Out of the Country, to enroll or not?

Hey all,

So long story short, I live out of the United States temporarily. I have a fully remote position that allows me to do this under the unique situation I am in, so its all good with my company and no need to worry.

My Open Enrollment is coming up here Mid-October. The only thing I used my Health Insurance for in 2023 was the money I put on my HSA for some pharmacy related items, but as of today my deductible for the year is still at zero dollars. I am receiving allergy shots and therapy in the foreign country, but at this point its all just coming from my cash, not even my HSA.

Now I know that I wont be able to save into my HSA if I do not have health insurance for 2024, and I think that’ll be ok. The country my wife and I temporarily live in is very cheap so if I get cancer or something severe here I can just pay out of pocket and wont end up in a mountain of debt. My health insurance would only work if I went back into the States for treatment anyway.

I know I wont get all the pre-tax benefits, but I think I’ll use the extra cash to fund a new Roth IRA or something. We should both be back by the beginning of 2025, so I will sign up in next years enrollment period.

My wife and I are in our early 30’s and very healthy (I just ran a marathon a few months ago), so I’m thinking the gamble is worth it.

What do you think? Has anyone done this before?

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