[natedogg]

I have an HSA and HDHP for my family of four. It is a vastly superior deal.

1. Try Wells Fargo, the fees are low and they have higher-growth oriented funds you can allocate your money to while it's in the HSA account. The funds are generic and not great but at least it's not a money market.

2. The HSA converts to a plain IRA once you turn 59.5. So in other words, it's a way to put even more money into an IRA as well as being a nice source of medical funds.

3. The HDHP is usually close to even in terms of monthly cost + deductible compared to the full monthly cost of a low deductible plan with a nice copay Plus the HDHP is usually a PPO. I recommend the Blue Shield plan it has been great and they are very reliable. (My family incurred about 200K in medical expenses last year and Blue Shield paid without a peep).

4. the 100%/70% limits still include a max out-of-pocket. My family hit the max and it was only slightly higher total cost to us than if we had paid for a fuller-coverage health plan. This si the worst case scenario, we expect to come out ahead more years than not.

5. If you are self-employed (schedule C), you get to deduct your health care premiums *before* calculating your AGI. This is a huge bonus.

6. Damn the california socialists in the assembly. They are trying to institute a canada-style single-payer health plan for California, including outlawing all private insurance, and Ahnold is making noise that he may sign it. Be careful. If you are californian you should be prepared to play some shenanigans with your residency to avoid being part of that mess...



natedogg