Reply #62: I'll explain [View All]

[TwixVoy]

Let's say you walk in to Chase bank tomorrow. You open a regular savings account and put $500 in it. You expect to use that $500 over this next year to pay for over the counter meds, bandages, your prescription co-pays, etc. Guess what? You are paying federal income tax on that $500 this year. Basically you used $500 for medical expenses, but you are getting taxed on it. Why the hell should you pay federal taxes on money you used for your medical care?

So let's say tomorrow you walk in to Chase and open a health savings account and put in that same $500. Let's say over this next year you make the SAME exact purchases you would have made for those medical items as you would have out of your regular savings account. Guess what? Because you used the money you put in your health savings account to pay for those items you owe NOTHING in federal income tax for those expenses.

Right now the system is set up to screw you. Right now in order to open a health savings account and use it the same way I describe above you HAVE to have shitty insurance that costs you out the ass. If you have insurance that does NOT cost you out the ass you legally can NOT open that account. What I would like to see happen is make it so ANYONE can walk in to Chase bank tomorrow, open a health savings account, and use the money from it TAX FREE for ANY MEDICAL EXPENSE.

Apparently half the people on this thread though believe that giving people the ability to buy medicial items TAX FREE is a horrible thing to do though.