<p>Re fendergirl’s post #15 – my HSA works like a checking account with a debit card that I have full control over. I can make deposits when I want, and make withdrawals either with the debit card or checks whenever I want – and I keep track of what is in there by checking online for statements just like with any other account (I’ve opted for paperless statements). However, the account is subject to audit by the HSA or IRS - that is, if I write a check to myself to pay myself back for a medical expense that I paid on my regular credit card, I’d better keep my own documentation about what that money was for if anyone ever asks. </p>
<p>I think that you should make every effort to fund the HSA, even prioritizing it over an IRA – that’s because HSA money is available when you hit retirement age – so $20,000 in an IRA can’t be touched until you are age 59 or so… but $20,000 sitting in an HSA has the same potential retirement benefit, but can also be tapped earlier for medical or health related expenses.</p>
<p>The cool thing is that an HSA can also be used to pay medical expenses of a dependent, even if the dependent isn’t on the same plan. In other words – the money you put in an HSA now may be available to you years from now if you marry and have kids, and need money to pay for some health-related expense of your child, even if not covered by whatever insurance you have at the time. So I think that especially for a younger person who currently has low end medical costs, an HSA can be a good option.</p>
Some people don’t have a lot of money on hand for discretionary expenses. Example – do I pay $3000 for a colonoscopy, or do I pay that $3000 for my kid’s college tuition instead? Some people will decide that the kid’s college is the immediate priority and the colonoscopy can wait. </p>
<p>I would note that there is a credit card company called carecredit.com that can be used to finance many medical procedures, and that many providers have deals worked out with them that waive interest & finance charges if the money is paid within a year or another set period. So that is another option for someone with a high deductible plan, assuming reasonably good credit.</p>
<p>My “high deductible” is 1200. Our “standard” plan is 600. So in exchange for doubling my deductible, I get money put in an HSA and my premium went down by almost half. It seemed like a win win. I really do think you guys should double check these physicals and preventative things with your insurance companies, a lot of that changed as a result of health care reform. [New</a> Insurance Rules: Free Preventive Health Care](<a href=“http://www.webmd.com/news/20100714/new-insurance-rules-free-preventive-health-care]New”>All Health Topics)</p>
<p>I know we had most of that stuff on our policies at work but we did tweak a few things with HCR and we also added them for our former policy holders as well as new policy holders.</p>
<p>Calmom, I don’t have an IRA. I have a 401k and a pension.</p>
<p>I have spoken to quite a few people who have used care credit and spoke highly of it.</p>
<p>I visited my Blue Cross company several weeks ago to look into different deductibles… My wife and I have one child who turned 18 last September…Blue cross had us on a family plan that covered us all (and the price would be the same even with several more children) …They told me to move my son off of my plan and on to his own plan…that alone saved me $120/month…furthermore, my son has chronic asthma (which has improved over the years) and his pharmacy bill can get quite high …The Blue Cross office told me that if you move a child to their own Blue Cross plan before their 19th birthday, then they (BCBS) are required by law to accept the child regardless of pre existing conditions such as asthma…they told me that the law was part of the health care plan passed in December, 2010…my son just received his BCBS card in the mail and it was classified as some type child’s policy … my son’s deductible is $500 and my wife and are are still at $1,000…so I lowered my premium $120/month and lowered my son’s deductible to $500…I still draft the monthly payments from the same account…I am still looking into higher deductible options for the two of us…</p>
<p>The point being that you had the money to pay for those things. If you don’t have the money, you don’t get new clothes even if your old ones are getting ragged, much less buying pretty sweaters. If you don’t have the money, you do not pay for pap smears, mammograms, or doctor visits unless the situation is CLEARLY something that needs to be controlled NOW. The idea of paying for a colonoscopy out of pocket in that situation is simply laughable. “Need” has to be defined. When my bronchitis was sufficiently bad that I started finding blood in my sputum I sought medical care. Until then, I treated myself with rest and fluids. When I had an inflamed coccyx that caused me great pain on a regular basis I took the advice of an acquaintance who is a physical therapist about ways to sit and what to sit on, and gritted my teeth. After a year, it mostly went away. Most people with insurance and money would have been at the doctor. When I had to have a D&C because of uncontrolled bleeding that left me severely anemic, I chose to have it in the ER with local anesthetic instead of in an operating room with general anesthesia because setting foot in the OR would have cost me an additional $3000. (They told me that the OR and general is the current standard of care because “the women kept screaming” when they had it the way I did.) </p>
