HDHP Update

[minnesotapaintlady]

I started a thread back in 2018 during open enrollment when I was trying to decide whether or not to go with the HDHP at work...here's a link to that if anyone is interested. ymam.proboards.com/thread/58389/finally-offered-hdhp-hsa?page=1

I decided against it that year...mainly because I was worried about financial aid.  Well, I found out later that that is only an issue with non-payroll deducted HSA contributions so went with the HDHP the next year and it started in 2020.

Well, it's been almost 5 years now tracking how this is working out and omg, I love my HDHP and HSA.

In the past 5 years I have saved $18,285 in premiums and received 5K in HSA contributions from my employer...so $23,825 in my favor.

I have SPENT $17,710 OOP in those five years (and I'm including anything that the HSA went for so it also included glasses and dental work), so even if my low deductible plan covered absolutely everything the past 5 years with no deductible or out of pocket costs at all (including glasses and dental which it obviously wouldn't), I'd still be over 6K ahead.

But, the best part?  The HSA and being able to invest it with Fidelity.  I've contributed $30,770 to date (including employer contributions), paid EVERY SINGLE NICKEL of my $17,710 in expenses out of the HSA the past 5 years and I still have $28,423 in the account!  

[bookkeeper]

And the benefits continue into retirement.  The HSA contribution has been our one big tax benefit when we retired early at age 55 and 50.  We have contributed the max to our accounts while buying health insurance from the marketplace.

DH turned 65 this year, so his contributions are done.  We should spend his account in the next few years reimbursing long term care premiums and out of pocket expenses. I can contribute for the next 5 years and plan to max my contributions.

[giramomma]

Nice!

I ended up chickening out after I did being pregnant on an HDHP plan.  We spent 6K in medical costs that year. That was the only year, and then we switched back.

On our normal plan, my treatment ran me 1K. I shudder to think of what it would have cost on a HDHP.

The difference between our HDHP and normal plan is 100 a month. We only get like 1500 too.

I can convert unused sick leave (I never use it) to cover health insurance premiums in retirement. If my health holds, I think I'll have 4 years of coverage from 60ish until I get on medicare. That's about 100K in benefits there. I guess I'm satisfied enough with that.

[minnesotapaintlady]

Aug 19, 2024 22:09:03 GMT -5 giramomma said:

On our normal plan, my treatment ran me 1K. I shudder to think of what it would have cost on a HDHP.

On my HDHP it would have been $6750 max (and the lower premiums plus the employer contributions to HSA would cover about 5K of that). That's another thing I love about it. It's so straightforward and you know what the worst case scenario is.  No endless copays that don't apply to the deductible. you just pay everything (at the negotiated price) until X dollars, and then you're done.  Carrot met his max OOP in 2021 with his surgery, then after that it was like whatever we wanted is 100% covered. I took advantage of that and signed him up for several months of EMDR therapy that was normally $270/week.

Even if we hit the max family OOP for the next 3 years ($13,500/year) I'll still be ahead. The odds of that happening are pretty slim though with only two family members. Basically we'd both have to have something fairly major happen.  The stressful year was the first one before there was any savings built up but after that it doesn't even phase me to get medical bills. They just get paid out of the HSA. 

[minnesotapaintlady]

Aug 19, 2024 20:28:46 GMT -5 bookkeeper said:

And the benefits continue into retirement.  The HSA contribution has been our one big tax benefit when we retired early at age 55 and 50.  We have contributed the max to our accounts while buying health insurance from the marketplace.

DH turned 65 this year, so his contributions are done.  We should spend his account in the next few years reimbursing long term care premiums and out of pocket expenses. I can contribute for the next 5 years and plan to max my contributions.

I've been researching my Marketplace options and hope to keep an HSA eligible plan as well but not sure if I'll be able to or not. It depends on the network I decide on and if I am covering a dependent at the same time...apparently that changes my options, as does my income. 

[Opti]

I have a HDHP and I chose to do the FSA through payroll deduction but did not touch the HSA. My employer is small so many of the perks you have on this thread, I do not. Sick days can be used, but generally disappear at year end. In fact vacation carry over has been greatly reduced in the time I have been there, less than 3 years.

I would like to learn how HSA could help. I will be eligible to apply for Medicare next year, but I do not know when I will do that.

