Does anyone have any experience with HSAs? We are expecting twins in May (our first), so my wife and I will be joining the family plan with her employer. However, i can not figure out if the HSA is a better option than the PPO.

HSA -Premium - $1,872 -Deductible - $3,250 -Max out of Pocket - $3,500 -Employee contribution - $2,430

PPO -Premium - $4,050 -Deductible - $900 -Max out of pocket - $3,500

11/2/2015 3:30:12 PM

My wife and I were in a similar situation this year. I have an HSA, my wife has a traditional plan, so we put the kid under her plan. It still was about $3500 for us out of pocket because we had to pay 20% of the costs for the birth (no complications, vaginal birth, 2 nights at the hospital, epidural). It would have cost more to have the kid on my plan due to premium increases with the HSA plan (my wife has cheaper insurance options than me) and my deductible would have been $4000 anyways.

I'm not sure how the $900 deductible works for your PPO (does the $900 cover all the different charges you get from the hospital -- hospital/obgyn/anesthesiologist/pediatrician -- or are those counted as different charges for the deductible)?

If you are going to hit the max out of pocket in either case, I would do the HSA and save on the premiums plus all the doctor's visits would be free for the rest of the year (including if you or the wife run into health issues). If you are not going to hit the out of pocket, I guess you can do the math to figure out which one works best.

[Edited on November 2, 2015 at 4:22 PM. Reason : ]

11/2/2015 4:11:01 PM

Actually, she will have separate benefits for her maternity. But yes, we will need to meet the $900 deductible, pay a $150 copay and then 10%. With the HSA, we will be covered for 90% after the deductible is met. We have enough cash flow to cover the higher deductible for the HSA, so I am really just looking at the entirety of next year, since it is likely we will need to cover some additional doctors visits for the twins.

11/2/2015 4:57:33 PM

I believe my wife did not have to pay for her prenatal checkups and does not pay for the first year worth of normal checkups visits to the pediatrician. She had said this was due to the ACA, but I don't know if that is true or not and may just be something with her insurance.

Don't forget you and your wife, accidents happen and freak medical problems can flare up. I am now $1k into my HSA due to a foot pain issue over the past 2 months. I still think it was cheaper to put the kid on my wife's plan, but I am getting closer and closer to my deductible with each doctor's visit.

11/2/2015 5:32:21 PM