Traditional vs HDHP

Hello All,

I know this question has been asked over and over again in this sub, but I'm really struggling on which plan to pick this year. For the 8 years I've worked at my company, they've only offered 1 plan, a traditional plan. So there was no choice to be made. This open enrollment period they are offering the traditional plan we've always had, and introducing a new HDHP with an HSA.

The plan is through United Healthcare. Choice Plus Traditional vs Choice Plus High Deductible. Here's the Breakdown:

Traditional

Annual Cost – $7,086.36
Deductible – $1,250 associate, $2,500 family
Out of pocket max – $4,000 associate, $8,000 family
The coverages are pretty standard for a traditional plan, deductible then 10% for most items. $25 copay for specialist visits. $150 copay (waived if admitted) for the ER. $30 copay for urgent care. Preventative care is fully covered.

HDHP

Annual Cost – $5,716.20
Deductible – $4,000 associate, $8,000 family
Out of pocket max – $4,000 associate, $8,000 family
The company contributes $1,000/year to the HSA
Preventative care is fully covered, everything else is deductible (same as out of pocket max) then fully covered

The HSA is through Bank of America. Even though I hate Bank of America, it looks like their HSA plan is one of the best on the market and they have solid fund choices such as VTSAX.

We are a family of 3. Myself, my wife, and our 1 year old son. We all go to our preventative care visits, get our vaccinations, pretty standard stuff. Very rarely do we need a specialist visit. In fact, looking at our care for the past year, none of us went to a specialist. We have some regular prescriptions that we get from Amazon pharmacy and don't even use insurance because it's cheaper without.

If we were to go with the HDHP, the company would contribute $1,000, so we would be able to contribute $7,300/year and we would contribute all of that each year.

I'm torn between the 2 plans. The HDHP is definitely a riskier choice. If something happens we will end up paying a lot more out of pocket compared to the traditional plan. We are financially stable and have plenty of money saved. I'm not worried about that part of it. But the reason we have plenty of money saved is because we budget and keep a close eye on our finances.

The ability to contribute to an HSA is huge. Being an investment junkie, I would love the ability to do so. We have been contributing to an FSA every year, which is a royal pain in the butt trying to figure out how much to contribute so you don't lose funds at the end of the year.

I appreciate any help anyone can provide. If I need to provide any additional details about either plan, please let me know and I'll update the post. Thank you!

submitted by /u/lowlybananas
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