Anyone have any opinions or experience with Health Savings Accounts?
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Anyone have any opinions or experience with Health Savings Accounts?
My employer is giving us the option to switch from a PPO to a Health Savings Account. It's caused quite the debate around the office. Anyone have any opinions or experience with these things. They are very new. I opted to stay with the PPO.
UGH - YES!!!
I would stay with the PPO if you have the option, unless, of course, your employer is going to fund the HSA fully, up front. These type plans are generally high-deductible plans. Then, after the exorbitant deductible is met, most things are covered 100%.
We just changed to that in February, and thankfully, my employer funded the $2500 deductible for me up front. Otherwise, I would have fought to keep the PPO.
Still, it has caused problems. The doctors don't like it - instead of collecting my regular co-pay at each visit, they are filing with Blue Cross, and then when the EOB comes back with what the patient owes, I pay them. Except for my Primary Care - she has to be a hard*** about it and she made me write a check for $100 to her, when I KNOW the portion I will owe will be less than $60. She said she would refund me, and you can bet I'll make sure she does.
Another problem I've had is the pharmacy has problems with the HSA debit card. I had $500 worth of prescriptions 4 weeks ago (and will have the same ones today) and the message comes up that they have to ask for another method of payment. I don't know of it's because of the high amount or what, but at least I have a checkbook for the HSA account too.
Most places have the employees put in a set amount each paycheck and some match or contribute to it as well. But with a $2500 deductible, and knowing what my medical bills are, the only way I could afford it is if mine was funded up front. Since February I've used nearly $2000 of it already.
Another disadvantage is we no longer have the mail-in pharmacy benefit, where you get 3 months of a med for the price of 2. We hate not having that.
Ha! Our employer is only funding $100/month. Individual deductible is $3,000 and family (me) is $6,000!! Then it's 90/10.
We suspected there would be problems in doctor's offices. I don't have any docs that will bill you after the EOB.
I did not opt for it, but there are plenty of people here who are. I'm totally surprised. They think since they didn't use medical this year, they won't next year and they'll "make" money. I told them as soon as they get into financial trouble they are going to swipe their HSA debit card to pay a big car repair bill and then where will they be? The only way you get penalized is if the IRS audits your tax return.
I mean, what's next, an ATM card attached to my 401k)? I don't get the logic or benefit of HSA's.
Neither me. I suppose if you NEVER get sick, it would work in your favor. That's certainly not moi! LOL
They did not totally fund my boss's wife's HSA. They said *she doesn't go to the doctor often*. Well, she gets prescriptions and she has to have a mammogram soon - she just does NOT comprehend the whole concept of the HSA. For instance, when her debit card came, she assumed it was a credit card company trying to get her to open a new account so she cut it up. Then, 2 weeks later she came into the office screaming at me because she *had no insurance coverage* to pay for her prescriptions! Geesh!!!!!!
Oh yes, I can see that will happen here. The employees are making decisions and the spouses don't know about the switch or understand it.
Our HSA covers preventive stuff, like mammograms, paps and well baby, at 100% though. The doctor can't code anything else on it to have it be 100%.
I don't know. Looks like you are the only one familiar with these things. I think they just were put into law in January. Not much time to see how they work for large groups of people.
We had people going for it here because it cut their dependent premiums in half. That's all they saw, half price premiums. Eek!
Absolutely, stay with the PPO. And, if this is like most HSAs, if part of what is going into it is payroll deductions, what you don't use within the calendar year, you lose. My employer has PPO or HMO, AND a kind of health savings account thing (but not really) where I choose the amount to be deducted from my paycheck each week and use these pre-tax dollars to pay the copay and prescriptions. That is a good deal if you calculate carefully so that there is no money unspent at the end of the year, because it is pre-tax dollars, but the straight HSA, with your generous employer paying only $100 a month - no way, Jose.
You can thank the Republicans for that little idea, by the way.
Ginny we have that, ours is called a flex plan or cafeteria plan.
Right, Kaye. Flex plan. I couldn't remember the term.
Oh, the idea I meant, in terms of Republicans, was the Health Savings Plan, not the flex plan. Don't know whose idea that one was.
Yea, I know about the flex plan. If you are in the HSA you can't participate in the medical portion of the flex plan. In a flex plan, you are right, you lose it if you don't spend it. In an HSA you don't lose any of the money no matter who put it in. That's supposed to be the beauty of it. You keep rolling the balance over (if any, ha!) every year and it's like another retirement account. When you leave the company you take it with you. At 65 you can withdraw it for non-medical stuff without penalty (before age 65 you pay a 10% penalty and taxes *only* of the IRS audits you).
Oh, this is totally George Bush. I sat in the meeting where they explained it to us and I said to myself, This reeks of George Bush. He is determined to keep the rich rich, the corporations richer and the poor poor. Of course we all know what this is leading up to next - private social security accounts.
