Since open enrollment started today, I have been looking at the available plans. I have a few general questions about them, and I figured that some of the people here might know something that I don't know.
I'm under 30 and looking for a catastrophic plan. No subsidies, so I'm open to buying off of the marketplace. I'm healthy and don't need much coverage. I'm on a catastrophic plan now that is not HSA eligible. I just figured I picked a bad plan. Ok, whatever, my plan for this year was to grab the cheapest plan that they have, an HSA, and be on with my life.
But when I went to the marketplace, the only HSA compliant plans are expensive with mid-level deductibles. When I looked closer, it appears that the deductible on the catastrophic plan is too high to be HSA eligible. What?
Here's what I found:
HSA max out of pocket deductible (single person): $6,550
ACA catastrophic plan deductible (single person): $7,150
So the prices end up being:
My catastrophic plan now: $155
Cheapest catastrophic plan for 2017: $198 (no HSA)
Cheapest "HSA eligible" plan for 2017: $256 (bronze)
I feel like I have to be missing something. Is there any way that the catastrophic plans are not HSA eligible? Is there some exception that I'm not seeing? Is this just some bureaucratic oversight?
I tried to google this but didn't see anything directly on point. Any thoughts/ideas are appreciated.