What is a health savings account?

A health savings account (HSA) is a special savings account with a triple tax advantage - the IRS treats contributions as tax-deductible (or pre-tax through payroll), the balance grows tax-free, and withdrawals for qualified medical expenses are tax-free too. No other common account gets all three breaks at once. The catch is eligibility: you must be covered by a high-deductible health plan (HDHP) - the trade-off being lower premiums now, higher out-of-pocket costs before insurance kicks in, with the HSA as the cushion you fill yourself. The details that make it powerful: the money is yours - it rolls over forever (no use-it-or-lose-it like an FSA), follows you between jobs, and can be invested once the balance grows; it covers a wide range of qualified expenses - deductibles, copays, prescriptions, dental, vision; and after age 65 it can be spent on anything (non-medical withdrawals are then just taxed like retirement income, no penalty). The discipline it rewards: contribute steadily, pay small bills out of pocket if you can, and let the balance compound. IRS Publication 969 is the rulebook. Pymander is a free AI doctor, 24/7 by text - handy for the everyday question of whether a cost counts as a medical expense.