High deductible ObamaCare medical insurance and health savings accounts.

1. 86

   Chuckposted 11 years ago

   High deductible ObamaCare medical insurance and health savings accounts.
   
   Do the high deductible health insurance policies being sold on the ObamaCare exchanges qualify for health savings accounts?  A health savings account is an IRA type savings account in which people can make tax deductible deposits which can then be withdrawn tax free to pay for routine medical costs.  These accounts are paired with a medical insurance policy with an annual deductible ranging from around $2,500 to $10,000.  The idea is for people to save and pay routine medical bills from the savings account and have the insurance for catastrophic medical emergencies.
   
   

   replyreport
2. 52

   graceinusposted 11 years ago

   It's just a matter of time before the American people realize that Obama care health insurence is going to cost each of us an arm and a leg.

   replyreport
   1. 39

      ChristinSposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      health insurance already cost an arm and a leg and wasn't even available to many people previously.

      replyreport
   2. 52

      graceinusposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      That's the whole point, now everbody has to pay an arm and a leg.

      replyreport
   3. 61

      meletakeryposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      hopefully that is all it will cost, but I fear that it will end up costing a whole lot more.  anytime politicians get involved in money matters, the costs skyrocket. if they want to cut costs eliminate the suing. tough to do in porkbarrel politics

      replyreport
3. 81

   junksellerposted 11 years ago

   I live in Michigan and when I was looking through plans there were several that were paired with an HSA (maybe 3 out of the 40 plans I was looking at). One was from Blue Cross that was a multi-state plan, so is evidently available beyond Michigan (but I'm not sure exactly where).
   
   You mentioned the purpose of these plans to be for paying routine medical bills out of the HSA and having the insurance for emergencies, and as such these plans are supposed to have a higher deductible and lower premium than the average plan, or at least that's my understanding of them.
   
   However, looking through Blue Cross's offerings, their HSA plan actually has a higher premium and lower deductible than their other plans, which I'm mot sure makes sense. Whatever is saved by the HSA is eaten up by the higher premium. (Although, the HSA plan was a PPO vs. an HMO, which is also a factor.)
   
   At any rate, with my discount, the deductibles and out-of-pocket maximums for both plans ended up being the same (and low), so that the premium is a significant chunk of my expected spending. The non-HSA plan at half the premium of the other made much more sense.
   
   Everyone's situation is going to be different, of course, as are what is offered in different states. For all the problems the healthcare site had initially, it is a pretty nice site when it is working. It is easy to navigate and does a good job in allowing the user to compare plans. I recommend everyone take a look and see what is available.

   replyreport