Healthcare cost guides.
Dental cost & financing
Dental implant cost
Cash prices, dental discount plans, All-on-4 math, dental-tourism comparison.
Root canal cost guide
$700-$2,200 by tooth + the crown that comes after + insurance share + alternatives.
Dental crown cost guide
$1,000-$3,500 per crown — porcelain vs zirconia vs PFM vs gold, insurance math, LEAT rule explained.
Wisdom tooth extraction cost
$200–$800 simple, $400–$1,800 impacted/surgical. Cost by extraction type, anesthesia options, insurance share, and how to pay for all four.
Dental discount plans vs insurance
The $1,000–$2,000 annual-maximum trap, no waiting periods, and the crown/implant math that decides which actually saves more.
All-on-4 dental implants 2026
$20K–$40K per arch in the US — acrylic vs zirconia, cheaper alternatives, and the real dental-tourism math for Mexico and Costa Rica.
Dental tourism 2026
Los Algodones, Cancun, and Costa Rica pricing for implants, crowns, and All-on-4 — the all-in math with travel, plus the recourse and follow-up trade-offs.
Invisalign cost guide 2026
$3K–$8K full treatment vs cheaper Express/Lite for minor cases. Insurance's orthodontic lifetime max, HSA/FSA payment, and the deferred-interest financing trap.
Financing & HSA
CareCredit vs alternatives
Cherry, Walnut, Sunbit, personal loans — clear APR comparison.
State HSA tax treatment
CA and NJ tax HSAs; the rest don't. The 50-state conformity map.
Healthsharing plans compared
Medi-Share, Sedera, Liberty, CHM — cost, coverage, and the not-insurance caveats.
FSA-eligible items 2026
The complete list of what your FSA covers — plus the surprising ones most people miss.
HSA vs FSA: which wins for you
Eligibility rules, 2026 limits, rollover, investment, portability, and post-65 strategy side by side.
Direct Primary Care (DPC) explained
$50–$150/month flat-fee doctor membership — how DPC pairs with HDHPs and healthsharing plans to cut total healthcare spend.
COBRA vs ACA marketplace
Keep your old plan at full premium or switch to a subsidized marketplace plan? The decision math, deadlines, and traps after you lose coverage.
CareCredit 0% promo periods
Deferred interest is not 0% interest. The retroactive-interest trap at 26.99% APR, the auto-pay strategy, and when a personal loan wins.
Best HSA providers 2026
Fidelity vs Lively vs HealthEquity vs Optum — fees, investments, minimums, and how to transfer out of an employer's fee-heavy default.
HSA investment strategies
The "shoebox" method — pay medical bills out of pocket, invest the HSA, save receipts, and reimburse yourself tax-free decades later. The 30-year compounding math.
Medi-Share deep dive 2026
AHP tiers, monthly share math, the pre-existing phase-in, maternity timing, mental-health gaps, and why it's sharing — not insurance.
FSA grace period & rollover
The $680 carryover vs the 2.5-month grace period (you get one, not both), the claims run-out window people confuse with it, and how a carryover can block your HSA.
HSA for the self-employed
No employer payroll, no FICA break — how solo filers deduct HSA contributions above-the-line on Schedule 1, fund from irregular income, and pick a provider.
Procedure costs
MRI cost guide
$400-$3,500 cash by body region + how to find the 10x cheaper independent imaging center.
CT scan cost guide
$300-$1,500 cash by body region + contrast vs no contrast, CPT codes, how to find cheaper scans.
Colonoscopy cost guide
$1,200–$5,000 cash. Screening vs diagnostic — the insurance gotcha that bills you when a polyp is found, and how the 2022 ACA fix protects you.
ER visit cost guide
$1,000–$3,500 typical bill. Facility fees and severity levels, what insurance pays, the freestanding-ER trap, and your No Surprises Act protections.
Knee replacement cost guide
$30K–$60K inpatient total knee, $20K–$35K outpatient. Total vs partial, what insurance pays, and your realistic out-of-pocket max.
Childbirth cost guide
$10K–$15K billed for a vaginal delivery, ~$2,500–$4,500 out of pocket with insurance. The five-part bill, the two-deductible trap, and the baby's own account.
Hip replacement cost guide
$35K–$75K billed total hip, $20K–$35K at a bundled outpatient center. Anterior vs posterior, robotic add-ons, Medicare's outpatient shift, and your realistic out-of-pocket.
C-section cost guide
$15K–$25K billed. Insurance share, realistic out-of-pocket, the two-deductible newborn trap, and how a NICU stay at $3K–$10K/day changes the math.
Cataract surgery cost
$3K–$5K per eye standard, $5K–$10K+ for premium lenses. What Medicare's Part B covers, the IOL upcharge you pay out of pocket, and the HDHP-vs-PPO math.
LASIK cost guide 2026
$2K–$3K per eye standard, $3K–$5K custom — why insurance won't pay, the per-eye billboard trap, and how HSA/FSA dollars cut the real cost.
Billing & your rights
No Surprises Act
Federal balance-billing protections, gaps, and how to dispute violations.
State ground-ambulance protections
The NSA gap — which ~15 states protect you, which don't.
How to negotiate a medical bill
7-step script: itemized bill, EOB audit, cash-pay rate, prompt-pay discount, charity care, settlement offer, and payment plan.
Charity care eligibility
Every nonprofit hospital must have a financial-assistance policy under ACA §501(r). Income thresholds (200–400% FPL), the AGB cap, and how to apply — even after collections.
Good Faith Estimate dispute
When your bill runs $400+ over the GFE, the federal PPDR process kicks in — the $25 fee, the 120-day window, the collections freeze, and step-by-step CMS-portal filing.