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Interesting. A year and a half after the first post of this thread, HDHP are where employer sponsored insurance is going. It is clear that more and more companies are going to HDHPs.
There are pros and cons as with all insurance but I think until we put healthcare back into the hands of the individuals, costs will continue to skyrocket. The good thing about HDHPs is that the consumer is supposed to shop around and not just go to whatever doctor is convenient (hence why they are also called consumer driven health plans).
HSA gives you the opportunity to save for your deductible at a 20-30% discount (depending on your tax bracket). People are stupid not to take advantage of HSAs and they are only allowed with HDHPs. The HSA is what makes a HDHP ok. Save when you are healthy, bank up money for that deductible and the deductible is no big deal. Of course heaven forbid anyone plan for the future...
I've run the numbers and my total out of cost expenses, should something catastrophic happen would ultimately be less with my current HDHP than with my old traditional plan when you take into account the HSA tax savings.
Interesting. A year and a half after the first post of this thread, HDHP are where employer sponsored insurance is going. It is clear that more and more companies are going to HDHPs.
There are pros and cons as with all insurance but I think until we put healthcare back into the hands of the individuals, costs will continue to skyrocket. The good thing about HDHPs is that the consumer is supposed to shop around and not just go to whatever doctor is convenient (hence why they are also called consumer driven health plans).
HSA gives you the opportunity to save for your deductible at a 20-30% discount (depending on your tax bracket). People are stupid not to take advantage of HSAs and they are only allowed with HDHPs. The HSA is what makes a HDHP ok. Save when you are healthy, bank up money for that deductible and the deductible is no big deal. Of course heaven forbid anyone plan for the future...
I've run the numbers and my total out of cost expenses, should something catastrophic happen would ultimately be less with my current HDHP than with my old traditional plan when you take into account the HSA tax savings.
That stuff all sounds good on paper. However, it's often not how it plays out in reality. Most HCPs in an area charge very similar rates, called "usual and customary". That's what insurances base their reimubursements on. You might find a few dollars difference from doc to doc, but there are no great discounts out there, unless you go to a quack.
As for "shopping around", 'buying' a dr. visit is not like buying a pair of shoes. Dr. "X" is not likely to be running a sale on say, strep throat or appendicitis if you get it treated in the next 7 days. There is also the issue of doctor-patient relationship, which you can't really establish if you run from dr. to dr. This is not to say you should stay with a dr. who you don't like, but once you find one you like, it's best to get most of your care from him/her.
The link I posted has so much good information that I was reluctant to try to keep it to 2-3 sentences. However, for those who won't open a link, I've selected this:
What did come as a bit of a surprise was how many people with incomes OVER 300 percent of poverty reported going without needed care as well – 42.5 percent.
After all, the RAND Health Insurance Experiment back in the 1970s showed that if you make people pay more, they cut back on care.
“Indeed, subsequent RAND work on appropriateness of care found that economic incentives by themselves do not improve appropriateness of care or lead to clinically sensible reductions in service use,” wrote RAND researchers back in 2006.
I am a social worker. I feel my contribution to society is enough. I work 10-12 hour days with abused and neglected children that society turns their cheek to. The stress is high. Many of you would have nightmares with what I see daily. Our employer is now only offering the high deductable plan. I take medication monthly, which is expensive. I make 30,000 a year. So 10% of my income is going to healthcare? I don't abuse the system. I don't run off to the doctor or hospital at a whim. This isn't insurance. This is pretty much no insurance. How would I even know if I had cancer if I can afford the tests? This is a smack in the face. Pay me a salary where I can afford to feed my family and pay medical costs...I would gladly do it but I don't make that kind of money. In fact, my clients are eating better than I am and are receiving fullly paid medical care with medicaid. Thanks a lot for nothing.
After the terrible roll-out of Obamacare and its sticker shock would you consider trying a high deductible policy with a transferable HSA?
After the terrible roll-out of Obamacare and its sticker shock would you consider trying a high deductible policy with a transferable HSA?
Terrible roll-out? Wait.......what?? The White House says everything is going soooooo smooth, just a couple of "kinks', right? lol
I think high deductibles work out well for younger people, because for the most part, they do tend to be very healthy. I literally had no medical expenses outside of occasional annual checkups from age 21 to 40. If you lead a healthy lifestyle, you can shoulder the risk of a high deductible. At the very least, invest the difference in premium, and use that to safeguard against future medical expenses.
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