All -
This is my first year I have tried an HSA. In discussions with a family member (who pretty much follows most of the MMM lifestyle before hand - i.e: watch what you spend, invest wisely, enjoy life), we decided to try the high deductible plan.
The problem is, we have a family (and just had a baby) and I have a chronic illness which requires high priced medicine (thankfully they have deductible and co-pay assistance).
The Family deductible is $9000, $3000 per individual. The cost per month is more, but my employer contributes $200 per month to the HSA. Now, the non HSA plan isn't exactly employee friendly either (our hospital stay for the baby - c-section - was over $2K which while not horrendous isn't exactly cheap either).
Basically, the conversation that I had when comparing the plans was that our initial out of pocket will be higher, but in the end the payments will be lower + we'll get the tax break advantage (both cases the cost for the health care comes pre tax, but we have more taken out + contribution = lower take home income).. I'll have to look for the specifics.
So I guess the question I'm asking is:
Does someone with a high medical cost expectation get the benefits, financially, from an HSA is they have to either (a) continue to hit the HSA or (b) never have enough in the HSA to cover the deductible until the end of the year (i.e.: they lose the ability to invest the money they do have because they have to wait for it.
I hope this made sense...
Thanks for the help.