5 ms·

Sure it's dumb but in the U.S. employers pay for that stuff before income tax so the difference in price isn't as pronounced as you're implying. But I'm frustr

Sure it's dumb but in the U.S. employers pay for that stuff before income tax so the difference in price isn't as pronounced as you're implying. But I'm frustrated that with all the time and energy put into healthcare over the last decade, no progress has been made in keeping health insurance coverage separate from employment status.

kazinator 10y ago
I don't know about you down there in the US, but here in Canada, I can also pay for the premiums of a private health plan before income tax! Self-employed people can write off payments for extended health. (There are some upper bounds on how much, but generous enough that I think I would have a full write off even with the rather frivolous plans out there.) I did the number crunching that way, using pre-tax dollars. Of course, it looked better that way, but still a waste of money compared to giving your credit card to the dentist or whoever. By the way, in British Columbia, if you make a decent income, you are required to pay some $1800 per year to the province for a health care plan called MSP. That is not a business expense you can deduct from your income as a self-employed person, nor a qualifying medical expense for a tax credit.
- mywittyname 10y ago
  Some people in the USA have access to an HSA, a tax-free savings account where the contributions may be spent on just about any medical procedure.
  - ihattendorf 10y ago
    Although an HSA generally can't be used for premiums (with a few exceptions).
    - Jtsummers 10y ago
      And you have to have a high-deductible plan. I recommend this to all my (healthy) younger colleagues. Max out the HSA while they don't need the money, let it grow. When they're older, married, kids, and generally find medical expenses increasing you can switch to a standard plan, but still use the HSA money you've accumulated. I'm at the age and activity level (and higher risk ones) where that's not a sound economic option for me, unfortunately, and didn't know about HSAs until health insurance started paying me more than I paid in (after a shoulder surgery next month, I think I'll have gotten more out of it than I've ever put in).

kazinator 10y ago

I don't know about you down there in the US, but here in Canada, I can also pay for the premiums of a private health plan before income tax! Self-employed people can write off payments for extended health. (There are some upper bounds on how much, but generous enough that I think I would have a full write off even with the rather frivolous plans out there.) I did the number crunching that way, using pre-tax dollars. Of course, it looked better that way, but still a waste of money compared to giving your credit card to the dentist or whoever. By the way, in British Columbia, if you make a decent income, you are required to pay some $1800 per year to the province for a health care plan called MSP. That is not a business expense you can deduct from your income as a self-employed person, nor a qualifying medical expense for a tax credit.

mywittyname 10y ago
Some people in the USA have access to an HSA, a tax-free savings account where the contributions may be spent on just about any medical procedure.
- ihattendorf 10y ago
  Although an HSA generally can't be used for premiums (with a few exceptions).
  - Jtsummers 10y ago
    And you have to have a high-deductible plan. I recommend this to all my (healthy) younger colleagues. Max out the HSA while they don't need the money, let it grow. When they're older, married, kids, and generally find medical expenses increasing you can switch to a standard plan, but still use the HSA money you've accumulated. I'm at the age and activity level (and higher risk ones) where that's not a sound economic option for me, unfortunately, and didn't know about HSAs until health insurance started paying me more than I paid in (after a shoulder surgery next month, I think I'll have gotten more out of it than I've ever put in).