Changing jobs,help me think through health insurance

[covergirl82]

I'll be changing jobs in early February, and I'm trying to decide if I keep my kids on my plan, or if I move them to DH's insurance.  In general, we are healthy, but even a moderate illness could start to cost us a lot of money.  (The kids both had bronchitis 2 years ago, and DS's turned into mild pneumonia, and after multiple doctor appointments, and urgent care trip with x-ray, and Rxs, we racked up around $1,200+ dollars in a matter of 2 weeks.)  I'm hoping for some advice on what makes the most sense financially, and do I make a decision based on assuming we stay pretty healthy (lower out-of-pocket costs on the front end and also more money in our HSA accounts), or do I assume that we plan for an event (or events) that would mean more out-of-pocket costs on the back end (and less contributions to our HSA accounts)?  Below is info on the plans:

Me - new insurance (family coverage):
Premium (paycheck deduction):  $200 per month / $2,400 per year (family coverage)
HSA contribution (additional paycheck deduction, this is an amount I choose):  $150 per month / $1,800 per year
Total annual paycheck deductions:  $4,200
Deductible:  $3,000 (family)
Coinsurance:  80% (company paid) / 20% (our responsibility)
Max annual out-of-pocket:  $5,000 (family)
Company HSA contribution:  $1,000 per year, regardless of single or family coverage (I assume I'll get a prorated amount this year because I'm joining one month into the year)

DH (reflects him having kids on his insurance):

Premium (paycheck deduction): $0
HSA contribution (amount of his choosing): $400 per month / $4,800 per year
Total annual paycheck deductions: $4,800
Deductible: $4,000 (family)
Coinsurance: 90% (company paid) / 10% (our responsibility)
Max annual out-of-pocket: $8,000 (family)
Company HSA contribution:  $750 per year, regardless of single or family coverage

I have around $6,000 in my HSA right now and DH has around $8,000, so either way, we could each both cover the max annual out-of-pocket for one year.

TIA!

[orval]

Personally I would do your DH's insurance. He pays no premium at all and all of that HSA money is yours forever. Since you already have plenty of HSA $ to cover any deductible, I would go that route.

[allhis]

I also would choose your husband’s plan. You have to spend $2400 for sure on your plan to potentially save $3000 on the OOP max in your worst case scenario. And since his is an 90/10 split vs 80/20 under yours, you’re even less likely to get to that OOP max.

[jinkies]

I am so jealous of your premiums.

That is all.

[ellipses84]

I usually compare my typical estimated medical expenses and the worst case scenario medical expenses on each plan. The 10% up to $8k is what I don’t like about your DH’s plan, from a worst case scenario perspective. One surgery, a broken bone or multiple tests like MRIs could easily Max that out. I had a 10% co-payment with high deductible on my last Non-HSA insurance and was paying way more OOP in a fairly typical medical year before I switched to an HSA with no % where I just need to hit my family deductible. We’ve had a lot more medical issues since then so I’m sure it would have cost us much more if we’d stayed on it, with a family of 4. Yours is set up so the money you put into it would cover the worst case scenario every year. I know your plan has 20% but the deductible is a lot lower. I like hitting my HSA deductible, knowing I have the money in my account and don’t have to pay OOP for the rest of the year (and have strategically scheduled medical tests to take advantage of that).

That being said, you have enough money in your accounts to cover a year and the delta between costs/deductibles isn’t that huge, so you could try out his plan for a while and see how you do. If your typical medical expenses are a lot lower than mine, it may be worth it. I do like the zero deductible on his plan.

[bullygirl979]

If you typically don't hit your OOP max, I would go with your H's plan BUT I would bankroll that $200/month to pay for expenses. We don't touch our HSA cards for normal stuff. IMHO, those should be used in a true emergency.

[covergirl82]

Thank you, everyone!  I appreciate the perspectives.  I'll go with single coverage with my new job and have DH put the kids on his and then I'll contribute extra $ to my HSA each pay period.

[sillygoosegirl]

DH's plan for sure. Worst case (hitting the OOP max on DH's plan), you are out an extra $600. Better case scenario, you save more than twice the difference in deductible with lower premiums, and then if you have a lot of bills, your share of expenses beyond that is lower.

Yeah, I realize health care can be $$$$$ unexpectedly sometimes, but the odds that you run up the $44K in bills needed to hit the OOP max are low if nobody has any chronic conditions (yet). Definitely would want to risk the small chance of needing to spend an extra $600 to probably save the better part of $2400.