I was wondering how many of you have HDHP and use HSA?

Disclaimer! Below statements are reflective of my family's situation and are not meant as a tax, legal, medical nor any other type of professional advice.
Seek professional for your unique situation guidance.

My family has been fortunite in that we've been relatively healthy.
We've had few major events (broken bones, back surgeries, etc.) but not major hospitalizations.
I switched several years ago from standard plan into the HDHP (High Deductible Healthcare Plan) after learning that taking into account co-pay for doctor visits, my worst case scenario was breaking even.
If we had a good year, as in not using doctors much, I could be literally saving about $6,000/year.

Now for HSA.
What a great program.
It's better than unmatched 401k, in that contributions, investment growth and withdrawals are all tax protected!

Here is one video that explains things well. Stop at 6:26 to avoid self sales speal.
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I looked into it when I was “single” . I knew I was getting married so it didn’t make much sense at the time. If her company didn’t provide healthcare I would probably do the HsA.

For self employed folk or where your employer doesn’t pay healthcare this is a great option and I would do it in a heart beat. Everyone’s situation is different but it’s a great option!

True, but only for that year- if you don't use it by a certain date in the next calendar year, you lose it. I never liked HSA for that reason- for everything else, I think it's great.

That is a flex spending account that you are thinking of. A flex spending account doesnt roll over. HSA accounts do roll over and funds are there until you spend them. You can even use your HSA account to pay for things in later years if your current plan is not HSA compatible.

What AZCS said.
I know of few folks that had the FSA and hated it. They either didn't have enough or they were racing to Walgreen's on 12/31 buying up bandages and stuff to use up the money before end of the year.

HSA is not like that. I've had money roll over for some time now.
It's slow to get going, especially if you use it. My HDHP if maxed out only leaves few hundred bucks left each year. First $1,000 can't be invested and has to say in HSA account for use for doctors, etc.
Anything over $1,000 can be invested in whatever.
Look at that video.
I have some investments earning double digit returns, all tax free. Not tax deffered -- tax free.
Sure I have to spend it on healthcare, but I challenge you to find one person that can't find a way to spend money on eyes, teeth, braces, crack, etc.
I wish I could put more than the $6,750/yr allowed.

Looks like contribution limits are going up to $6,900 next year. Awesome!

My health care cost is usually about $0, other than an occasional bottle of generic Naproxin, aspirin or Tums and an occasional office visit. I'm almost never sick and I don't smoke, drink or use drugs and I don't engage in risky behavior. Sounds boring, but I'd rather be healthy than not.

However, I'll be looking further into this kind of account.

My main job unrelated to this field.... I went into the HSA as it just became an option a couple years ago. Personally I like it for myself being young and single. For a family or when you have a lot of Doctors visits I feel the regular old plan would be better. I don't even want to tell you how low of a weekly payment we pay on the regular plan. It's stupid cheap. Ok i'll tell lol. $24 a week and the benefits are stellar. They pay 90% and after the first $1,000 pay 100%. My HSA weekly $0 is required. But I opt for $30 a week to take advantage of getting more $ in there and the tax free benefits plus I like how I can invest this money and take it with me when I retire. After a certain age you could use the funds for whatever even none medical. I kind of view it like a 401k plan. Dr's visits I have no copay and prescription drugs I have never paid more then $3 and I just use the plan debit card to cover that. The company contributes $900 a year. Also they have an app called cyc mobile and its awesome. Submit any expenses thru that. Take a photo and they mail a check out. Payed for something yourself just create a claim in seconds and they mail you a check. It's great. They pay 90% up to you meeting the coinsurance of 4,000. After $4,000 they pay 100%.
I like how you can use it to pay for shit you couldn't normally like laser eye surgery and other random shit.

I have a annual "preach" to our employees.....I literally goad them into signing up for the HSA....I haven't had a single one not come back and say "why did I wait?" they just make too much sense.

I have an HSA account. It is tax free for life, and rolls over every year. Some of you are confusing FSA with HSA accounts. They are two different things. The company I work for deposits $2000 a year in to the account, and it is interest bearing. I have a Master Card tied to the account that I can use for any medical expenses. I wouldn't go with any other plan, unless I was in really bad health. I figure by the time I get older and more decrepit, I should have a decent amount of money banked in the account.

You are especially the type of person that should use it.
It costs you nothing, it's tax deductable and when you get older, marry or whatever, you'll have the money to pay the occasional doctor.
Hell, you can use it for the occasional Naproxen, aspirin, etc. now, since you get a credit card with the account.
Oh, and since it's a self managed fund, there are no expense reports to file, etc.
I suppose you should keep the receipt if you get audited, but that's about it.

HSA seems like a good idea as long as you stay healthy. But what happens when you get one of those pesky unplanned things like cancer? It looks like you could eat up the account very quickly and be in trouble.

It would depend on the deductible, co-insurance and out-of-pocket maximums. With cancer or other catastrophic situations you are likely to hit maximums anyway.

With the plans that are available to me, I’d need close to $35k in medical expenditures before a low deductible plan would be a better deal than a high deductible. I plow the difference between the low and high deductible plans into an HSA. Even with broken bones and many doctor visits over the last two years I’m still up almost $6k in the HSA. If I have a low deductible, I always pay the premium whether I go to the doctor or not. If I have high deductible and don’t go to the doctor, I save that money. It’s a calculated risk but it’s worked for me.

But, again, it all depends on your plan. I check my math every year just to be sure a high deductible plan is still a better value.

Y'all think this shit is hard to figure out now, wait until you are at retirement age and have some not so good illnesses.

Talk about a system that's damn difficult to figure out.

For no good reason at all, the drug I use (a generic for CelCept) was changed from one tier to another, so my out of pocket for that drug has increased drastically, as well as my monthly premium increasing by some 46%.

I see this as a result of the ACA, and all the free healthcare given to others.

It seems like though even on policies with a maximum, it’s going to be higher than what most can get built up in an account. For my wife and I at 42, this would still be a good method since we are healthy. But my concern is at 42 we are at a higher risk of those sudden surprises being diagnosed. And it will just get worse going forward. Also, if we had an HSA when my twins were born we would probably have been screwed. At 3 weeks Old my son was was rushed to Wake Forest where he spent a week (two nights in NICU) and was diagnosed for epilepsy. The special children’s ambulance that made the 2hr trip each way to transport him was somewhere in the neighborhood of $15k. Now he sees one of the top pediatric Neurologists in the world at duke. They’ve done genetic testing, EEG’s, sleep studies, etc. His twin sister sees a different neurologist for severe leg pain issues at night.

Insurance is a higher cost, but lower risk, and the HSA is a lower cost with higher risk. But the gamble in the end is you life.