Someone mentioned that they switched to HSA and had medical event before HSA balance could cover it all.
As it happens, so did we.
We switched to HSA in Jan. and in Feb. my wife needed her first back surgery.
That surgery would max us out for the year, meaning anything else during that year was going to be covered 100%.
Great, but what about that surgeon that's asking for a bunch of money that we won't have until HSA contributions catch up (about 8+ months).
No problem. I called doctor's billing department, explained that IRS won't let us make any additional contributions due to yearly maximums and that the money would be regularly deposited every 2 weeks. They were more than fine with setting us up on automated payment plan. No negative feedback to credit bureau, no penalties or interest charged.


I have since learned that I could have simply lied to my HSA people and tell them that my paycheck is changing from bi-weekly payment to a monthly one (salary), or even quarterly one.
Since they calculate maximum yearly contributions paycheck deductions based on number of paycheck a year, stating that I only get 12 paychecks a year vs. 26 (biweekly) ones, means that my paycheck deductions can be higher, I max out sooner, my investments are funded that much sooner.
Now, I do have to remember to change/stop my deductions when I reach yearly maximum, although this year they stopped it for me automatically, so there is that.