HSA custodians.

clifp · 07-03-2007, 08:50 PM

Unfortunately, my free gold plated very low copay Kaiser plan, is ending. I can continue with Cobra for 340/month no thanks, or switch to a high deductable plan.

At $95/month with a $2,000 deductable $3,000 max out of pocket a year it is pretty much a no brainer.

So now the question is who to open my HSA account with?
I am investigating two companies
Health Saving Accounts, HSA, Reduce Health Insurance Cost, Tax Free Withdrawal, Medical Savings Account Transfers, MSA, No Load Mutual Fund
and
HSA Bank - National Leader in Health Savings Accounts

HSA adminstrators has reasonable attractive option to invest in Vanguard funds. Fee is $39/year + .0009 *account plans/quarter, or more simply adds a .36% ER to whichever Vanguard fund you choose to invest in.

Anybody have experience with either of these two or any other HSA custodians?

REWahoo · 07-03-2007, 09:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by clifp

HSA adminstrators has reasonable attractive option to invest in Vanguard funds. Fee is $39/year + .0009 *account plans/quarter, or more simply adds a .36% ER to whichever Vanguard fund you choose to invest in.

Anybody have experience with either of these two or any other HSA custodians?

I've been using HSA Administrators for the past year. No problems to report.

kramer · 07-04-2007, 01:15 AM

While I still had a Bay Area address, I signed up for an HSA with Patelco Credit Union. They have no fees first year, and only $12/year after that. There is only a money market option paying about 5%.

It was the best choice for me because 1) I am a California resident and must pay state taxes on HSA gains each year, 2) I have limited tax deferred accounts and so it made sense to put my HSA in 100% fixed income, 3) since I just opened it with only $2850 the low fixed fees are more significant.

When I get over, say, $10000 I am going to carefully consider where to put it (and I will probably no longer be a California resident). I suspect I will transfer it at that point. Also, I suspect that there will be more and better custodian choices becoming available over the next couple of years. The amount of invested HSA money is exponentially increasing right now.

Kramer

justin · 07-04-2007, 07:58 AM

We currently have an HSA through work at Aetna that has pretty cheap access to some half-decent funds for low expenses. And we have a second HSA at the local credit union at 5% in a money market w/ no fees.

It's our first year, so balances are sub-$5000. In the future, I had planned to roll over the balances to HSA administrators unless something better comes along. When I did the research about 8 months ago, they were the best candidate for what I want (low fees, vanguard funds, etc).

mykidslovedogs · 07-04-2007, 11:53 AM

I use HSA Bank. So far, no problems and very easy to work with. They even have investment options for accounts with higher balances. Customer service is very friendly. There is a one time setup fee and a monthly fee of $2.25 for accounts lower than $3000 balance. Don't forget that you can do a one time rollover from an IRA to an HSA if you have an IRA up to the max allowed for that year.

clifp · 07-04-2007, 01:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mykidslovedogs

I use HSA Bank. So far, no problems and very easy to work with. They even have investment options for accounts with higher balances. Customer service is very friendly. There is a one time setup fee and a monthly fee of $2.25 for accounts lower than $3000 balance. Don't forget that you can do a one time rollover from an IRA to an HSA if you have an IRA up to the max allowed for that year.

For net bank have you used the alternate investments?. If so how easy was it?

mykidslovedogs · 07-04-2007, 02:53 PM

I haven't used the investment options yet, but here is a link...to the information about it:

HSA Investment Options - HSA Bank

cute fuzzy bunny · 07-04-2007, 09:22 PM

That $340 a month for kaiser is pretty good.

Are you sure that you wont be needing a bit more health care now that you're getting a little bit older? Five years ago I hardly went to the doctor and never took anything more serious than an antibiotic now and then.

Its a little bit different now.

teejayevans · 07-05-2007, 06:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by clifp

HSA adminstrators has reasonable attractive option to invest in Vanguard funds. Fee is $39/year + .0009 *account plans/quarter, or more simply adds a .36% ER to whichever Vanguard fund you choose to invest in.

Exante Bank seems like it has the lowest fees, anybody use them?
https://enroll.exantebankhsa.com/vanguardhsa/
TJ

mykidslovedogs · 07-05-2007, 06:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cute fuzzy bunny

That $340 a month for kaiser is pretty good.

Are you sure that you wont be needing a bit more health care now that you're getting a little bit older? Five years ago I hardly went to the doctor and never took anything more serious than an antibiotic now and then.

Its a little bit different now.

He'll save $2940 / yr in premiums alone his new plan plus he'll be permanently vs. temporarily insured (COBRA is temporary insurance). Since the deductible is only $2000 on his new plan, he'll be able to save almost 1 1/2 times his deductible the very first year. (almost his entire max out of pocket of his new plan). Plus, he won't have to worry about becoming uninsurable while on COBRA, which is really only temporary insurance anyway.

Plus, depending on the carrier he went with, he'll probably have a much better PPO network than the more limited Kaiser network, AND he won't have to worry about all those unlimited copays on the Kaiser plan...copays for office visits, copays for ER, copays for hospital, copays for diagnostics, etc....that you have to pay IN ADDITION TO the premium.

