Open Season on Open Enrollment

Ah, my favorite time of year (Yes, I am being sarcastic). The time of year I have to think about which medical plan to choose for husband and I, as well as a few other benefits my company makes available, for a fee. No surprise, most of the insurance plans are going up in price.

For years I had a regular medical insurance plan that was easy to understand. I had a co-pay for doctors visits, and an deductible plan for hospital visits. Then a few years ago my company switched to a HRA or a HSA. Didn't understand either one even though my company offered meetings to explain. All I knew I would be paying more money and got less. The first year I went with the HRA, even though it was the most expensive, because I wanted the best coverage I could get. My husband was pushing 60, and has a number of health issues, and I was terrified of being underinsured. I assumed if the most expensive it had to be the best. But last year, after finally understanding HRA & HSA much better, I realized the HSA provided me with tax savings the HRA didn't. By this time we had two plans to choose from; HSA Gold & HSA Silver. Naturally the Gold was more expensive.

My company provided an online tool we could use to determine which plan was best for our needs, and to my surprise, the cheapest in premiums, the Silver was considered best. I didn't think that could be possible, not when the cost for one 24-hour hospital stay for my husband, when he was having an additional lead put in his pacemaker, cost $124,000+ Thank God insurance covered all but $1700, but there was no way the lowest cost insurance premium would work for us, so I went with Gold.

This year I tried the tool again, and once again Silver is supposedly the best plan. I would save about $2400 in premiums, but in worst case I would be $800 out of pocket more than on the Gold plan if I max out. I have decided to roll the dice and take the gamble. I am saving about $95 a paycheck or $2470 a year. That is money that can pay down debt or go to savings. Since I have a savings plan for 2017 these savings will go towards the debt. And I am not worried about not having enough funds to pay the medical bills that will appear because I have about $2000 in my HSA from last year that will roll over, and with money that I can earn (Health & Wellness dollars) and tax free payroll deductions, I should have a well funded medical fund by the end of January, middle of February. Now if my husband can just stay healthy for the first few months of the year.