The five topics
- Budgeting, banking & taxes. HSA or FSA? How each works, and how to budget for irregular medical costs
Choose between an HSA and an FSA, and budget for medical costs that don't arrive on schedule. - Debt, credit & medical bills. How to read an itemized hospital bill before you dispute it
Read an itemized hospital bill line by line before you dispute it. - Insurance & coverage decisions. How to compare two health plans beyond the premium
Compare two health plans on total yearly cost, not just the premium. - Public benefits & retirement. null (Guide in preparation)
Protect your income and health coverage in the first weeks after a job loss. - Saving, investing & financial fraud. How to check an investment offer before you send money
Check an investment offer before you send any money.
Money questions and health questions are often the same question. Can I afford this plan? Is this bill right? Which account should I put money into for next year's prescriptions? What happens to my coverage if I lose my job? These guides take one decision at a time, show the arithmetic with fictional examples, and point to the official source for every rule. They explain how things work. They are not financial, tax or legal advice for your situation.
What this area covers
Budgeting, banking & taxes. HSA or FSA? How each account works, and how to budget for medical costs that don't arrive on a schedule.
Debt, credit & medical bills. How to read an itemized hospital bill line by line before you dispute it.
Insurance & coverage decisions. How to compare two health plans beyond the premium, using total yearly cost instead of the monthly price alone.
Public benefits & retirement. What to do about income and health coverage in the first weeks after a job loss.
Saving, investing & financial fraud. How to check an investment offer before you send money, including the warning signs securities regulators describe.
Start here
- How to compare two health plans beyond the premium, with a health plan total-cost worksheet
- How to read an itemized hospital bill before you dispute it
- HSA or FSA? How each works, and how to budget for irregular medical costs, with an irregular medical costs worksheet
- How to check an investment offer before you send money
From the health law and policy library
- Why does one emergency room visit generate several bills?
- Surprise Billing and the No Surprises Act IDR Process
- Prior Authorization: What It Is, Why It Can Delay Care, and What You Can Do
- Medi-Cal in Plain Language
Where this connects
Behind every bill and plan choice is a rule: a federal billing protection, a state coverage mandate, an appeal deadline. The policy library explains those rules in depth. When a guide here tells you to ask for something in writing or to file a complaint, it links to the rule that gives you that right.
Current developments
Dated items, each with its source. Checked October 25, 2026.
Announced
Social Security and SSI rise 3.6% for 2027
The Social Security Administration announced on October 14, 2026 a 3.6 percent cost-of-living adjustment for 2027. Higher Social Security benefits begin with January 2027 payments, and higher SSI payments begin December 31, 2026. The amount that reaches you can differ, because Medicare premiums, tax withholding and your own circumstances affect each payment.
Source: Social Security announces 3.6 percent benefit increase for 2027 (press release, October 14, 2026)
Proposed
Proposed: income and status checks before Marketplace subsidies, starting with 2028 coverage
On October 23, 2026, CMS proposed that Marketplaces verify income, household size, citizenship or eligible immigration status, other coverage and residence before granting financial help. People already enrolled would need to confirm their eligibility each year to keep financial help, and the first verification window would open August 1, 2027 for 2028 coverage. This is a proposal, not a rule in force. California runs its own Marketplace, Covered California, which would announce how any final rule applies here. Comments are accepted for 30 days after the proposal is published in the Federal Register.
Source: Exchange Pre-Eligibility Verification proposed rule (CMS-9873-P) fact sheet, October 23, 2026
Related guide: How to compare two health plans beyond the premium
Scheduled
CalABLE and Medi-Cal webinar, November 4
DHCS and CalABLE will hold a webinar on November 4, 2026, from 11 a.m. to noon Pacific time, on how CalABLE accounts work with Medi-Cal, Medi-Cal asset limits and Medi-Cal changes coming in 2027. DHCS says ASL and Spanish interpretation and closed captioning will be provided. The webinar gives general information, not advice about your own case.
In effect
Federal Medicaid and Medicare eligibility narrowed for some noncitizens
Since October 1, 2026, federal law generally limits federal Medicaid funding to lawful permanent residents, Cuban and Haitian entrants, and people from the Compact of Free Association nations, with some exceptions. CMS says the same categories will apply to Medicare eligibility once that part of the law is put into effect. California can cover some people with state funds, so whether someone qualifies for Medi-Cal depends on the program and the person. Ask a county eligibility worker or a legal aid office before making decisions.