Money and Health:Saving for Health Care
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What You Need to Know
Who Can Use Health Savings Accounts and Flexible Spending Arrangements
How to use pre-tax dollars for health care
Chances are, you’ve heard of flexible spending arrangements (FSAs) and health savings accounts (HSAs). But what are they exactly? Here’s what you need to know about health savings accounts and flexible spending arrangements to help pay your health-care bills. Read More
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Health-Care Cost Expert Kathryn Votava on Buying Long-Term-Care Insurance
Dr. Kathryn Votava
Assistant professor of clinical nursing at the University of Rochester
Q: What does long-term-care insurance cover?
A: Depending on what kind of policy you choose, it will pay for a nursing home, assisted-living facility, community programs, or for someone to come to your home to care for you. It can offset some of the costs—notice I said some. Most people think that if they have a long-term-care insurance policy, they're covered completely. Not only is the average policy not enough to cover the cost of this type of care, but people don't take health-care inflation into account. And you will still need to pay for your Medicare Part B, Medigap plan, prescription drugs, and doctor visits just as before. Those expenses don't go away and long-term-care insurance doesn't cover them. Read More
A: Depending on what kind of policy you choose, it will pay for a nursing home, assisted-living facility, community programs, or for someone to come to your home to care for you. It can offset some of the costs—notice I said some. Most people think that if they have a long-term-care insurance policy, they're covered completely. Not only is the average policy not enough to cover the cost of this type of care, but people don't take health-care inflation into account. And you will still need to pay for your Medicare Part B, Medigap plan, prescription drugs, and doctor visits just as before. Those expenses don't go away and long-term-care insurance doesn't cover them. Read More
Should You Get Disability Insurance?
If you wait until you're ill, you may be uninsurable
Chronic pain, cancer treatment, severe depression—these are just a few of the virtually countless reasons you may not be able to show up to work for a significant period of time. Consider this statistic: A 20-year-old has a 30% chance of becoming disabled by the time he or she reaches retirement age. Needless to say, the financial consequences of a disability can be devastating. In 2001, more than one-fifth of bankruptcies in the United States occurred because the debtors (or their spouses) lost at least two weeks of income due to injury or illness. Read More
