HDHP vs PPO Health Insurance (Bay Area)
For reference, I’m in the Bay Area. The plans offered to me are PPO for Cigna, BCBS and EPO for Kaiser. I also have HDHP versions of Cigna and BCBS. They’re all basically the exact same in terms of coverage amounts (80-20), OOPM, benefit maximum, premium etc. except HDHP which obviously has the $1500 deductible (vs $600 on the PPO and EPO) and $40 cheaper monthly premium. I have ADHD and need to see a psychiatrist (and thinking about seeing therapist as well once I get this health insurance) and get prescription medicine – but have no serious medical issues beyond that.
Do you guys recommend doing the HDHP plan? Or does my ADHD mean I should do the PPO? One other consideration is that if I do the HDHP plan I get an HSA to which my employer donates $500 a year too that I wouldn’t get if I did the standard PPO. So it’s basically like additional $42 off per month for taking the HDHP. Also, on the PPO my prescription meds are not counted towards the deductible (meaning I don’t have to meet the deductible to get coverage on it) but on the HDHPs I do need to meet the deductible before getting coverage for it.
I think I’m going to avoid the Kaiser option because I travel a lot for work (bad because Kaiser is limited to certain areas) and Kaiser I’ve heard is bad for mental health care.