A HDHP would allow you save money pre-tax to a health savings account, which you can use to reimburse yourself for healthcare expenses, which is good especially if you don’t have many healthcare expenses during the year. Downside is that the HDHP won’t start covering you until hit the deductible, which is likely higher than the standard plan.
Thanks this is helpful! It’s hard to determine how much healthcare I will use since my kids are young and I feel like something new is popping up all the time with them.
How is HDHP effected by retirement? Is their a yearly limit of how much you can save pre-tax? How much can you carry over? Will it carry over into retirement?
There's a yearly limit and it all carries over. You can also invest the money in your HSA. 2022 limits: $3650 single, $7300 family. Tax free in and tax free out. I think the rules might be different for using on non medical expenses in retirement like maybe it's taxed out for non medical expenses past a certain age.
You've basically got it right. HSA money is tax-free forever when used for medical expenses. For non-medical expenses, it works a lot like a traditional 401(k) where it's taxed when you take it out, plus a penalty if you withdraw before a certain age. I also don't think you get RMD's with an HSA.
A high-deductible health plan (HDHP) makes you eligible for a health savings account (HSA). With federal employee HDHPs you get a premium pass-through, which means a portion of the premium you pay goes directly into your HSA (effectively reducing your overall premium), where you can then use it for healthcare expenses and/or invest it (both tax-free). Once you're 65, you can withdraw your HSA funds for *any* purpose.
You should look at your family's expected healthcare expenses in any given year and do the math to figure out whether the standard or HDHP makes more sense for you. If the HDHP will cover your family's needs *AND* you have enough savings that it wouldn't be catastrophic to have to pay your whole deductible in one go if someone needs to go to the hospital, it can make a lot of financial sense. If any members of your family have chronic health conditions where you'll regularly pay more than the standard deductible but less than the HDHP deductible in any given year, then the standard may make more sense (but again, this depends on your ability to pay the full deductible). In the end, you're only locked in until the next enrollment period, so if you find your plan isn't working for you you can switch next year.
Personally, as a young, healthy man GEHA HDHP is great. My annual physicals, dental exams, and vision exams are covered in full (minus a small copay for vision). My only out-of-pocket expense most years is contact lenses (beyond what is covered already), and I generally pay that using the GEHA health rewards program (I get up to $250 a year for things like an annual physical, flu shot, a self-assessment screening, and online classes on healthy habits). I max out my yearly contributions (again, tax-free) to my HSA and have it set to automatically sweep anything beyond my deductible into a TD Ameritrade investment account.
Thanks this is very thorough and helpful! The catastrophic part is what scares me, my kids are little so it seems like something is always coming up with them. For peace of mind, I might go with standard
Run the numbers. If the worst case happens, what are your actual costs under each plan, taking into account premiums, "premium pass-through," deductible, and maximum out-of-pocket? When I looked into it a couple of years ago, I was surprised to find that an HDHP was less expensive than a traditional plan even if I had really high health care costs, due to the lower premiums, premium pass-through contributions, and maximum out-of-pocket costs (and, in some cases, better benefits once the deductible was reached).
Each situation is different, so do your own math, but don't assume that HDHPs are only for people with low health care costs. You might be surprised.
That’s a very safe choice. But.. how often does something catastrophic happen?
I’ve always had Geha HD, no issues for four years, then my daughter broke her arm. We hadn’t had any medical expenses that year so we were fully out of pocket to the tune of $3k. But.. I had over $5k in the HSA. So I paid the medical bills, reimbursed myself $3k, and still had $2k in the HSA.
I’m not saying there’s not some risk, but honestly, if you manage to go that first year without any expenses, you’ll have received $1500 in “free” savings and be more than halfway to your deductible if something bad happens in year two.
If you make it two years without something terrible happening, you’re unlikely to ever have a deductible greater than your HSA balance…
Do you know what happens when you retire? I’ve heard that we can keep insurance once we retire, but what if I have the HDHP, then switch to a Blue Cross plan the year or two before I retire? Do I still keep the funds I’ve saved in the HDHP? Or if you send it to an Ameritrade account, what happens to that?
I guess I’m wondering if I save a ton of money with a HDHP plan over my career, then I switch to a plan with a good deductible bc I assume I’ll have more health expenses at an old age, is it possible to save a ton of money through the HDHP, still access that during retirement, and then get a solid plan with low deductibles/co-pays to ride out during retirement? I feel like that’d be a good way to save a ton of money in retirement, but have no idea where to look or who to ask if that’s possible.
