I switched my health insurance plan to a high deductible health plan(HDHP) that is eligible to be paired with a health savings account(HSA). My deductible only went from $5000 to $5200 a year but the policy is about $120 a year cheaper in addition to being HSA eligible. Not all health insurance with a high deductible is HSA eligible. If a health insurance plan is HSA eligible it will most likely feature that fact in the plan’s description.
I purchased my insurance through eHealthInsurance
I haven’t opened up an HSA yet. I was planning on setting up my HSA and using it to pay my health insurance premiums but I then discovered that in most instances you can’t use your HSA to pay for your health insurance. I should have done more research before I switched health insurance plans. I’ve decided to put off opening an HSA for now for a couple of reasons. The first is that I don’t need the tax deduction. My income will most likely be below taxable levels this year even without this deduction. I don’t want to tie my money up in an HSA if I’m not getting the benefit of a tax deductions as well. The other reason is that I haven’t been impressed with the HSAs available. Most of them have setup and/or monthly fees with limited investment options. These usually can be waived if you have a sufficient balance in your account but again I don’t want to put too much in an HSA if I’m not getting the benefit of the tax deduction. The HSA looks to be a great way to save money but I don’t think it will work for me right now.
If any of you have an HSA that you are happy with please let me know about it.