[minnesotapaintlady]

Aug 20, 2024 4:19:33 GMT -5 Opti said:

I have a HDHP and I chose to do the FSA through payroll deduction but did not touch the HSA. My employer is small so many of the perks you have on this thread, I do not. Sick days can be used, but generally disappear at year end. In fact vacation carry over has been greatly reduced in the time I have been there, less than 3 years.

I would like to learn how HSA could help. I will be eligible to apply for Medicare next year, but I do not know when I will do that.

How small of a company?  If it's under 20 people they can require you to take Medicare rather than continue to cover you.

[Rukh O'Rorke]

Aug 19, 2024 15:20:08 GMT -5 minnesotapaintlady said:

I started a thread back in 2018 during open enrollment when I was trying to decide whether or not to go with the HDHP at work...here's a link to that if anyone is interested. ymam.proboards.com/thread/58389/finally-offered-hdhp-hsa?page=1

I decided against it that year...mainly because I was worried about financial aid.  Well, I found out later that that is only an issue with non-payroll deducted HSA contributions so went with the HDHP the next year and it started in 2020.

Well, it's been almost 5 years now tracking how this is working out and omg, I love my HDHP and HSA.

In the past 5 years I have saved $18,285 in premiums and received 5K in HSA contributions from my employer...so $23,825 in my favor.

I have SPENT $17,710 OOP in those five years (and I'm including anything that the HSA went for so it also included glasses and dental work), so even if my low deductible plan covered absolutely everything the past 5 years with no deductible or out of pocket costs at all (including glasses and dental which it obviously wouldn't), I'd still be over 6K ahead.

But, the best part?  The HSA and being able to invest it with Fidelity.  I've contributed $30,770 to date (including employer contributions), paid EVERY SINGLE NICKEL of my $17,710 in expenses out of the HSA the past 5 years and I still have $28,423 in the account!  

crap, I'm such a slacker. I think I switched to HSA around the same time, have never made a claim, and have less money because....I never invested it.

[minnesotapaintlady]

Aug 20, 2024 8:44:18 GMT -5 Rukh O'Rorke said:

Aug 19, 2024 15:20:08 GMT -5 minnesotapaintlady said:

I started a thread back in 2018 during open enrollment when I was trying to decide whether or not to go with the HDHP at work...here's a link to that if anyone is interested. ymam.proboards.com/thread/58389/finally-offered-hdhp-hsa?page=1

I decided against it that year...mainly because I was worried about financial aid.  Well, I found out later that that is only an issue with non-payroll deducted HSA contributions so went with the HDHP the next year and it started in 2020.

Well, it's been almost 5 years now tracking how this is working out and omg, I love my HDHP and HSA.

In the past 5 years I have saved $18,285 in premiums and received 5K in HSA contributions from my employer...so $23,825 in my favor.

I have SPENT $17,710 OOP in those five years (and I'm including anything that the HSA went for so it also included glasses and dental work), so even if my low deductible plan covered absolutely everything the past 5 years with no deductible or out of pocket costs at all (including glasses and dental which it obviously wouldn't), I'd still be over 6K ahead.

But, the best part?  The HSA and being able to invest it with Fidelity.  I've contributed $30,770 to date (including employer contributions), paid EVERY SINGLE NICKEL of my $17,710 in expenses out of the HSA the past 5 years and I still have $28,423 in the account!  

crap, I'm such a slacker. I think I switched to HSA around the same time, have never made a claim, and have less money because....I never invested it.

The HSA is my favorite (actually only) place I play around with individual stocks. The bulk of it is in cash, but anything over a year's worth of max OOP I feel comfortable taking risk with.

[bean29]

Aug 19, 2024 15:20:08 GMT -5 minnesotapaintlady said:

I started a thread back in 2018 during open enrollment when I was trying to decide whether or not to go with the HDHP at work...here's a link to that if anyone is interested. ymam.proboards.com/thread/58389/finally-offered-hdhp-hsa?page=1

I decided against it that year...mainly because I was worried about financial aid.  Well, I found out later that that is only an issue with non-payroll deducted HSA contributions so went with the HDHP the next year and it started in 2020.

Well, it's been almost 5 years now tracking how this is working out and omg, I love my HDHP and HSA.

