Planning for Healthcare and Massage Therapy Costs in 2010

Did you know that you can sometimes use health savings and flexible spending accounts to pay for your massage?

A health savings account (HSA) is an account into which you can deposit tax-free money to be used for future medical expenses. Health savings accounts were established in 2003 and are becoming more common. Health savings accounts are part of a larger trend known as consumer-directed or consumer-driven health care. You can use funds from your HSA to pay for massage therapy, as long as your health care practitioner recommends it as treatment for a particular health condition.

Supporters and critics of HSAs have different takes on the pros and cons of HSAs:

Pros (benefits of HSA)
More control over health care decisions.
Allows you to set aside and budget money for health care costs.
Ability to shop around for care based on quality and cost.
Your employer may contribute toward your HSA.
Money can be placed in your HSA on a pretax basis or may be deducted from your taxable income.

Cons (potential risks of HSA)
Favors healthy people. Older, sicker people may pay more.
Illness can be unpredictable, making it hard to accurately budget for health care expenses.
Some information, including cost and quality, is difficult to find.
Some worry that the pressure to save the money in your HSA might cause you to avoid seeking preventive treatment.
If you withdraw funds from a health savings account for nonmedical expenses before you turn 65, you have to pay taxes on it plus a 10 percent penalty.


Additionally, some flexible spending accounts allow therapeutic massage treating a specific medical condition to be reimbursed under a HCFSA. Flexible spending accounts also hold before-tax funds deposited by employees. The words “therapy” or “therapeutic” must be included in the description of the service and a letter of medical necessity must be provided. Gratuities are not reimburseable. Check with your human resource department for more information.

Now is a good time to consider funding of your healthcare for the next year. Think about how using these savings plans can add massage therapy to your good health in 2010.