Billionaire entrepreneur Mark Cuban believes the government may have slipped in a version of universal basic income without anyone realizing it. And he thinks it came through an unexpected path: Health savings accounts.

He said that eligible individuals can receive up to $3,000 a year in tax-advantaged HSA contributions. If used for non-medical expenses, the funds incur a 20% penalty, but that still amounts to roughly $200 per month in available cash.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/mark-cuban-says-interesting-trump-143102250.html

by coinfanking

18 comments

  1. Yeah in exchange for not fixing the subsidies which you could argue are also a “form” of UBI.

    But the majority of ACA subscribers would loose out with an HSA alternative. I know I would.

    But if I’m gonna get fucked I guess I’ll take an HSA over nothing?!?!?

    The ACA made it somewhat affordable for me try to start my own business; my runway is much shorter now – Trump and the GOP are anti small business.

  2. I’m not even sure what program this is referring to 

  3. With a 20% penalty, that’s not UBI. It’s predatory lending.

  4. It’s not UBI if an insurance company can steal it from you.

  5. >universal

    >eligible individuals

    I don’t think Americans have ever seen an actual universal program. We prefer work requirements and means testing as a way to get worse results for more money and to create resentment from everyone involved.

    IMO, the most interesting thing about HSAs is all the scam companies that autogenerate letters of medical necessity so that you can buy normal shit without the penalty.

    What a fascinating society.

  6. Does anyone actually use their HSA to spend with? The way it’s set up it’s just another retirement account

  7. thanks Mark for clarifying for us you have no fucking idea what UBI is

  8. He says he’s not a fan of HSA contributions because so little of the money goes to healthcare. That’s not my experience. We give our employees the max HSA contribution every year and many of them use the whole amount. Anything not used grows in the stock market. It can be used to pay for Medicare supplement insurance when they’re retired. But most use the whole amount for medical deductibles.

  9. Receive or have deducted from their paycheck ? Employer contribution is about 350 per year. The Health savings account cannot be used to pay insurance premiums which is completely stupid. Granted end of life will demand the majority of our savings, since we rarely die when we aren’t sick.

  10. and it’s not UBI since it comes directly from WAGES for hours worked. The U stands for UNIVERSAL, which means whether or not you’re an employee of a company.

  12. Lmao

    In order to qualify for this “UBI”, YOU NEED TO HAVE A JOB

  13. What is UBI? How does it help limited income folks pay for medical insurance?

  14. Without reforming the healthcare industry to control costs, it’s just a giveaway to insurers who will raise their prices to absorb that extra money.

  15. Fuck this asshole. Obscenely rich folks don’t give a fuck, they just pretend to.

  17. WTF you have to contribute money out of your gross earnings for HSA’s. It’s nothing like UBI

  18. No it’s not. I FUND HSA… I HAVE TO PAY penalty if I use it for any non-medical purposes… ON THE MONEY I put into HSA.

    WTF is this guy on?? And what will $200 get me now days?

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