Health Care In The New Year

When I noticed an email titled "Health Care Reform 2013" in my inbox, I was tempted to skip it. Feeling guilty, I went back later and opened it to find a wealth of information from one of our insurance companies.

It got me thinking about how many things I don't know about how health care is changing, and I'm in the information business.

Here are a few points:

1. Flexible Spending Account limits. The government will now enforce a $2,500 limit on individual contributions. There are also new rules about what happens to the money you don't spend -- you forfeit it at the end of the year.

2. The threshold for deducting medical expenses rises from the current 7.5 percent to 10 percent, so you'll want to take care of any procedures now, during 2012.

3. Get ready for a new Medicare surtax on investment income if your income as an individual taxpayer is above $200,000, or above $250,000 if you're filing jointly.

I'm no expert, and this short list is just the tip of the iceberg, so here's an article that simplifies the changes in very succinct terms:
www.usaa.com/inet/pages/advice-finances-healthcarereform

In it you'll find more about the FSA rules, Medicare taxes, as well as the huge changes slated for 2014.

Have a healthy and happy holiday!

About The Blogger

- In her Brooke's Bargains blog Brooke Wagner writes about finding bargains and saving money for her family. She calls it one of her favorite hobbies. Blog entries cover everything from the latest steals, deals, and freebies to cheap family activities, saving for college, and what to buy right now. Tweet Brooke your ideas at @BrookeCBS4.