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Ok, thanks... I will look into this more. I'm assuming with an HSA you would lose the insurance company's negotiated pricing for medical procedures, thereby paying the provider's higher billed costs which could be significant.
Incorrect. I still get a discount over the full price via my HSA. I believe the bills show it as an "in network" discount.
Last edited by Keim; 04-20-2011 at 10:06 AM..
Reason: Clarity
Ok, thanks... I will look into this more. I'm assuming with an HSA you would lose the insurance company's negotiated pricing for medical procedures, thereby paying the provider's higher billed costs which could be significant.
No, the bills go through the insurance company just like a standard insurance plan.
No, the bills go through the insurance company just like a standard insurance plan.
yeah, you still benefit from the agreed-upon-rates, it's just that the costs at the beginning come out of the person's pocket, up to the point where they meet the deductible. it's a pretty good system for low cost health insurance that would cover you in a catasrophe
I'm not sure I get this...why would someone want high cost health insurance? Its a good system period, those that don't have it are missing out.
i wasn't implying someone would want high cost health insurance. i was pointing out that this type of insurance is a good system, to keep your insurance costs low.
Thanks for all the info... An HSA combined with a higher deductible plan does sound like a good option... I need to research what additional constraints/admin fees may apply for this type of program as it is implemented by a small business.
The hsa is fabulous .... i pay 3k a year for insurance for my wife and i and we save 7150.00 in the hsa account for our use.
we have a 2500 deductable each, 5k family ...after that 100% coverage with no co-pays.
regular insurance ran us 9-10k a year and since we barely used that we got nothing for those payments..
even the stuff we pay out of pocket is heavily discounted..
its a win /win even if we max out ...
they even pay for check ups for the most part. what they didnt cover was minimal . i got the bill today for the lab work. the bill was 150.00 and my share was 31 bucks . now thats even before we met our deductable for the year..
my normal co-pay when we had regular insurance was 25.00 bucks and that cost us almost 10k a year through work.
best deal ever is the hsa. it costs less and what we dont spend we save .
. i was pointing out that this type of insurance is a good system, to keep your insurance costs low.
It doesn't just keep your insurance costs low, it keeps your medical costs low. Even before you factor in earnings from your HSA, the "worst-case" (you hit your deductible) is a bit cheaper than a standard policy.
I have to lot of so called middle class in American really can't afford that lifestyle. I think you need make over $100k+, even in an cheaper place like Dallas. For expensive areas, like NYC, you might need like $500k a year! Most people in middle class would should be called the "working class" instead. The middle class lifestyle has many expenses (listed below) and it can get expensive.
Here is what I think most people consider a middle class lifestyle:
-Retire with same lifestyle as pre-retirement
-1-2 years worth of spending money in cash
-Enough money to buy a nice single family house (McMansion)
-Be able afford to put kids through university
-Money to buy new cars every 3-5 years
-Afford nice vacations each year (probably $10k+)
-Money to buy latest smartphone every 2 years,computers, and other electronics
The excepted middle class lifestyle is NOT really frugal. When you look at this list, you can tell how expensive it can get. Being able to spend a lot of your money while still saving for retirement requires a high income.
A lot of people living this lifestyle on has no retirement saving and/or tons of debts. These people are really working class can't / shouldn't try to go for this lifestyle. Of course people making less than $100K (like me) can save for retirement by living more frugal lifestyle. However, you will definitely miss many middle class niceties like brand new cars every few years!
I sure am glad I didn't follow in the footsteps of the "middle class." Life was not meant to be nice, um, I mean, easy.
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Thanks for all the info... An HSA combined with a higher deductible plan does sound like a good option... I need to research what additional constraints/admin fees may apply for this type of program as it is implemented by a small business.
