<p>njfootballmom–if you want to PM me the copy of your summary I would be happy to look at it for you.</p>
<p>BCEagle91–the HSA plan is not complicated, it’s very straight forward actually, you go to the dr, you pay the bills up to your deductible then you pay a % of the bills up to your out of pocket max. It works just like your PPO except you pay a copay at the office visit vs paying the bill after the office visit. People make these things more complicated then they need to be really. The biggest difference is that in an HSA plan, prescriptions go toward your deductible, PPO they do not. Once you hit your OOM with an HSA plan, you are covered at 100%, with a PPO you still pay for medications and copays for office visits.</p>
<p>BCEagle91 --HSA plans work the same for everyone. The deductibles and out of pocket maxes are different depending on what your company selects. You are making it more complicated then it has to be really.:D</p>
<p>The amount of time I spent on the HSA analysis is probably worth more than the $1,800 anyways. I guess I’ll just spend a little more time on the income side than the expense side.</p>
<p>A year like that and I’ll blow through the 2000 the employer puts in, and I’ll be hesitant to get tests (which is WHY the employer and insurance LOVE these plans.)</p>
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<p>This is what many people misunderstand. Your employer is paying for your insurance … and the more your employer pays, the less money there is for other aspects of the business. Wages may stagnate, bonuses (if you are lucky enough to get them) will be smaller, profit sharing will be less. Ultimately, the company will cut the insurance coverage to keep costs down. Some companies self-insure. When your care costs more, the direct cost to the company rises. Other companies are fully-insured. When your care costs more, the insurance company will raise future premiums. The idea behind consumer-driven plans is to try to change behavior for the better … with a focus on improving health, eliminating unnecessary tests or expensive medications (my D is awesome at telling her doc to find a less expensive alternative!), choosing less expensive treatment facilities, etc. I worked with some awesome companies that truly cared about providing excellent health care plans for their employees … in order to afford to continue to do so, they turned toward consumer-driven plans.</p>
<p>I had a discussion with my manager which quickly became a much larger discussion with a bunch of other parents with college students in MA.</p>
<p>To waive student insurance in MA (we checked a specific school but assume that the requirements are consistent due to MA Universal Health Care laws), the parents’ plan(s) cannot have deductibles higher than $250. The HDHPs therefore do not qualify if you want to include your college student(s) on your healthcare plan.</p>
<p>If this requirement is for all healthcare plans (not just those for students), then that would make my son ineligible to be under an HSA for me. This is something that I need to check.</p>
<p>There’s one further problem and this could affect a lot of parents: our EPO and PPO plans have added a new deductible. $200 per person and $600 per family. If you look at the strict wording at the university site that we checked to waive university student coverage, our EPO and PPO plans do not meet the requirement to waive school coverage. I think that I need to look at the MA law. One parent argued that the $200 deductible should apply in the waiver because it is by individual but the wording at the university site implied that it’s the plan deductible (which doesn’t make sense but there are lots of laws that don’t make practical sense). I need to look at the law of find a FAQ on the law to be sure. I’d guess that a lot of corporate plans are doing something similar to what we’re doing so this may affect a lot of parents.</p>
<p>I imagine that a lot of parents might just lie on the waiver form given that they could cover the deductible difference pretty easily.</p>
<p>We also found one person that has the HSA. They said that the money side is nice but the paperwork is a hassle. It’s not an issue for us though - none of us can do the HSA because we want the healthcare waivers from MA universities.</p>
<p>We have had the High Deductible-PPO plan for the last 2 yrs, which requires the HSA account. </p>
<p>1) If the employer did not kick in $1000 to the HSA account, the likely additional cost of healthcare w/ regular PPO vs HD-PPO would be a couple of hundred dollars, for us. With the employer money, it’s more like $1200. Not a huge difference, but…</p>
<p>2) For us, there is no additional paperwork. Our HSA account comes with a debit card, which we use to pay our medical bills. Yes, we keep the receipts and records in case of an audit, but we do not have to file any paperwork to get re-imbursed (unless we forgot the debit card at home and paid with a different card, or something.) We do have to stay aware of how much money is left in the HSA. It has not been a problem yet.</p>
<p>3) Yes, the bank that manages the HSA takes a cut every month - about $2. It’s still worth it. </p>
<p>4) If the employer stops kicking in the $1000, we’re probably going back to a regular PPO.</p>