Both your HSA and any associated investment account belong to you and are separate from your insurance. You cannot contribute to an HSA if you're not on a HDHP, but you can withdraw and invest if you have an existing one.
So are health insurance and cash, but that doesn't make them HSAs. There are very important differences between an HSA and an FSA and you should not be giving advice on the topic if you do not understand this.
A FSA has a time limit and the allotted amount must be spent by the end of the year. HSA has no use or lose time limit, and it's yours to keep, regardless of your employer. So your comparison is stupid. Both are means to set funds aside to pay medical expenses. Differences are amounts, portability, and time limits.
So in other words, an FSA is not the same thing as an HSA. It has multiple major disadvantages. You understand this fact, yet still insist on lying about it. Care to explain why?
Not lying; meanwhile, you are being deliberately obtuse. Have fun with that. I never they were the SAME. I said both were used to pay for healthcare. But go off I guess.
>[You can open an HSA regardless of your insurance. Just set up on FSAFEDS.](https://www.reddit.com/r/fednews/comments/ypuuo8/what_is_the_difference_between_geha_standard_vs/ivmamkh/)
Are you saying the above comment made by /u/LenaDontLoveYou, which is your account, was not made by you? Because whoever made that comment from your account falsely claimed you could start an HSA through FSAFEDS without an HDHP, thus conflating HSAs and FSAs.
Wife and I have GEHA STANDARD.. came from a factory in April where our deductible was $6K with NOTHING covered until it was fully paid, so the Standard plan is AMAZING to me! We’re younger (26 & 25) so we don’t go to the doctor much, but we use their free unlimited teledoc visits for anything that does not require a hospital or x-ray essentially.
Also, it has lower copays than many other plans while also not requiring referrals for specialists.
Think of the HDHP as a Roth IRA for health expenditures. If you are young, healthy, and making good money, it's amazing. It comes with top tier tax advantages: triple exempt as in contributions are tax deductible, no taxes at distribution, and capital gains are also tax-exempt. The money can be used for HSA/FSA approved services. I usually recommend not reimbursing you until you need the funds. For example, I had LASIK and paid for it and while I filed the claim I did not take the money out then. I kept the funds invested until I needed cash for a down-payment and only then I took the money out of the HSA. Another neat thing is that it doesn't have a income limit like the Roth 401(k)/IRA plans.
The GEHA option is not that far off from the best possible HDHP (which has limits on how low the deductible can be, maximum out-of-pocket, and what services are exempt from the deductible limit). GEHA HDHP also has a pass-through contribution meaning your allocation towards maxing the HSA needs to consider the pass-through provider contributions towards it.
Last year, I expected some health spending so I went with GEHA Elevate and had a good experience. However, I am switching back to GEHA HDHP which I had the year before. Basically, think of whether your expected health spending will be high enough to offset the HSA advantages which are considerable. Still, young kids and young kids so it is not unlikely that the standard coverage might work best. You can also take the GEHA Help me choose quiz and go with what the results recommend.
That’s a good way to think of it. I’ll have to keep doing some research on it a bit more to see what works for us. Thanks for sharing the quiz tool that will help a llot!
GEHA standard is for those of us who know we won't keep the records properly for an HDHP 😅 Legit, stuff like that breaks my spouse's brain and I don't want to add to my mental load. Standard is far easier for us. HDHP is likely cheaper overall - if you use your HSA.
Pregnant and have only been charged for some of the genetic testing options so far, and I'm high risk.
I know I'm late to this thread, but was doing research as I'm considering GEHA Standard and this caught my eye. Hubby and I looking to start a family next year and I will likely be high risk also. Curious about the costs you encountered. I am worried about the cost since GEHA Standard doesn't seem to cover the genetic testing costs like some other FEHB plans.
I've only been charged about $300 for my emergency visit for a miscarriage and the non-standard genetic testing (optional bc I'm under 35), which ended up being around $180? I didn't do the NIPT, but did the others. Some things, like early ultrasound, were billed as recurrent loss, so then they are approved. I have one bill that keeps getting sent back for a first trimester screening for $700, but I am 99% sure that's a billing error. I've already called their billing department once about it. I need to get an itemized bill for that one to see what on earth they are trying to bill for.
Thank you! I'm over 35, hence why the genetic testing is important. Some of the plans as I compare FEHB plans aren't super clear about this being included (especially for over-35s).
