[Elizabeth]

We currently use Samaritan Ministries for our healthcare coverage. We are a family of 7 (2 adults and 5 children). We pay $611/month for our coverage through Samaritan. We don’t have a deductible, we pay $400 per incident for life (i.e. if I get cancer, I pay a maximum of $400 of the total cost of bills related to that cancer, or if I got in a car accident, I would pay a maximum $400 maximum of the total cost of bills related to that related to that car accident).

I’m wondering if our premiums using an HSA would be lower per month than we pay for Samaritan Ministries. Do you sign up for a random low deductible health insurance, or are there ones that go with certain HSAs? How do I get a quote on the premium?

Also, I see people saying they use it as a retirement account. Are you able to pull the money out and use it for other expenses at some point or can you only ever use the money on health related expenses?

[Sandra]

Hard to imagine premiums lower and benefits higher. You can go on Affordable Care Act website and pretend you are applying for coverage to see specifics.

[Bill]

This isn’t an apples to apples comparison. If you get a real insurance plan, it’s going to be much more expensive (unless you qualify for a subsidy). It’s highly regulated, and while certainly not perfect, you have all sorts of rights if you purchase the insurance.

Your health share is highly unregulated. They can promise you anything, but they can deny claims or drop you as a customer. Google some of the horror stories about how these “Christian” plans have treated actual cancer patients, because it sure isn’t very Christian. They can only offer such low premiums because they don’t have to actually insure you if you do develop some chronic condition.

[St Patrick]

Re: using your HSA as a supplemental retirement account — If you use HSA money for medical expenses, it is not taxable. If you withdraw money for non-medical purposes, it is taxable (just like a withdrawal from a traditional IRA), and you also get tagged with a 10% penalty.

Once you turn 65, though, the penalty goes away, so your HSA is functionally a traditional IRA at that point when you use it for non-medical purposes. (It is still nontaxable when used for medical purposes!)

[Erica]

To contribute to an HSA, you must have an eligible HDHP. It’s possible it would be financially better for you, but the high deductible could eliminate the benefits.

You’d have to run the numbers to see, with your usage, which is better.

[Author]

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