There's no doubt in my mind he made a good decision switching to an HSA.

clifp · 07-09-2007, 11:51 PM

I'll check out exantebank thanks for the link.

Actually the real choice was between the basic Kaiser plan of $175/month vs the "Blue Cross" catastrophic plan at $95/month. The COBRA plan was zero copays $5 drugs and basically no out of pocket expenses.

The Kaiser copays were $25/visit 50% for most tests and minimal drug coverage. Both plans out of pocket was capped at $3K/year. (Although not clear if the also meant no more $25 copay after $3K).

The $960/year saving I figure could pay for a lot of doctor visits. The tax saving are approximately $800-$900/year

Being able to invest ~$2,800 a year in an HSA I think is going to be my long-term care insurance.

07-03-2007, 08:50 PM	#1
clifp Thinks s/he gets paid by the post Join Date: Oct 2006 Posts: 1,767	HSA custodians. Unfortunately, my free gold plated very low copay Kaiser plan, is ending. I can continue with Cobra for 340/month no thanks, or switch to a high deductable plan. At $95/month with a $2,000 deductable $3,000 max out of pocket a year it is pretty much a no brainer. So now the question is who to open my HSA account with? I am investigating two companies Health Saving Accounts, HSA, Reduce Health Insurance Cost, Tax Free Withdrawal, Medical Savings Account Transfers, MSA, No Load Mutual Fund and HSA Bank - National Leader in Health Savings Accounts HSA adminstrators has reasonable attractive option to invest in Vanguard funds. Fee is $39/year + .0009 *account plans/quarter, or more simply adds a .36% ER to whichever Vanguard fund you choose to invest in. Anybody have experience with either of these two or any other HSA custodians?

07-04-2007, 09:22 PM	#8
cute fuzzy bunny Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ... Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Hot cross bun Posts: 21,180	That $340 a month for kaiser is pretty good. Are you sure that you wont be needing a bit more health care now that you're getting a little bit older? Five years ago I hardly went to the doctor and never took anything more serious than an antibiotic now and then. Its a little bit different now. __________________ To be truly happy, one must live absolutely in the present, with no thought of what's gone before, and no thought of what lies ahead. But to live a life of meaning...one is condemned to wallow in the past and obsess about the future.

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07-04-2007, 01:15 AM	#3
kramer Recycles dryer sheets Join Date: Jun 2005 Posts: 426	While I still had a Bay Area address, I signed up for an HSA with Patelco Credit Union. They have no fees first year, and only $12/year after that. There is only a money market option paying about 5%. It was the best choice for me because 1) I am a California resident and must pay state taxes on HSA gains each year, 2) I have limited tax deferred accounts and so it made sense to put my HSA in 100% fixed income, 3) since I just opened it with only $2850 the low fixed fees are more significant. When I get over, say, $10000 I am going to carefully consider where to put it (and I will probably no longer be a California resident). I suspect I will transfer it at that point. Also, I suspect that there will be more and better custodian choices becoming available over the next couple of years. The amount of invested HSA money is exponentially increasing right now. Kramer

07-04-2007, 07:58 AM	#4
justin Thinks s/he gets paid by the post Join Date: Jun 2005 Posts: 4,010	We currently have an HSA through work at Aetna that has pretty cheap access to some half-decent funds for low expenses. And we have a second HSA at the local credit union at 5% in a money market w/ no fees. It's our first year, so balances are sub-$5000. In the future, I had planned to roll over the balances to HSA administrators unless something better comes along. When I did the research about 8 months ago, they were the best candidate for what I want (low fees, vanguard funds, etc).

07-04-2007, 11:53 AM	#5
mykidslovedogs Full time employment: Posting here. Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 865	I use HSA Bank. So far, no problems and very easy to work with. They even have investment options for accounts with higher balances. Customer service is very friendly. There is a one time setup fee and a monthly fee of $2.25 for accounts lower than $3000 balance. Don't forget that you can do a one time rollover from an IRA to an HSA if you have an IRA up to the max allowed for that year.

07-04-2007, 02:53 PM	#7
mykidslovedogs Full time employment: Posting here. Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 865	I haven't used the investment options yet, but here is a link...to the information about it: HSA Investment Options - HSA Bank

07-09-2007, 11:51 PM	#11
clifp Thinks s/he gets paid by the post Join Date: Oct 2006 Posts: 1,767	I'll check out exantebank thanks for the link. Actually the real choice was between the basic Kaiser plan of $175/month vs the "Blue Cross" catastrophic plan at $95/month. The COBRA plan was zero copays $5 drugs and basically no out of pocket expenses. The Kaiser copays were $25/visit 50% for most tests and minimal drug coverage. Both plans out of pocket was capped at $3K/year. (Although not clear if the also meant no more $25 copay after $3K). The $960/year saving I figure could pay for a lot of doctor visits. The tax saving are approximately $800-$900/year Being able to invest ~$2,800 a year in an HSA I think is going to be my long-term care insurance.

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