I Put All of My Medical Bills on My Credit Cards. Here’s Why

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It’s an easy way for me to benefit financially. 

U.S consumers aren’t strangers to credit card usage. As of 2022’s fourth quarter, Americans had racked up a total of $930 billion in credit card balances, according to Transunion.

You’ll often hear that putting too many expenses on a credit card could lead to a world of financial hurt. That’s because credit card interest can accrue quickly, trapping you in a cycle of debt. But I actually make a point to put every medical bill I get on my credit cards for one big reason.

It’s all about benefiting from bills I’m forced to pay

Healthcare is one of those things I refuse to neglect. Meanwhile, last year, my husband switched jobs, and with that came a new health insurance plan that took some getting used to.

For the first time in my adult life, I’m now enrolled in a high-deductible health insurance plan. In the past, I’ve been able to largely avoid deductibles for in-network service, whereas now, I have to meet a pretty high family-level deductible before my insurer starts to pick up the tab for my family’s care.

As such, in recent months, my healthcare spending has gone up a lot. But rather than write out a check for those medical bills or swipe a debit card, I make sure to put them on my credit cards.

All of my credit cards offer cash back on the purchases I make. And the way I see it, if I have to pay for medical care, I might as well get rewarded.

Now, if you don’t manage to pay off your credit cards in full every month, you can start to accrue interest on your balances that well exceeds the amount of cash back you get from your cards. But because I budget carefully for medical bills, and I spent less in other categories to be able to swing them, I’m able to pay my credit cards in full and avoid carrying a balance. Because of this, I get all of the upside of charging healthcare expenses on my credit cards, and I get to steer clear of the downside.

I use credit cards even with an HSA

Since my family is now enrolled in a high-deductible health insurance plan, we’re able to contribute money to a health savings account, or HSA. We’ve been doing so since last year and have some funds we can access already to pay for medical care.

But even so, I still make a point to use my credit cards for healthcare spending because my goal is actually to leave my HSA alone for as long as possible. HSAs let you invest money you don’t need to withdraw right away, and gains in your HSA are yours to enjoy tax-free. So the way I see it, as long as I can afford my medical bills, I might as well pay for them out of pocket and put them on my credit cards. That way, I can grow my HSA and score cash back at the same time.

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