hsa monthly premium

[cjw7]

I currently don't have health insurance.  I would only need a catastrophic plan but can't get one since I'm over 30. I was looking into hsa plans since it seems a great option for investing, but I would like an idea of what some single mustachians are paying in monthly premiums and if you think my quote is too much. The quotes I got were around 250 cheapest per month, which seems insanely expensive before I even contribute to an hsa account. I am 37, female, healthy, have never had any medical problems and have never used or needed health insurance in my life.

[DocCyane]

Perhaps I'm misunderstanding your terminology.

To get health insurance, you need to go to the Obamacare website for your state, if they have coverage, or the federal one if they don't.

Pick a plan that meets your health and financial needs, and pay the monthly premium.

An HSA is a health savings account. You put money in here to shelter it from taxes and pay for medical needs in the short or long term. It is not health insurance. There is no monthly fee.

[cjw7]

don't I have to have a high deductible health plan to contribute to an hsa account? That is where I am looking at around 250/month premiums.

[DocCyane]

Yes. To qualify to put money in an HSA, you need to have a high deductible plan. I'm not sure what the exact numbers are that qualify.

But in truth, I'm not sure this is heavily enforced. I had to send some documentation to open mine, but they have not asked for it since.

[DocCyane]

https://hsaadministrators.info

This is my HSA by the way. The program invests in Vanguard accounts.

[keepitsimple]

That sounds about normal for a high dedutcible plan.  We pay about $530/month for a high-deductible family plan and that's just the EMPLOYEE portion.  Plus we still contribute to an HSA on top of that.

[cjw7]

that's nuts and you don't get anything for that premium.

[cjw7]

Yes. To qualify to put money in an HSA, you need to have a high deductible plan. I'm not sure what the exact numbers are that qualify.

But in truth, I'm not sure this is heavily enforced. I had to send some documentation to open mine, but they have not asked for it since.

are you saying that I can sign up for hdhp, then hsa and drop the hdhp but still contribute to the hsa?

[DocCyane]

I'm not encouraging any action.

I'm just saying that I haven't had to prove the type of insurance I carry in anything but the first year I contributed to an HSA.

[GregO]

That sounds about normal for a high dedutcible plan.  We pay about $530/month for a high-deductible family plan and that's just the EMPLOYEE portion.

that's nuts and you don't get anything for that premium.

The purpose of getting a high deductible health insurance plan is to protect yourself against being bankrupted by a large medical bill.  It doesn't take much to run up a $100,000 medical bill: just one trip to the ER and a few nights at the hospital.  Just because your healthy doesn't mean that something like that couldn't happen.  It would be prudent to get a high deductible plan to protect yourself from being responsible for a massive medical bill, not just to have the ability to invest in an HSA.  An HSA is a nice perk and I would recommend getting an insurance plan that qualifies for one, but you should have medical insurance regardless unless you have very little assets and are prepared to claim bankruptcy if you had a medical emergency.

[DocCyane]

I agree with GregO. It doesn't matter how young or healthy you are. You can get a serious illness and need the coverage.

I got bacterial gastroenteritis and it almost killed me. No amount of yoga or healthy eating could have prevented that. Three doctor visits, a trip to the ER, and weeks worth of intense medication were required.

Get the insurance.

[cjw7]

does anyone know why the catastrophic plans are not available for over 30 and if I am even correct on this?

[dodojojo]

I have a high deductible plan with Blue Cross--$120 monthly and a $5,000 deductible.  Basic annual prevention visits are $0.  It's a not a HSA but I don't quite understand how you're not eligible for a high deductible plan and why it would cost $250?  Maybe it depends on the state of residency?

I'm in my 40's by the way.

I'm going to end this plan very soon as I started a new job that offers health plan options.  But this plan has provided me decent coverage the last two years as I worked as a contractor.  The contracting company offered health care but it was an expensive plan that had 4X the monthly rate I paid for my own plan.  And I didn't think it offered 4X the coverage.

[cjw7]

I'm not eligible for a catastrophic plan, which is what I was initially looking into b/c the monthly premiums were so cheap. That is, until I saw that they are not available for those over 30.
I don't know why the hdhp option costs so much for me as I am healthy and don't smoke. The only reason I can think of is obamacare making healthy persons subsidize medicare.

[GGNoob]

https://hsaadministrators.info

This is my HSA by the way. The program invests in Vanguard accounts.

My wife's HSA is here as well. Our (well my) fund of choice is the Vanguard LifeStrategy Growth Fund. We do not plan on reimbursing ourselves any medical expenses for quite some time to allow our HSA to build up. My wife has a HDHP with a deductible of $5,000 that she pays $88 a month for through work. We then max out her HSA contributions by contributing $275 a month to hit the $3,300 a year maximum.