A health care finance system according to the invention features an expanded health care savings and asset account that may be funded in a variety of ways. An insurance carrier is paid a premium out of the account. When a patient sees a health care provider, the health care provider generates an electronic medical work-up. The work-up is analyzed by software, which determines an appropriate protocol and complexity level associated with the patient's condition. The protocol and complexity level are then transmitted to the insurance carrier, and the insurance carrier makes a global payment directly into the patient's health care asset account based on the determined protocol and complexity level. The patient accesses those funds directly, e.g., using an electronic debit card, to pay the health care provider.