<p>BCEagle91–what paperwork? There should be no paperwork involved if you go in-network. Your co-worker may be confusing the FSA or HSA and the HSA, commonly done, different things. Again, you are making this WAY more complicated then you need to. Go with the more expensive coverage, pay more for your plan but WHY?</p>
<p>BCE, is it possible that your co-worker misread the university’s waiver requirements? Max annual deductible of $250 requirement seems quite low. That amount might be the university’s health plan’s in-network annual deductible and NOT the max annual deductible required for a parents’ health plan.</p>
<p>Look at the details of the university’s waiver. There might be a paragraph that states waiver will allow insurance plans with an annual deductible that exceed $X amount as long as the student has an approved HSA that will cover all deductible expenses over $X amt.</p>
<p>Kelsmom,
It is my understanding that the $ that we dont use (if we have a good year) rolls over in the HRA, but that it is ours to use only as long as hubby is employed there. If he leaves the $ reverts back to the company. That’s a win for them. (HRA not HSA)</p>
<p>I’ve had the HMO for so long that paying for anything, such as X-ray or bloodwork, feels wrong to me. I know that I would have saved on the premium, but it would feel like an extra expense. My brain need retraining!</p>
<p>SteveMA, when I get on my other computer I will try to pm you the info. Thanks!</p>
<p>On another note…my mil is coming tonight for a visit on very short notice and hubby and sil can’t get off work. I have to entertain a not very active 75 year old for 2 days and I am dreading it. My mom is so much easier…we would shop and shop and eat…Just had to vent…</p>
<p>njfootballmom–many companies do have the option to roll over HRA funds up to a certain limit and there is usually some kind of vesting period–age 55, 10 years of service, retirement, etc. It’s not as advantageous to save HRA money as it is HSA money unless you know you have a big medical year coming–knee replacement or other major surgery, etc. With the HSA, you can opt to just save that money for retirement if you like and pay expenses out of pocket now. HSA money is always your money no matter what your employment status is.</p>
<p>Well, I prefer not to lie on the forms that I fill out.</p>
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<p>This is the comment that I received second hand from the guy’s manager.</p>
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<p>“The Division of Health Care Finance and Policy’s (Division) regulation, 114.6 CMR 3.00: Student Health Insurance, implements the student health requirement and sets forth the minimum benefit levels and required services for a Student Health Program (SHP). The regulation also establishes the criteria by which a school may waive a student’s participation in SHP upon demonstration of comparable insurance coverage.”</p>
<p>“If a SHP limits benefits per illness or accident, the minimum aggregate indemnity to be paid for all benefits for each physical or mental illness or accident may not be less than $50,000 per year; the total annual deductibles may not exceed $250 per year.”</p>
<p>To waive student health insurance in MA, you just fill out a one-two page form which is a bunch of checkboxes stating that your health plan meets all of the requirements. My manager filled this out for her student in the Fall and it was true then. But she was considering the change over to the HSA and after a discussion with another manager and another parent, we determined that the HDHP didn’t meet the requirements of Massachusetts state law which is what governs the student health plans at MA universities and how they waive the requirement for SHP at the university.</p>
<p>BCEagle91–they are talking about a per incident deductible. That means EVERY time you go to the doctor, hospital, clinic, whatever you pay $250. This does NOT apply to group plans. Your plans are JUST FINE and meet the requirements for MA student health plans. Some individual plans offered through companies like AFLAC and similar have a per incident deductible, your plan does NOT. I think it would be in your best interest to make an appointment with your benefits specialist in your corporate HR department because you really need to get a handle on your plans and how they work.</p>
<p>My son is on our health plan in MA, our annual deductible is over $250, I don’t recall lying on any waivers.</p>
<p>With the increased deductible my H & I have been foregoing doctors appointments as much as possible. His knee has been bothering him for a couple of months, I am making him go, his limping has gotten so bad.</p>
<p>Do you have a different interpretation of the MA law that indicates that you don’t need to observe the deductible limit?</p>
<p>I had a look at UMass Amherst health insurance site and the waiver page isn’t there because the deadline has passed. I have to do this for my son at UMass Lowell for the Spring so I’ll get to see the language used there.</p>
<p>I didn’t have to lie…I just checked the form online and I put down the $10k as my deductible, my carrier and policy number. Company was Gallagher/Koster fpr the college.</p>
<p>There is no way a college can force you to buy their health insurance if you already have coverage…JMHO.</p>