NYCPHP Meetup

[Keith Casey]

On 1/18/07, Timothy Boyden <tboyden at supercoups.com> wrote:
> Medical and life insurance - This is the expensive part, without a bulk
> discount, insurance is like $2000 a month

Actually, this is where a bit of planning can save you a *huge*
amount.  Instead of buying insurance - which you have to pay whether
you use it or not - check out Health Savings Accounts (HSA).  They are
*not* the same as FSA's.

You have to get basic catastrophic insurance which covers major things
like cancer, car accidents, etc with a high deductible.  I pay
$40/month and have a $5k deduction.  But then, you get to create a
pre-tax savings account which you can deposit funds into.... and the
funds are 100% yours from day one and grow like a normal savings
account.  If you have the ability to start putting funds into it
during your 20's or 30's, you could have a huge amount in no time...

But the best part is that you can get discounts... remember that many
doctor's offices and hospitals have people who their only job is to
fight with the insurance companies.  When you offer to pay in full
right then and there - via the debit card attached to the account -
they often give discounts.  For example, my wife is knocked out with
the flu at the moment and when I took her to the doctor a couple days
ago, they knocked 30% off the bill while we were standing there.

Now let's do the math...
$2000/month for insurance you might not use that month OR
$40/month for insurance you might not use + $1960 into a savings account

For details check out:  http://hsainsider.com/

-- 
D. Keith Casey Jr.
CEO, CaseySoftware, LLC
http://CaseySoftware.com