Canadian in US: Anthem Plan Recommendations

Hi, I'm a permanent resident here in the US and I do not have much experience with understanding the healthcare system. I work FT for a company that provides Anthem insurance and I don't understand the plans enough to know what each means. It's a small company and our HR doesn't give personal advice regarding insurance.

For context, I am planning on getting pregnant this year so ideally giving birth in 2026. This past year I just chose the cheaper Anthem Silver Select PPO which had a high deductible/OOP max, but the premium was only $40 per month.

The way the company benefits are structured, is: May-May coverage year / January-December deductible year.

State: AZ / Age: 29 / Income: $105k salary

The options I'm looking at are:

Anthem Gold Select PPO HSA/H 1700/3300/3400 15% PrevRx Deductible: $1700 / OOP Max: $3900 (family OOP $7800) Monthly premium: $159.06 Anthem Gold Select PPO 35/1000/20% Deductible: $1000 / OOP Max: $8200 (family OOP $16,400) Monthly premium: $133.04

Questions I have:

Only I am on this insurance through my work (my husband is in school and has his own insurance through them. They do not cover dependents though). If I have a baby, does that automatically bump me up to the family OOP max? Or does it stay on the individual OOP max? It seems like the obvious choice is to go with the first option (Gold Select HSA). Am I missing something here that would make the second option (non HSA) the right choice? Is an HSA worth it? I would use it to cover the OOP max which I will likely reach giving birth. The Gold Select PPO HSA allows me to have an HSA, but I don't have to contribute to it. If I got pregnant in April 2025 and had the baby in January 2026, that would mean all the funds I spend in 2025 towards the deductible/OOP max are gone, right? Pre-natal services are covered, but I would want to minimize my medical spend in 2025 (if possible) so that it's not wasted when the new year begins?

Thank you for the help!! Newbie at all this :*)

submitted by /u/K_P5
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