<p>People who have health insurance and decent incomes simply do not get it. As it is demonstrated even here, over and over again.</p>
<p>And of course, as a nation, we pay a higher proportion of GDP for health care and achieve worse results than other industrialized countries, yet look what happens every time someone attempts to reform the situation. Our rate of bankruptcy due to medical costs is outrageous. Only when a majority of Americans feel real financial pain will anything be done, apparently. It is too easy for many people to be comfortable and blow off the suffering of others.</p>
<p>Great post, Consolation. I think you have expressed what I was getting at exactly. We are new to this situation, as H had a different plan in the past. When you are having to come up with the funds yourself, you start to weigh what you really “need”. </p>
<p>I spent 5 weeks (2X per week) in physical therapy for my shoulder, at $110/week. Whatever loosening gets done at pt or with home exercises seems to freeze up again almost overnight. How long can we afford to go on at that rate? Now I do what I can to exercise it at home and keep it going during the day. The biggest problem I have is not being able to sleep well because of the pain that sets in at night :(.</p>
<p>Sylvan- not to be off topic, but you might try either ice or heat, whichever works for you, as you go to sleep. I had a chronic pain like that and used a heating pad when going to sleep and it made such a difference. Also a down or kushy pillow of some sort which can be shaped to support your shoulder just right might help.</p>
<p>I think that most people with full insurance coverage and low deductible, low co-pay tend to check in with the doctor at the early signs of a problem, getting advice and direction. People without that insurance check in with the doctor at a much later point in their progression with an issue.</p>
<p>I’m sorry, sylvan. If it is by any chance “frozen shoulder” you are suffering from, it does eventually go away, even without intervention, at least for those I know who have had it.</p>
<p>That kind of chronic pain can be very debilitating. Have you considered acupuncture? It worked for me. (Not the coccyx, but a more recent pinched nerve problem.)</p>
<p>Yes, I did go in to see the internist just now. I had just started a cold and have always gotten scolded if I let it get too bad. He but me on antibiotics and gave me some anti-nausea meds and told me to avoid coffee and milk. To my surprise, he said my lungs are actually clear (I thought the cold had already settled into my chest).</p>
<p>I know that when we had a deductible for S, we did put off having him go in to get checked because we knew the money would ALL be coming straight out of our pocket. It is tough when folks have high deductible and no savings to pay it but could benefit from medical care. Many of them would really love having a plan that would only have modest co-pays for any doc visits so they could attend to problems BEFORE the problem gets unbearable.</p>
<p>Himom–I’m totally in favor of you being able to see a doc to keep small problems from getting big, but why did he put you on an antibiotic for a cold, (which is a virus)???</p>
<p>Just bumping this topic, since we are considering encouraging S to buy a high-deductible insurance plan while he has hubby’s plan as his secondary. Anyone with more thoughts?</p>
<p>One of the plans he has available will contribute $62.50/month, total of $750/year. They have a lot of fees, including $2.25 to $2.50 if your balance in the month drops below $3000 at any point. This means they can collect fees in the 1st year you’re starting up for sure, since there are limits on how much you can contribute.</p>
<p>The secondary plan (which is our primary) is quite good and would cover even while he’s reaching the deductible in his high deductible primary plan, until he ages out at 26. We figure this would be good for him to build a cushion. I believe he could move the account if he ever wants to leave that plan and/or insurer & perhaps find one that doesn’t place fee upon fee for the accountholder.</p>
<p>OK, have read more of the fine print. You HAVE to use the HSA Bank if you have GEHA insurance and the insurer will pay the set up & monthly maintenance fees, so that sounds pretty good. Am thinking this might be a good thing for S. The $750 comes out of the premiums he pays for insurance @ the rate of $62.50/month. He can choose to contribute more so that the total reaches the statutory maximum of $3050.</p>
<p>If he leaves employer or plan, it appears he can take the account & have it transferred to another HSA account elsewhere. If he doesn’t want paper statements, there is no monthly paper statement fee.</p>