San Diego Housing Bubble News and Analysis

If you're young, healthy, and don't have kids that need period checkups, vaccinations, etc... then they can be a great thing.

If you're closer to middle age, where the body starts to fail in unexpected ways, or if you have kids that can come up with unusal and creative ways to injure themselves (like when my then 4 year old stuck some beads up his nose...) then you might suck up your entire HSA savings account on the big deductable.

If I were single and in my 20's or early 30's I'd seriously consider it. I'm in my late 40's with small kids - no way I'd do an HSA w/high deductable plan now.

Oh sh!t never mind. I guess you have to be in a plan with a high deductible for you to qualify.

"An HSA qualified health plan is a health insurance plan with a minimum deductible of $1,150 (single coverage), or $2,300 (family coverage). Maximum annual in-network out-of-pocket expenses are $5,800 (single coverage) or $11,600 (family coverage)."

Second question...Anyone know what happens if you originally qualified because you were in a high deductible plan and than were able to obtain health coverage that wasn't considered "high"? What happens to your HSA account.

Just trying to do some retirement planning in about 30 years from today. :)

This sort of sucks. I wish the U.S. had some tax-advantaged ways to accumulate $$$ for future medical expenses that you could carry around regardless of which employer(s) you are at.

Thanks. I didn't realize there was a high deductible health plan clause until I read the fine print. Guess I'll just have to count on Medicare being there. :(

I have had an HSA for 3 years. I am 39 now, no kids, and haven't been to the doctor in that time. I have saved $10,000 in that time. If you or your kids frequent doctors regularly, then stay away. The gamble has, so far, paid off for me. With the name Flu, this doesn't seem like the plan for you.

At 65yo that money can be pulled out like a 401k with no medical need.

The beauty of an HSA is it's deducted from your income going in, and it's not taxed coming out if you use it for medical expenses. Your account pays for your deductible, so it's all tax-free. It rolls over every year and keeps growing, and you can invest it anywhere you want (cd's for example).

"Medical expenses" are loosely defined, here.

I pay less with an HSA and get better service. The "high deductible" costs less than the premiums for regular insurance, the account is tax-free, and rolls over every year. I think it's the best thing Bush did.

I agree. I have one and it has been great so far. I typically just use it for emergency care or high expense items like glasses. If I need to go to the doctor, I pay out of pocket. If he prescribes me something, I really won't fill it unless it will actually make me better and isn't just to ameliorate the discomfort.

I've found that with an HSA, that I self meter my usage of the doctor--I really won't go unless it is for either an annual checkup or a serious illness. I won't go for the sniffles...because I'm paying the bills.

This is one thing that really bothers me about 'free' health care. If people don't pay for it, there is no disincentive to using it even when they don't need it.

I got to test my insurance company and my plan last year. Went to the ER with chest pains (thinking heart attack). They hospitalized me and ran a bunch of tests. Even did an angio. Turned out that I was fine but the symptoms had them concerned which is why they ran the tests.

$25k hospital bill cost me just my deductible...which I had in my HSA account, and then some. Hate to think what I would have done to come up with the money if I had a regular plan with a similar deductible but no HSA.

To my knowledge, if you have an HSA, and then switch health plans to an HMO or something that is not HSA eligible, you can no longer contribute to the HSA but you can continue to use the balance for medical purposes until the balance is $0.

My HSA has been great for a few years now. Basically a high deductable PPO, even with kids. The monthly premium is much lower than my previous low ded. ppo, plus I get a big tax advantage because I'm paying with pre-tax money. It works out even if I use up all the contributions for the year vs. my previous ppo. But so far, I have always had money left over.

Thanks for some input folks. Question. For folks that think HSA is a good thing, can you disclose whether you are exclusively self employed or not? Nostra, I believe you are. What about the rest of you?

Just wondering if some of you are either are partially self-employed and also work at a company that offers health coverage or fully employed at a company AND elected to do an HSA plan....If you are at least partially employed by another employer with health coverage, was the non-HSA plan really that bad?

yes, self employed and incorporated...I pay about $170/month for healthcare for myself with an HSA compatible account and contribute the max to the HSA account every month.

One thing to be aware of...Klownifornia isn't on board the HSA band wagon yet so your CA tax return doesn't allow you to write off the contributions. You can only write them off your federal return.

I work for the Fed. Govt and wanted more $ taken out before taxes. The other choices were fine, but I didn't use them and wanted to save more after maxing out the 401k and Roth.

I'm 46, single, no kids, self-employed. I've had an HSA for a couple of years now and love it. Like someone said upthread: not good for people who like to go to the doctor every 10 minutes or who have kids. My plan is through Kaiser, with a $5k deductible and I deposit $200 each month automatically from my checking account into the HSA.

If I had a major accident, I would have my deductible 2/3 covered right now. I really love the freedom of not worrying whether a doctor I want to see is "in plan" or not. I see who I want and write a check right out of the HSA account.

Fees tend to be more negotiable when paying cash.

I also don't have to decide what my plan is or isn't going to cover. Chiropractic, massage, acupuncture.....I do what I want for my health. I control the costs and make the decisions.

My opinion, if you are the right kind of person and willing to keep yourself healthy -- an HSA is a great plan.

If you aren't sure, sit down and write out what you can afford to pay each month. Then write down the benefits you would like to have available to you. Somewhere between available benefits and at the price you can pay is where your best option is.

I just switched the company to an HSA Plan. I love that it puts my employees and myself into a Health Consumer mentatlity and not a Beneficiary. It is the Beneficiary mentality that has cost so many of us double digit premium increases over the years. Many HSA plans can cover 100% w/o a deductible an annual physical. You can max out a contribution to your account each year you have the plan and have funds saved for any future expense. If you do, you can look to increase a deductible knowing you are covered in your account to save current dollars on monthly premiums. I wish everyone was responsible enough to be HSA plan members or that any potential change of nationalized healthcare would force people to be Health Consumers.