Health Savings Accounts (HSAs)

[rainonacongadrum]

I am a young poker player with a high deductible insurance plan. Should I consider getting a HSA?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_savings_account

I'm interested in hearing from people that have HSAs and their thoughts. How did you go about getting it set up? I'm confused about who (insurance company or accountant?) to have set one up for me and how that whole process works.

Is an HSA just a great way to save for future medical expenses or does it function like an IRA and work to build money with compound interest? For example, if I were to withdraw everything I contributed to my HSA 25 years from now and buy a yacht, I would be penalized, but how much? With compound interest, would I still be much better off than having not contributed to one at all and, instead, just invested in a taxable account? I'm unsure quite how much one is penalized for withdrawing and spending the money on something that is not a proper medical expense.