I was an early adopter of the HSA/HDHP, mainly because of the tax benefits.
In the beginning, they started off great. The concept was simple - we will just give you the money, so you can shop around and find the best deal for you. You had more freedom to choose your health care options and where you kept your HSA funds.
Nowadays, they aren't all that great. Insurance companies have learned to game the system to their advantage and have been able to change some of the rules.
- You can no longer use your HSA for OTC medications, unless you have a prescription from a doctor. Which means you will probably have to pay to see a doctor (In my case, around $80 per visit) even if you want to take a $5 OTC flu medication.
- You have fewer choices were you can keep your HSA funds for the insurers contribution. Now most insurers require you to use their own "HSA custodian", which basically loads the funds to a prepaid Visa or MasterCard, which have their own set of additional fees, instead of an FDIC insured back account.
NOTE: for your contribution, you DO have a choice of where you keep the funds (for now), but insurance companies don't make that clear.
- The price of many medications (even generic) have gone up drastically. This drains any savings you have accumulated in your HSA rather quickly, which means the rest is paid out of pocket. For example, I was taking a generic medication for gout that was $10 for a 30 day supply. Then one day it shot up to $300 a month.
So here's my take:
An HSA might be good option if:
- You are healthy, don't have any chronic conditions, and don't expect any problems anytime soon. (So funds in your HSA have time to accrue.)
- You have the ability to contribute to the yearly max amount (around $3,350 for an individual for 2016), after you made your TSP contributions.
- You are in a high tax bracket, and need the tax relief.
An HSA might not be a good choice if:
- You have a chronic condition.
- Paying hundreds of dollars for a medication that formally cost you $15 on your old plan will be a shock to you. (I've seen people hit their $1,500 deductible after a couple of months on a HDHP, when their HSA only had about $100. The difference, you gotta pay our of pocket.
Hope this helps
-Ed
__._,_.___
Posted by: Ed - W3TEC <edrann@gmail.com>
| Reply via web post | • | Reply to sender | • | Reply to group | • | Start a New Topic | • | Messages in this topic (3) |
Neither the TSP Strategy group, nor individual members, are licensed or authorized to provide investment advice. Any statements made herein merely reflect the personal opinions of the individual group member. Please make your own investment decisions based upon your personal circumstances.
.
__,_._,___
Anda baru saja membaca artikel yang berkategori dengan judul [TSP_Strategy] Re: Can we talk Open Season?. Anda bisa bookmark halaman ini dengan URL https://1stleadershipworkshop.blogspot.com/2015/11/tspstrategy-re-can-we-talk-open-season_12.html. Terima kasih!
Ditulis oleh:
Andriansyah -
Belum ada komentar untuk "[TSP_Strategy] Re: Can we talk Open Season?"
Post a Comment