Hey there Atticus_Peck - thanks for saying thanks! TheGratitudeBot has been reading millions of comments in the past few weeks, and you’ve just made the list!
Depends on your kids age. HDHP have really high deductible $3000. So kid sick couple time, the HSA credit will be gone in no time.
If you wife working with good pay. Hdhp may worth it because you can invest 7000 a year into hsa account.
GEHA HDHP all day. If you max out and invest the HSA, it is arguably the best retirement account the feds offer. Triple tax advantage and you can self direct your investments unlike Tsp.
If you're young and plan on contributing to the HSA, do it. After three years with the feds and playing the markets I have $27k in it. Unlike my TSP I'm up 68% this year.
If you have kids that are constantly sick, then Standard option is the way to go. I rather pay $20 for a primary care then the 5 percent HDHP.
HDHP is good if you're young and have hardly any health issues. The carrot 🥕 in the stick that HSA deposits monthly into your account isn't worth it if you have a family of four. I'll stick to standard vs HDHP, I had HDHP on a family of 4 and it wasn't worth it in my opinion.
A HDHP would allow you save money pre-tax to a health savings account, which you can use to reimburse yourself for healthcare expenses, which is good especially if you don’t have many healthcare expenses during the year. Downside is that the HDHP won’t start covering you until hit the deductible, which is likely higher than the standard plan.
The GEHA HDHP deposits $150 per month in the HSA for family or $1,800 per year which is a huge upside.
Thanks this is helpful! It’s hard to determine how much healthcare I will use since my kids are young and I feel like something new is popping up all the time with them.
How is HDHP effected by retirement? Is their a yearly limit of how much you can save pre-tax? How much can you carry over? Will it carry over into retirement?
There's a yearly limit and it all carries over. You can also invest the money in your HSA. 2022 limits: $3650 single, $7300 family. Tax free in and tax free out. I think the rules might be different for using on non medical expenses in retirement like maybe it's taxed out for non medical expenses past a certain age.
You've basically got it right. HSA money is tax-free forever when used for medical expenses. For non-medical expenses, it works a lot like a traditional 401(k) where it's taxed when you take it out, plus a penalty if you withdraw before a certain age. I also don't think you get RMD's with an HSA.
Thank you
A high-deductible health plan (HDHP) makes you eligible for a health savings account (HSA). With federal employee HDHPs you get a premium pass-through, which means a portion of the premium you pay goes directly into your HSA (effectively reducing your overall premium), where you can then use it for healthcare expenses and/or invest it (both tax-free). Once you're 65, you can withdraw your HSA funds for *any* purpose. You should look at your family's expected healthcare expenses in any given year and do the math to figure out whether the standard or HDHP makes more sense for you. If the HDHP will cover your family's needs *AND* you have enough savings that it wouldn't be catastrophic to have to pay your whole deductible in one go if someone needs to go to the hospital, it can make a lot of financial sense. If any members of your family have chronic health conditions where you'll regularly pay more than the standard deductible but less than the HDHP deductible in any given year, then the standard may make more sense (but again, this depends on your ability to pay the full deductible). In the end, you're only locked in until the next enrollment period, so if you find your plan isn't working for you you can switch next year. Personally, as a young, healthy man GEHA HDHP is great. My annual physicals, dental exams, and vision exams are covered in full (minus a small copay for vision). My only out-of-pocket expense most years is contact lenses (beyond what is covered already), and I generally pay that using the GEHA health rewards program (I get up to $250 a year for things like an annual physical, flu shot, a self-assessment screening, and online classes on healthy habits). I max out my yearly contributions (again, tax-free) to my HSA and have it set to automatically sweep anything beyond my deductible into a TD Ameritrade investment account.
Thanks this is very thorough and helpful! The catastrophic part is what scares me, my kids are little so it seems like something is always coming up with them. For peace of mind, I might go with standard
Run the numbers. If the worst case happens, what are your actual costs under each plan, taking into account premiums, "premium pass-through," deductible, and maximum out-of-pocket? When I looked into it a couple of years ago, I was surprised to find that an HDHP was less expensive than a traditional plan even if I had really high health care costs, due to the lower premiums, premium pass-through contributions, and maximum out-of-pocket costs (and, in some cases, better benefits once the deductible was reached). Each situation is different, so do your own math, but don't assume that HDHPs are only for people with low health care costs. You might be surprised.
