The Welfare System Stole $2k From Me
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This is a long rant about Flexible Savings Accounts, which are these ridiculous schemes that allow you redirect some of your untaxed paycheck into accounts t...

Shit like this is the cornerstone of modern liberal policymaking. I already knew that rich people can get higher tax brakes with these - poor people who pay little in taxes can get literally a 0% tax break in some cases. But apparently, you just LOSE all of the money every 12-14 months (depending on the plan) and it is gone forever? You can literally LOSE money (in total) with a stupid savings account. Insane! And yea, it can be technically "your fault" for forgetting to file claims, but if you didn't have any healthcare costs in that year... you can't file any claims and you just lose all of the money. You are literally gambling.

  • mkultrawide [any]
    ·
    2 years ago

    Matt is talking about Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs), not Health Savings Accounts (HSAs). You can only get an HSA if you are in a High Deductible Health Plan, which is a health care plan that has a deductible of $4000 per person and total out of pocket of $7000 per indiviudal. FSAs are for people who aren't on HDHPs, and I agree with Matt they are bullshit. I only did it once, and I ended up having to basically go buy $200 of first aid stuff and other random shit in order to not lose my money. HSAs are yours forever, the contributions come out pre-tax and lower your taxes, there is an annual contribution limit, and you can usually invest some of the funds after a certain amount. They are kind of like a health 401k. I have been on an HDHP for the past 5 years or so because the total out of pocket maximum I would have to spend would be significantly less than if I had to max out benefits on the PPO and offered by my employer. Overall I like the HSA, and I would never do an FSA again unless it was for a very small amount that I knew I was going to spend, but also the system is stupid and we should just have an NHS.

    EDIT: If you are crazy like me and track all of your spending, you could maybe get an FSA to work in your favor, because there's a ton of shit that is eligible. Pretty much anything vaguely related to health, even massage guns.

    https://fsastore.com/

    Basically of this is just a tax avoidance scheme, though.

    Also, all of this shit was invented by Milton Friedman and the Chicago Boys.