackle health care cost nationally but you too can do things to lower the cost of your health care.

One way of saving money on your family's medical health care is by opening a Flexible Spending Account (FSA). A FSA allows you to save pre-tax money to pay for health care costs. The amount you can set aside for health care spending is usually between $2,000 to $5,000 depending on your employer. If you're in the 25% tax bracket and your employer allows you to set aside $5,000 for health care you can save $1,250 in taxes.

The money you set aside in a FSA can be used for several different health care costs including health care deductibles, prescription medication, doctor office co-pays and over the counter drugs.

Since you can use pre-tax money to pay for health care deductibles you can get a higher deductible health care plan which will lower your annual health care insurance premiums, saving you money in the process.

The one draw back to a FSA is you have to use all the money you set aside in a given year or you will lose it. Looking at the previous year's out of pocket medical expenses can help you decide how much to put into a FSA.

If you are looking for health insurance you can use MonitorBankRates.com to find health insurance providers in your zip code. 

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