In the past 5 years I have saved $18,285 in premiums and received 5K in HSA contributions from my employer...so $23,825 in my favor.

I have SPENT $17,710 OOP in those five years (and I'm including anything that the HSA went for so it also included glasses and dental work), so even if my low deductible plan covered absolutely everything the past 5 years with no deductible or out of pocket costs at all (including glasses and dental which it obviously wouldn't), I'd still be over 6K ahead.

But, the best part?  The HSA and being able to invest it with Fidelity.  I've contributed $30,770 to date (including employer contributions), paid EVERY SINGLE NICKEL of my $17,710 in expenses out of the HSA the past 5 years and I still have $28,423 in the account!  

What fund are you invested in for your HSA? I have ~$32,000, 60% in FXAIX (Fidelity 500 Fund), but the other 40% is just in a money market.  I think I will move about $7,000 more to an index fund. I have to figure out how to move my weekly contributions to automatically be invested.  ETA I purposely left part in the money market so I could use it for annual out of pocket expenses, but at this point I will probably just tell them to move my weekly contribution right to an index fund investment.

[Opti]

Aug 20, 2024 7:37:24 GMT -5 minnesotapaintlady said:

Aug 20, 2024 4:19:33 GMT -5 Opti said:

I have a HDHP and I chose to do the FSA through payroll deduction but did not touch the HSA. My employer is small so many of the perks you have on this thread, I do not. Sick days can be used, but generally disappear at year end. In fact vacation carry over has been greatly reduced in the time I have been there, less than 3 years.

I would like to learn how HSA could help. I will be eligible to apply for Medicare next year, but I do not know when I will do that.

How small of a company?  If it's under 20 people they can require you to take Medicare rather than continue to cover you.

Over 50 less than 100.

[minnesotapaintlady]

Aug 20, 2024 11:12:45 GMT -5 bean29 said:

Aug 19, 2024 15:20:08 GMT -5 minnesotapaintlady said:

I started a thread back in 2018 during open enrollment when I was trying to decide whether or not to go with the HDHP at work...here's a link to that if anyone is interested. ymam.proboards.com/thread/58389/finally-offered-hdhp-hsa?page=1

I decided against it that year...mainly because I was worried about financial aid.  Well, I found out later that that is only an issue with non-payroll deducted HSA contributions so went with the HDHP the next year and it started in 2020.

Well, it's been almost 5 years now tracking how this is working out and omg, I love my HDHP and HSA.

In the past 5 years I have saved $18,285 in premiums and received 5K in HSA contributions from my employer...so $23,825 in my favor.

I have SPENT $17,710 OOP in those five years (and I'm including anything that the HSA went for so it also included glasses and dental work), so even if my low deductible plan covered absolutely everything the past 5 years with no deductible or out of pocket costs at all (including glasses and dental which it obviously wouldn't), I'd still be over 6K ahead.

But, the best part?  The HSA and being able to invest it with Fidelity.  I've contributed $30,770 to date (including employer contributions), paid EVERY SINGLE NICKEL of my $17,710 in expenses out of the HSA the past 5 years and I still have $28,423 in the account!  

What fund are you invested in for your HSA? I have ~$32,000, 60% in FXAIX (Fidelity 500 Fund), but the other 40% is just in a money market.  I think I will move about $7,000 more to an index fund. I have to figure out how to move my weekly contributions to automatically be invested.  ETA I purposely left part in the money market so I could use it for annual out of pocket expenses, but at this point I will probably just tell them to move my weekly contribution right to an index fund investment.

Right now about 12K is cash/money market funds.  There's 9K in FZROX and the other 7K is in individual stock.

[Rukh O'Rorke]

Aug 20, 2024 11:39:48 GMT -5 minnesotapaintlady said:

Aug 20, 2024 11:12:45 GMT -5 bean29 said:

What fund are you invested in for your HSA? I have ~$32,000, 60% in FXAIX (Fidelity 500 Fund), but the other 40% is just in a money market.  I think I will move about $7,000 more to an index fund. I have to figure out how to move my weekly contributions to automatically be invested.  ETA I purposely left part in the money market so I could use it for annual out of pocket expenses, but at this point I will probably just tell them to move my weekly contribution right to an index fund investment.

the other 7K is in individual stock.

spill! is this the rocketlb you mentioned? others?

