HSA and high deductible health plan?

My wife and I have HMO for years. My employer has added a high deductible PPO plan (with a Health Savings Account) next year. This PPO plan has the same $80 monthly premium as HMO. But it has a $5000 deductible, 20% co-insurance. My company will contribution $2000 to my Health Savings Account. Plus I can contribute $5,800 pre-tax money to my HSA account.

They say HSA is for young and healthy people. We are up 40's but we live a very healthy life style. $2000 is more than enough to cover all the expense base on our health spending history.

Any suggestions whether we should go with this new PPO plan or stay with HMO?

I went with a plan that had a HSA. I thought of it as a way to save $5k+ and get a tax savings. I am also counting on building up for retirememt because if you use that money on health care it is all tax free. Don't see any negative as you get a tax break going in and then as long as you use it to pay for medical you can grow it and take it out tax free.

I like the idea of building up the HSA for retirement if you don't use the money now. Medicare does not cover dental care or hearing aids and it's not great on prescriptions. I can't imagine benefits will get any more generous as the baby boomers retire. My husband is 69 so I'm starting to see what it costs to be healthy and comfortable in retirement!

I never realized the HSA can carry over. I generally thought it was a "use or lose" plan. My wife handles our health insurance/HSA, so I never paid it much attention.

http://www.irs.gov/publications/p969/ar02.html#d0e873

Part of the reason we are steeped in a national health care crisis is that so-called experts have us thinking that the be all and end all of the "best" health plan is a $10 or $20 office co-pay and a $250 or $500 deductible ( what hte experts forget is they have unlimited ER, UR and Rx co-pays). Because of all the co-pays these plans aren't good for ANYONE -- especially the old and sick (who the "experts" say should stay with co-pay plans. There is no debate whatsoever on this. THINK ABOUT IT!

Which plan would ANYBODY rather have (even forgetting about the premiums or cost of the insurance) if you were to be so sick that you had to be on 10 of the most expensive prescription drugs and your choice was between the low deductible co-pay plan (where your Rx co-pays of $50 each x 10 prescriptions would total $500 per month -- OR $6000 per year -- just for Rx co-pays for one person mind you..............in addition to a much higher insurance premium....

OR would you rather have a plan that can be used with an HSA where your maximum family deductible is $5000 and once you have reached that point the insurance pays for EVERYTHING 100%-- INCLUDING Rx for EVERYONE in the family??? After your tax savings the deductible might really only cost you $3500 in a 30% tax bracket.

Which is the plan where you reach a point where the insurance company actually PROTECTS you from further loss????? It is not and was NEVER a co-pay plan. They have ALWAYS been the most OVERPRICED and OFFERED THE LEAST COVERAGE for your premium dollar.

The correct answer is the good old fashioned insurance WITHOUT co-pays where your office visits are covered subject to the deductible. Nowadays they are called HDHPs or High Deductible Health Plans that can be used along side a Health Savings Account. Once the deductible is met you are covered 100% for EVERYTHING -- including the office visits.

In a co-pay plan you are NEVER covered 100% for office visits, prescriptions, Emergency room or urgent care. So what good is it? The answer is NO GOOD.

TRUST ME on this. I KNOW what I'm talking about. I have been helping clients with HSA plans when they first came out and with MSA plans before that.

Secondly you NEVER want to choose an HMO if you have an option of choosing a PPO or Indemnity plan. Why this is, is because in an HMO, the HMO controls your care via a gatekeeper (the primary care doctor). With a PPO, YOU control your care and YOU make the decisions about which doctors you'll see and which tests you'll have etc. and have coverage both inside and outside the network if you should choose it. Granted these plans can be more expensive but if you choose a PPO with a high deductible and set up an HSA account and make your contributions, when everything is said and done, your costs, and coverage should be far better than they would be with the HMO.

I hope this helps everyone. I have some great tutorials on HSAs if anyone is interested and ways to make sure you NEVER overpay for health insurance again. Also I know a LOT about the scam plans out there and how you can avoid them.