We had a flexible savings account (the pre-tax dollars) and DH had to fight for every reimbursement. We didn't do it again. It seemed like too much hassle. We had to keep running back to the optical shop for reciepts and stuff.
It depends on who/which firm is administering the flex plan. Fortunately, my employers tend to pick good managers so far, and the only question I had was to produce a receipt for my mail-order prescriptions. But one of my bosses uses it for childcare and had to get receipts from his childcare provider last December, which was a bit of a hassle for him. The really important thing to do with flex plans is to think ahead carefully on what you are likely to spend on medical care before you decide how much to have deducted from your paycheck, because what is not spent at the end of the year is gone, gone, gone. Which reminds me, I need to make some checkup appointments for just that reason.
Our flex plan is great, anytime i go see the doc and pay a co pay, then they mail me a check for the amount I spent.
If i do something different, like optical without insurance, or my homeopath I have to mail in the receipt.
Oh please ..... at least the Republicans HAVE an idea ... not just spouting Universal Healthcare like a mantra but not having any clue how to pay for it. And I'm sure the idea predates George Bush. I love how when anything goes the way we don't like it it's automatically the fault of the president or the republicans ...
We pay a ton of money for our health insurance. It was something I took for granted when I worked as a teacher. Our premiums alone amount to $12,000 a year! That's not counting deductibles or copays! And forget optical or dental!
But, I'll take that any day before going to a socialized medicine system!
Sorry, but the Republican, Bush Bashing, was getting a little thick.
Ame
Ditto, ditto Ame! I've never heard of the HSA, but at least it is an idea. Socialized medicine means a lack of cutting edge technology, the inability to choose your own doctor, and loooong waits for treatment and surgery. Just ask our Canadian moms. Sure it's *free*, but at a huge cost.
I'm sorry but this Canadian here has to disagree. I choose my own doctor, sure there are shortages in some areas of the country and yes there are long wait times for some surgeries, however, I would never, ever be turned away from healthcare regardless of my wealth or income. I also do not have an insurance company dictating to me as whom I can see as my doctor or when and at what cost.
As for lack of cutting edge technology, we are not living in the dark ages here some of the greatest advances in Diabetes and Cancer research have come from Canadian Doctors. Those of which people all over the world benefit from, not just Canadians.
As for health care being "Free" it is not, we pay a lot more tax than Americans, it is by no means free. We also have private insurance that we pay for to help cover the cost of medications.
Sorry but I have to say that I do prefer our system, everyone here is entitled to healthcare it's not just for those who can afford it. You don't hear people saying here "Gee I don't feel so great, but I can't go to the doctor because I don't have health iinsurance".
Here is what the treasury website says about how HSA's were created:
"Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) were created by the Medicare bill signed by President Bush on December 8, 2003 and are designed to help individuals save for future qualified medical and retiree health expenses on a tax-free basis."
Here's the link:
http://www.treas.gov/offices/public-affairs/hsa/
This is a George Bush thing. It's brand new. It'll be interesting to see how they do.
HSA's make sense to me if all you have as far as medical insurance is a high deductible plan because you are self employed (catastrophic coverage). Then you slide your HSA in there so you get some benefit while you work your way up to your deductible.
But to take a big firm or company and switch people from traditional health insurance to HSA - that is not good news for employees. Americans don't save money for their own retirement. Why should we think they will save money for their medical bills?
Could y'all all of a sudden pay the first $6,000 worth of medical bills and prescription drugs this year starting immediately? No co-pays. Full cash price.
Mommmie, that's what the agent and my boss's daughter - who is our bookkeeper - tried to use to sell me on this - that the money left over at the end of the year would be mine all mine! Well, I have medical problems, see doctors monthly, and am on a number of prescriptions. We went on this plan in February, my $2500 deductible will be met probably by June! Don't let them BS you, they go to this plan because it is CHEAPER, plain and simple. It's a joke to even think there will be money left in my HSA account in December - I told them all, I will be using up every penny of that puppy!
My coworker told me, *Yea, but you'll do better because WE are funding yours since you've been here so long, so you won't actually have any copays*. True - right NOW - but it's been the biggest pain. One of my monthly scripts is $299 alone - I used to pay a $20 copay for it. Actually, I am finding out how much these meds actually cost, that I used to pay a $10 or $20 copay for.
But I'd rather have the solid PPO we used to have. Never had any problems or worries with it. I would advise people to stick with the PPO, UNLESS it is 100% funded by their employer up front, like mine is, and and even then, there are problems. JMO..........
We have medical through point of service and we have flex pay too...
We used the flex pay for medical ( for glasses and dental an co pay and such... over 3,000 for us a year. ouch...)
and
flex play nursery school this year.(up to 5,000 a year)
The day care can be applied to certain camp expenses too...
It saved us alot of money... But we have the regular medical point of service on top of it..
We really need health care for everyone... It is just ridiculous...
What are we a third world country?
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