HSA Question

[tele turnin]

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So I am looking at my options for health coverage during residency. I will be starting with a decent sized family of 5 and so much debt it's both hard to think about it and hard not to think about it. Where I am going has awesome coverage if you are willing to pay the price. Basically healthcare is free after the premium. The premium for my family would be in the neighborhood of $4k +/yr. So I am torn between going with the premium health insurance that will cover all necessary medical conditions. All labs, imaging is free, and all surgeries would cost less than one month of premiums if of course I am paying the premiums. The other option is to go with an HSA. Employer will put in $2k annually. Only thing wrong with me is a shoulder that acts up from time to time. Overall we are a healthy family, but do have some young kids that have been healthy thus far. My question is where can I read up on HSA for dummies and what sources can I look at to make an informed decision? Thanks in advance.

 

[IlDestriero]

4000 for good coverage for a family of 5 is cheap, dirt cheap. One surgery, accident, etc would crush you. I've billed more than $2k for anesthesia alone.

 

[tele turnin]

The higher deductible plan would save about $1k/yr in premiums, not counting any HSA contributions I make on top of the employers. Deductibles are 3k/6k individual/family. The way I quickly interpret that is I stand to be 3k ahead per yr if we have no major expenses but stand to lose the same if we max out the family deductible. Definitely something I need to look into as we are normally healthy and our biggest foreseeable medical expenses are pregnancy related should we choose to go down that road again.

 

[TexasPhysician]

I go with the programs's 4k policy as it is excellent. Had I not had access, HSA would be the option. I don't see it worth the risk if you have access to a good policy.