A Texas health savings account has many great benefits, allowing you to save money tax-free for use toward medical expenses, like doctor visits, prescriptions and preventative care. But one lesser known benefit of a Texas HSA is that you can also use it to pay for expenses typically not covered by a traditional health insurance plan.
Alternative medicine and therapies, like chiropractic care, acupuncture, reflexology and massage are, at best, considered specialist services by health insurance companies. This means that if they’re covered at all, they’ll cost more than “traditional” services, like visiting a primary care physician. But those with a health savings account can use their funds to pay for almost any type of health service, as long as it’s meant to treat or prevent of a specific health condition.
Traditional Texas health insurance plans are great for many consumers, but not everyone has the same health history, needs and beliefs when it comes to medicine. With traditional plans, consumers interested in alternative therapies are forced to pay more for the health services they want. And as alternative therapies are becoming more and more mainstream, the amount of people turning to acupuncture or therapeutic massage is increasing. Given this interest in alternative medicine, it doesn’t make sense for some people to pay for conventional health plans that don’t cover their therapies of choice, especially when HSAs allow for this flexibility.
A Texas health savings account paired with a high deductible health plan is a great way to keep costs down while paying for the health therapies you want. Rather than paying a health insurance carrier a costly premium each month for coverage that may go unused, you can keep more of your money and only withdraw funds from your Texas HSA when necessary. A health savings account puts you in the drivers’ seat. By empowering people to manage their own health care, HSAs encourage personal choice and fiscal responsibility, putting spending control back into the hands of consumers.
