This Medicare Solution Could Be Your Best Open-Enrollment Option
Medicare open enrollment is happening right now, and millions of retirees have the opportunity to decide whether to make changes to their coverage. Most people just stick with their current Medicare options year after year without thinking much about the issue, but being on the lookout for smart strategies can produce immense savings.
One little-known option that Medicare participants should look at more closely is the Medical Savings Account, or MSA. By using a Medicare MSA, you can receive substantial contributions toward your healthcare costs that you can use not just now, but in years to come.
Understanding Medicare's Medical Savings Accounts requires understanding a couple of different aspects of the program. To have an MSA, you need to give up traditional Medicare in favor of a special type of Medicare Advantage plan suited to the account. These MSA-eligible Medicare Advantage plans have high deductibles, and as a result, you'll have to pay a fairly large amount of your initial healthcare costs out of your own pocket each year. If you have an eligible plan, then you'll be allowed to open an MSA, with the plan making some deposits into your account on your behalf in order to cover healthcare costs.
Source: Fool.com
