(Health Savings Accounts)
My employer is switching providers as of January 1 and one of the choices we have is a high deductible, low premium plan with an HSA. The difference between an HSA and a flexible account is that you can roll the HSA over from year to year and even invest the balance. My company pays the entire premium and pre-funds the HSA at the deductible amount.
This sounds like a pretty swoot deal but I'm just wondering if anybody has any experience and / or opinions about these.
Anybody know about HSAs?
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The Whistle Is Screaming
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If they pay the Premium and cover the deductable, then you're making out like a bandit. My wifes office offers HSA (medical practice) and the only reason we don't switch is because of they don't pay enough to cover high premium & deductable.
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jiminphilly
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Re: Anybody know about HSAs?
ahh.. open enrollment- the only time of year HR reps actually do something worth while- that is if handing out the new health plan packets is considered worthwhile.Mikey wrote:(Health Savings Accounts)
My employer is switching providers as of January 1 and one of the choices we have is a high deductible, low premium plan with an HSA. The difference between an HSA and a flexible account is that you can roll the HSA over from year to year and even invest the balance. My company pays the entire premium and pre-funds the HSA at the deductible amount.
This sounds like a pretty swoot deal but I'm just wondering if anybody has any experience and / or opinions about these.
Our company is offering this too and I may look into it-
The other side of the deal is if you choose the PPO or the HMO they pre-fund an FSA at $3K to cover co-pays and other stuff, and they also cover 100% of the premium.
The main difference I see is that the HSA can be rolled over, but I'm not sure that it covers all the sundry stuff that you can spend the FSA on, like over the counter medicines.
Gonna have to think this one through.
The main difference I see is that the HSA can be rolled over, but I'm not sure that it covers all the sundry stuff that you can spend the FSA on, like over the counter medicines.
Gonna have to think this one through.
If they're funding your HSA, you can't go wrong. A lot of people are wary of the high deductible plan because all they can see is the high deductible. The mentality is, "Wait, with my HMO I only pay $100 bucks for a surgery, but with the HDHP, I pay $2800? Screw that." Flawed logic. If you take the HMO, you're paying the premiums every month, so you're not saving money:
HMO= $300/month forever, with probable increases every year
HDHP= $20/month forever + HSA, $250/month (or whatever you put into it) only until it is funded.
So, assuming you fund your HSA within the first year (or in your case, your employer funds it for you) you pay nothing but the comparatively minuscule premiums for the HDHP until you have to fund the HSA again, which may be a long time. Plus, the HDHP doesn't require you to meet your deductible for regular stuff like well-baby care and an annual gyno for your wife.
This is what we did; funded the HSA right off the bat, now I pay practically nothing for my HDHP premiums, whereas I was paying something like $350/month for my HMO, and it increased every year. So, for two years now, we've had minimal health care expense. We pretty much leave the HSA alone and pay out of pocket for day to day stuff like an unscheduled doctor's visit for the kids. It still goes toward our deductible, and we save the HSA for any catastrophic situation where we have to pony up for the entire deductible at once.
The thing to check is how much your HDHP pays after you meet your deductible. I've heard some of them only pay 80% or less, which can still leave you on the hook for a serious chunk of change, but if you have one that pays 100%, it's a great setup.
HMO= $300/month forever, with probable increases every year
HDHP= $20/month forever + HSA, $250/month (or whatever you put into it) only until it is funded.
So, assuming you fund your HSA within the first year (or in your case, your employer funds it for you) you pay nothing but the comparatively minuscule premiums for the HDHP until you have to fund the HSA again, which may be a long time. Plus, the HDHP doesn't require you to meet your deductible for regular stuff like well-baby care and an annual gyno for your wife.
This is what we did; funded the HSA right off the bat, now I pay practically nothing for my HDHP premiums, whereas I was paying something like $350/month for my HMO, and it increased every year. So, for two years now, we've had minimal health care expense. We pretty much leave the HSA alone and pay out of pocket for day to day stuff like an unscheduled doctor's visit for the kids. It still goes toward our deductible, and we save the HSA for any catastrophic situation where we have to pony up for the entire deductible at once.
The thing to check is how much your HDHP pays after you meet your deductible. I've heard some of them only pay 80% or less, which can still leave you on the hook for a serious chunk of change, but if you have one that pays 100%, it's a great setup.
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MuchoBulls
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Sound like a good plan Hobbes. The thing I like about the HSA is that you can control how you spend your healthcare $$. You can put money away tax free in the HSA and roll it over if you don't spend the whole thing. Makes you think a little bit more before going to the doc for a cold. The "insurance" is basically for catastrophic events. Seems like that's what insurance was supposed to be in the first place.
The people that put together our plan have this crazy idea that they will pay all of our HC costs. This year with the PPO we don't have dental or vision coverage, but they pre-funded the FSA at $3K to cover all that and pay 100% of the premium. Now with the HSA they're going to fund the HSA up to the deductible amount and pay the premium as well. Not complaining.
The people that put together our plan have this crazy idea that they will pay all of our HC costs. This year with the PPO we don't have dental or vision coverage, but they pre-funded the FSA at $3K to cover all that and pay 100% of the premium. Now with the HSA they're going to fund the HSA up to the deductible amount and pay the premium as well. Not complaining.
