HSA Insurance questions

[smitty81]

My employer is willing to pay for health insurance for my family but I have to cover the deductible.

There is an option of getting an HSA insurance plan. I kind of understand how it works. You put money in, it accumulates like a savings account and you can use it on medical expenses.

I was wondering if anyone knew how this would affect my taxes at the end of the year, I don't quite understand the tax part of it all.

[Subvet642]

Originally Posted by smitty81

My employer is willing to pay for health insurance for my family but I have to cover the deductible.

There is an option of getting an HSA insurance plan. I kind of understand how it works. You put money in, it accumulates like a savings account and you can use it on medical expenses.

I was wondering if anyone knew how this would affect my taxes at the end of the year, I don't quite understand the tax part of it all.

HSA funds are pre-tax, so it's kinda like having less money to tax.

[mosesbotbol]

Unless for sure you know you'll have X amount of dollars used a year on health care deductions, I'd be wary of putting money into it.

[14holestogie]

Originally Posted by mosesbotbol

Unless for sure you know you'll have X amount of dollars used a year on health care deductions, I'd be wary of putting money into it.

Yes, use it or lose it. They have worksheets to help you estimate what you may need.

A side benefit is if you know you're going in for some work (ie: Lasik or the like), you can actually schedule it in January, the provider get paid in full, and you have all year to pay it off, interest free.

[pnoon]

It's a use it or lose it setup.

[14holestogie]

Originally Posted by pnoon

It's a use it or lose it setup.

I know. We've been doing about $1400 a year and never had any problems using it up until this year. The little woman has been healthier than usual this year. I may have to find something else to spend the left-overs.

I wonder how much penis extension I can get for $1000.

[Subvet642]

Originally Posted by 14holestogie

... I wonder how much penis extension I can get for $1000.

For that much you can have a hooker give it the "ol' college try" for a couple days.

[CigarNut]

Originally Posted by pnoon

It's a use it or lose it setup.

Not quite true. There are two kinds of HSA accounts. The most common is a use-it-or-lose-it account but there is a second kind of HSA that your employer can make available where you can carry the funds over year-to-year. The account is yours and not your employer's so if you leave your employer you still have the account and can use it for medical expenses.

My employer offers both and my wife and I use both. The most unforuntate thing about this is that both are called "HSA" which makes things very confusing. There are some additional rules regarding the use of this second type of HSA account which I do not have in front of me...

[Zane]

Originally Posted by CigarNut

Not quite true. There are two kinds of HSA accounts. The most common is a use-it-or-lose-it account but there is a second kind of HSA that your employer can make available where you can carry the funds over year-to-year. The account is yours and not your employer's so if you leave your employer you still have the account and can use it for medical expenses.

My employer offers both and my wife and I use both. The most unforuntate thing about this is that both are called "HSA" which makes things very confusing. There are some additional rules regarding the use of this second type of HSA account which I do not have in front of me...

I think the difference is a "flex" account. I have the latter and love it. I am a pretty healthy guy so my money just keeps adding up. With the 2nd type you get a debit card vs. the first which is usually reimbursement. Also like you say you do get to take the account with you if you leave the company. The company usually takes care of the fee's associated with the account as well.

[jluck]

Originally Posted by CigarNut

Not quite true. There are two kinds of HSA accounts. The most common is a use-it-or-lose-it account but there is a second kind of HSA that your employer can make available where you can carry the funds over year-to-year. The account is yours and not your employer's so if you leave your employer you still have the account and can use it for medical expenses.

My employer offers both and my wife and I use both. The most unfortunate thing about this is that both are called "HSA" which makes things very confusing. There are some additional rules regarding the use of this second type of HSA account which I do not have in front of me...

This is what my work offers too. The HSA plan I chose keeps accumulating so I can take any remaining money in to retirement.

[smitty81]

Thanks for the info, I think I may just spring for the regular type of insurance.

[emopunker2004]

There was a big hoopla here a couple months back over our HSA that the city has us go through. Apparently the company was going under. Long story short, for a couple months nobody was able to use their HSA accounts or get refund checks for paying out of pocket up front from the HSA account. Eventually something was worked out. Just food for thought I guess.

[357]

Close. I've had a high-deductible insurance plan for 4 years now. They are usually coupled with either an HSA (Health Savings Account) or an FSA (Flexible Savings Account). Your employer usually kicks in a certain amount, how much depending on what type of coverage you pick; single, couple, family, etc. The two accounts are different.

With an FSA the amount you decide to contribute for the year is available on day 1 of that calendar year. You can use it to pay bills for service rendered during that calendar year. You have until the end of March the following year to do so. Any money not used by that time is lost. They try to justify this by saying employee turnover, and those who use their full amount and leave before actually contributing all of it, offsets the leftovers lost. Any leftover money goes to Uncle Sam.

With an HSA the amount available is realtime. Since your employer's contribution is usually on day 1, you don't start with nothing, but it's not the full yearly amount either. HSAs do not dictate when bills can be paid with what money. It's yours to use, even if you change employers. It rolls over year to year and you never lose that money until you spend it. What else is nice is you can change your contribution every pay period if you want. Since you haven't spend money not contributed, you're not locked in either. This flexibility is very nice. For many reasons listed, HSAs are preferred. I had one and my company change to an FSA due to cost savings on my employer's side. Sucks but I still like the high deductible plans. It forces you to shop for competitive prices which, I believe, drives down the overall costs of health care.

My