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Posted 1/3/2018 4:07 PM (GMT 0)
/www.investopedia.com/articles/personal-finance/090814/pros-and-cons-health-savings-account-hsa.asp

The above article is interesting. It breaks down the pros and cons of an HSA. An HSA is offered in combination with high deductible plans (HDHPs) - it is basically what I thought. It's an account that is available with certain insurance plans. Those plans tend to have low premiums but high out of pocket costs. The health saving account helps you to pay for the high out of pocket costs. The maximum you can put in the HSA in a year is $3400 for an individual. Seems like a lot, but many of these plans have deductibles that are much higher than that. It's not great for people with chronic illness in my opinion - it's great for healthy people.

From the article:

Somebody said...
That said, HSAs aren't ideal for everyone. If having a high deductible seems too risky to you – or if you anticipate having significant health care expenses – a plan with a lower deductible and lower co-pays might make more sense.

An FSA, anyone can participate in, with any insurance plan. That's what makes it appealing even though it has it's own set of cons.
Posted 1/3/2018 5:27 PM (GMT 0)
My account is called an HCSA. You don't use it you lose it.

I've used mine for LLMD expenses without issue. The company that manages our employer account pretty much requires a receipt for any amount or co-pay they can't verify through my insurance. LLMD Rx's have been covered by the health insurance. I hold the max amount out each year and always use it up, in addition to my wife's account at her employer. She holds out about 1/2 the max. Between rising deductibles, co-pays and sucky dental insurance we have no trouble spending it all. This year we could have used more with me going through the specialist to specialist routine and testing for months trying to figure out what the heck was wrong with me.

The fed cut the FSA max withholding amount in half a few years back during the Obama administration. It went from $5k per year to $2500. That was the "we're not going to raise your taxes" administration that let that little sneaky tip-toe maneuver go into effect. But who's complaining? ;)
Posted 1/3/2018 5:55 PM (GMT 0)
If you change jobs and you have an FSA, you can still use the money in there before the end of the year. It happened to me once, and I was able to use the $800 or so, for some glasses and dental stuff. It actually ended up benefiting me because I hadn't paid it all in, I had only paid in 3 months worth, but the full amount was available. If I didn't use it, yup, it would be gone!!

HSA is only available with high deductible plans according to that article I read. I can't afford a high deductible. Now I have a really terrible cheap plan but hopefully I don't have to use it except in case of an emergency. The hospital coverage is great, just not the regular visits or preventative care.
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