HSA good for young dreamer crowd?

[wildcat]

Just wanted to start a thread with some people's thoughts on the HSA accounts. HSAs are kind of an emerging benefit and thought it would be a great topic to cover if anyone has experience in this area. Thoughts? Ideas? Confessions?

 

[Marshac]

Right now I like FSAs better since they allow you to pay for childcare, and other more common expenses using pre-tax dollars. The downside to FSAs is that they will not roll over from one year to the next, unlike a HSA. You can also cash out a HSA, something you can't do with a FSA. The upshot of a FSA? If you decide to deduct $5k from your pay over an entire year, you have all $5000 available to you on the first month of the 12 month cycle (free loan from your employer basically).

 

[dunc0029]

I actually work for a company that administers HSA/FSA/HRA, etc. accounts (among other things). Ironically, our company does not offer an HSA option for our employee healthcare. I even questioned HR about it. I know I'd sign up in a heartbeat. This year I switched to our HRA plan (the downside being that my employer keeps the balance when I leave). I spend virtually nothing on healthcare expenses, so I just see an HSA as additional retirement savings that could cover medical expenses when/if I needed it.

 

[wildcat]

dunc0029 -

You and I are thinking in similar terms. I originally thought HSAs would be a great way to reduce medical expenses if a person decided to ER. I could be proven wrong & that is why I posted.

 

[Cal]

When our company first offered HSAs back in December, they gave us two days to decide whether or not we wanted the plan. The firms that I researched that were offering HSAs were offering terrible returns and high fees.

As a further disincentive, the cost of my HMO which has a $5 copay for EVERYTHING was cheaper (significantly) than the high deductible insurance my company was offering with the HSA plan.

I really like the idea of saving for retirement medical expenses and even with the high deductible insurance costing more than the HMO, I would have chosen the HSA if I could find a place to park the money that wasn't going to eat me alive with poor returns and high fees.

We have another open enrollment coming up next month and if I find a good HSA firm, I'll probably take it.

Anyone find a good place to park HSA money?

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

We have an FSA. No problem so far using up the money by 12/31. With a baby, I imagine it'll be even easier...

 

[Marshac]

We have an FSA.  No problem so far using up the money by 12/31.  With a baby, I imagine it'll be even easier...

Do you know if formula is a covered expense under a FSA?

 

[sgeeeee]

We talked about HSA's in another thread not long ago:

http://early-retirement.org/cgi-bin..._board;action=display;num=1108042487;start=18

 

[wildcat]

Damn fees!!

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Do you know if formula is a covered expense under a FSA?

The cost difference between the cheapest milk based formula available and a 'special' formula such as lactose free or soy based is covered as a medical expense and deductible from your FSA provided you have a physicians note saying there is a medical need for the special formula. So the 8c difference per oz between milk and the soy formula we're feeding gabe would technically be deductible.

So far the co-pays on my wifes asthma meds, all of the pregnancy related stuff last year and the birth stuff and pediatrician visits this year have been enough to eat up the FSA and then some.