My partner and I (both students, 33 and 27 yo, respectively) are in the midst of deciding what to do for his health insurance this coming year. Although he's eligible for student health insurance ($3000 premium in one lump sum, $500 deductible), we're thinking of going for a plan we found on the marketplace ($147/mo = $1764/yr premium and $6000 deductible -- appears to be HSA eligible). He's 33, in decent health, non-smoker/drinker, etc, and we having savings to cover the deductible if needed. It seems like the HSA-eligible plan is superior assuming we don't incur more than $1750 in out-of-pocket costs throughout the next year. However, since this isn't an employer-sponsored plan, I have some questions concerning opening an HSA.
1) Can anyone recommend institutions at which to open an HSA? My favorites from research seem to be HSA Bank (
http://www.hsabank.com/hsabank/Accountholders) and Health Savings Administrators (
http://www.hsaadministrators.info/).
2) Any recommendations on what funds? I am aware we should find a low-fee mutual fund, but could use recommendations on which specifically.
3) Any recommendations on amount to fund or funding schedule? We have $2000 set aside in a savings account for medical expenses (was previously earmarked to go to the student health insurance lump-sum payment -- this $2000 is separate from our emergency fund). We could afford to max out the $3300/yr allowed in HSA plans if needed. We're not currently saving for any retirement accounts, as we're throwing everything at paying off student loans early (currently paying ~$2000/mo for loans in deferment; will resume retirement savings once we've paid off all student loans with >4.5% interest rates). I'm unsure whether we should max out the HSA, just put in the $2000 we have, or not fund it at all -- my partner graduates in the spring of 2015 and will hopefully be finding a job with health insurance through his employer.
Thanks, all!!