[minnesotapaintlady]

Aug 20, 2024 18:37:02 GMT -5 Rukh O'Rorke said:

Aug 20, 2024 11:39:48 GMT -5 minnesotapaintlady said:

the other 7K is in individual stock.

spill! is this the rocketlb you mentioned? others?

The 7K is RKLB, yes.  I bought it for about 4K back in February and its up almost 60%. Trying to decide if I want to just sell and lock in the profit or hold on for awhile. This is the second time I owned it. Last time I bought for 3 and sold for 7.   I also bought NCLH again today...for the second time.    Made a profit off that one a couple years ago too.

[Rukh O'Rorke]

Interesting!

I'm trying to wind down my individual stock holdings, and go more towards indexes as I near retirement, and more cash! and just getting older/more cautious overall. 

But the HSA isn't an account I want to be cautious with. It is not a lot, and I'd keep 1-2 years of deductibles in cash. Just fighting inertia in terms of investing it. And if I invest that money, would like to take some more 401k out of stocks to balance as I'm trying to build cash, and then with ind stocks, it's hard to pick what to sell.

I'll have to try harder to do what I envision, rather than cogitating on it for years. Those are slipping by fast these days. 

I do have another HSA account from days of yore in some other place. Need to get that into my fidelity account too.

[minnesotapaintlady]

Yeah, beyond having at least a year of max OOP in cash I look at my HSA a little like play money.  

Although in hindsight I am kind of sad I didn't buy the RKLB in my Roth...and a lot more of it.    I wouldn't be lamenting how to pay off this HELOC that's for sure. Can't think like that though or I'll get myself in trouble! Sticking with 100% S&P for the Roth.

[haapai]

I wish that I had kept better records of how well my HDHP and HSA have worked for me.  I do not.  The HSA has a nice balance but I haven't kept track of all the rest of the savings. 

[raeoflyte]

We saved so much money in the hdhp plan. Now that one wasnt available we're paying $951 a month in premiums and $1000 a month in medical expenses right now. We met our rx deductible of $700 a month in January but then we have to pay 50% of rx up to our oop max of $16k. The 50% cost is jacked up too so we're essentially paying the same as we would without insurance. This is with an employer blue cross blue shield ppo. Dh's job is supposed to have a hdhp in January although the premiums are going to be $1400 a month. I really need to get on the exchange again and look at options because to quote Harry Vanderspiegle from Resident Alien - this is some bullshit!

[daisylu]

We have been in HDHP for forever. It just made sense when DH's employer went to a marketplace type signup for benefits. The premium for family started out around $18/month, with Cigna, with a $4500 deductible - which we met 2 times in 8 years. Even now, he pays about $30 in premiums monthly but the deductible has gone to $6500. We have met that for this year, so now everything in network is covered 100%, even prescriptions. 

Our HSAs are LOADED.

It did help that we were young and healthy and other than picking normal germs our kids were healthy too. 

[Rukh O'Rorke]

Aug 22, 2024 7:30:06 GMT -5 raeoflyte said:

We saved so much money in the hdhp plan. Now that one wasnt available we're paying $951 a month in premiums and $1000 a month in medical expenses right now. We met our rx deductible of $700 a month in January but then we have to pay 50% of rx up to our oop max of $16k. The 50% cost is jacked up too so we're essentially paying the same as we would without insurance. This is with an employer blue cross blue shield ppo. Dh's job is supposed to have a hdhp in January although the premiums are going to be $1400 a month. I really need to get on the exchange again and look at options because to quote Harry Vanderspiegle from Resident Alien - this is some bullshit!

those prices are outrageous! hope you find something better soon.

[Rukh O'Rorke]

Aug 21, 2024 10:40:50 GMT -5 minnesotapaintlady said:

Yeah, beyond having at least a year of max OOP in cash I look at my HSA a little like play money.  

Although in hindsight I am kind of sad I didn't buy the RKLB in my Roth...and a lot more of it.    I wouldn't be lamenting how to pay off this HELOC that's for sure. Can't think like that though or I'll get myself in trouble! Sticking with 100% S&P for the Roth.

I really struggle about these more speculative plays in how much to invest. If you put enough in for it to really pay off its too much to potentially lose! I am getting a lot more cautous since I could rage quit at any moment, lol!