You can withdraw funds from your Health Savings Account (HSA) to pay for qualified medical expenses without incurring a tax penalty. It's important to understand what expenses are considered qualifying in order to plan your health care expenses and maximize the value of those dollars. To be eligible, expenses must be incurred after an HSA has been established. IRS Publication 502 provides a very complete breakdown of what is considered QME.
Mira can help you access affordable lab tests, urgent care visits, and virtual care visits without paying a deductible. An HSA can help you maintain your physical and financial health by providing you with a tax-free way to save and pay for medical expenses, including the medical debt that has been used to collect them. An alternative to using a debit card is to return it by withdrawing money from your HSA at an ATM. If you don't have enough money in your account to pay your bill in full, analyze your finances and determine how much you can pay monthly or quarterly.
You can use the debit card to use your HSA money to directly pay for eligible expenses; however, there are limits on the health benefit debit card. However, delaying medical care can lead to a deterioration in physical health and is not the ideal solution to the problem of affordability. More than a quarter of Americans surveyed by the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) report that someone in their household has had difficulty paying medical bills over the past year. Depositing money into an HSA can save you money on health care costs, but its use has limits.
The second way to use HSA funds is to pay out of pocket for eligible health expenses and reimburse yourself with funds from your HSA. Be sure to deposit the amount you intend to use to pay your medical bill at least two weeks before the bill's due date (check with your HSA administrator for exact processing times). Health care expenses should be used primarily to alleviate or prevent a physical or mental defect or illness.
