About to see how good my health insurance is

[JoeH]

M A V I C wrote:
You had the cash in your HSA? I don't use a HSA because we would rarely use it, and if you don't, you lose it.

You are thinking of a FSA, those do not carry over year to year. An HSA does. They can also be invested similar to an IRA. HSA's are supposed to be used in conjunction with high deductible health care plans.

[bwicklander]

I received a mailing asking if I want to invest my high balance HSA. I went with HSA over FSA for the reason I had to spend it at the end of the year.

[N-OS X-tasy!]

M A V I C wrote:
You had the cash in your HSA? I don't use a HSA because we would rarely use it, and if you don't, you lose it.

The money I have in my HSA has remained there since the two years I ceased my participation in that plan.

[space-time]

M A V I C wrote:
You had the cash in your HSA? I don't use a HSA because we would rarely use it, and if you don't, you lose it.

Yes, I have more than enough for that $4800 bill and as others mentioned, HSA can stay there and you can even open an investment account (at least on my plan). I believe you can roll it into IRA or 401(k) when you reach retirement age. unused funds are accumulating like in a small IRA as far as I am concerned.

Do not confuse with FSA.

[M A V I C]

Whoops. Thanks for the corrections. I'm still not firing on all cylinders.

[davemchine]

Both of my back surgeries were over $100k. Both were denied. This scared the crap out of me the first time. I called the surgeon and he said it was common. He had me sign a form allowing him to negotiate with the insurance company on my behalf. I never saw a bill after that. Hopefully yours will have a happy ending similar to mine.

[richorlin]

The only thing good about getting old is Medicare and my Blue Cross/Blue Shield.
Haven't had to pay one cent for anything other than my prescription co-pays since I turned 65.

[J Marston]

About HSA:

An HSA functions sort of like an IRA: pre-tax money goes in.

If you use the HSA to pay qualified medical expenses, then the money isn't taxed when you pay it out, unlike an IRA.

If you use the HSA for non-qualified expenses--a vacation cruise, down payment on a Range Rover--it's taxed, which is exactly what happens with an IRA.

Paying into an HSA and using it for medical expenses is the only way an ordinary taxpayer can completely avoid taxes on earned income.

You cannot pay into an HSA after you begin taking social security (in any form) and the limit is $6,750 for a family, and $3,350 for an individual. If you're over 55, you can bump those limits by $1,000.

[AllGold]

J Marston wrote:
...You cannot pay into an HSA after you begin taking social security (in any form) and the limit is $6,750 for a family, and $3,350 for an individual. If you're over 55, you can bump those limits by $1,000.

To clarify, those contribution limit numbers are annual amounts.

[Ombligo]

richorlin wrote:
The only thing good about getting old is Medicare and my Blue Cross/Blue Shield.
Haven't had to pay one cent for anything other than my prescription co-pays since I turned 65.

Without getting political, I have a bad feeling that is going to change before 2018.