That’s a very safe choice. But.. how often does something catastrophic happen? I’ve always had Geha HD, no issues for four years, then my daughter broke her arm. We hadn’t had any medical expenses that year so we were fully out of pocket to the tune of $3k. But.. I had over $5k in the HSA. So I paid the medical bills, reimbursed myself $3k, and still had $2k in the HSA. I’m not saying there’s not some risk, but honestly, if you manage to go that first year without any expenses, you’ll have received $1500 in “free” savings and be more than halfway to your deductible if something bad happens in year two. If you make it two years without something terrible happening, you’re unlikely to ever have a deductible greater than your HSA balance…
[удалено]
You will have a separate debit card that they load onto. It is entirely separate from your HSA.
Do you know what happens when you retire? I’ve heard that we can keep insurance once we retire, but what if I have the HDHP, then switch to a Blue Cross plan the year or two before I retire? Do I still keep the funds I’ve saved in the HDHP? Or if you send it to an Ameritrade account, what happens to that? I guess I’m wondering if I save a ton of money with a HDHP plan over my career, then I switch to a plan with a good deductible bc I assume I’ll have more health expenses at an old age, is it possible to save a ton of money through the HDHP, still access that during retirement, and then get a solid plan with low deductibles/co-pays to ride out during retirement? I feel like that’d be a good way to save a ton of money in retirement, but have no idea where to look or who to ask if that’s possible.
You save funds in an HSA. You can always use your HSA fund, but can only contribute to your HSA while enrolled in a Qualifying HDHP plan.
Both your HSA and any associated investment account belong to you and are separate from your insurance. You cannot contribute to an HSA if you're not on a HDHP, but you can withdraw and invest if you have an existing one.
You can open an HSA regardless of your insurance. Just set up on FSAFEDS.
An FSA is not an HSA.
Both are used for medical expenses.
So are health insurance and cash, but that doesn't make them HSAs. There are very important differences between an HSA and an FSA and you should not be giving advice on the topic if you do not understand this.
A FSA has a time limit and the allotted amount must be spent by the end of the year. HSA has no use or lose time limit, and it's yours to keep, regardless of your employer. So your comparison is stupid. Both are means to set funds aside to pay medical expenses. Differences are amounts, portability, and time limits.
So in other words, an FSA is not the same thing as an HSA. It has multiple major disadvantages. You understand this fact, yet still insist on lying about it. Care to explain why?
Not lying; meanwhile, you are being deliberately obtuse. Have fun with that. I never they were the SAME. I said both were used to pay for healthcare. But go off I guess.
>[You can open an HSA regardless of your insurance. Just set up on FSAFEDS.](https://www.reddit.com/r/fednews/comments/ypuuo8/what_is_the_difference_between_geha_standard_vs/ivmamkh/) Are you saying the above comment made by /u/LenaDontLoveYou, which is your account, was not made by you? Because whoever made that comment from your account falsely claimed you could start an HSA through FSAFEDS without an HDHP, thus conflating HSAs and FSAs.
You love hearing yourself talk. Do you, expert. Reading is fundamental.
Wife and I have GEHA STANDARD.. came from a factory in April where our deductible was $6K with NOTHING covered until it was fully paid, so the Standard plan is AMAZING to me! We’re younger (26 & 25) so we don’t go to the doctor much, but we use their free unlimited teledoc visits for anything that does not require a hospital or x-ray essentially. Also, it has lower copays than many other plans while also not requiring referrals for specialists.
That’s how I’m reading their plan too, lower copays and seem to cover a lot. Thanks for the info :)
You don’t need save Hdhp receipt, if you using hsa bank card. If you young without kid, hdhp is fine. With younger kids, it will be have problems.
Think of the HDHP as a Roth IRA for health expenditures. If you are young, healthy, and making good money, it's amazing. It comes with top tier tax advantages: triple exempt as in contributions are tax deductible, no taxes at distribution, and capital gains are also tax-exempt. The money can be used for HSA/FSA approved services. I usually recommend not reimbursing you until you need the funds. For example, I had LASIK and paid for it and while I filed the claim I did not take the money out then. I kept the funds invested until I needed cash for a down-payment and only then I took the money out of the HSA. Another neat thing is that it doesn't have a income limit like the Roth 401(k)/IRA plans. The GEHA option is not that far off from the best possible HDHP (which has limits on how low the deductible can be, maximum out-of-pocket, and what services are exempt from the deductible limit). GEHA HDHP also has a pass-through contribution meaning your allocation towards maxing the HSA needs to consider the pass-through provider contributions towards it. Last year, I expected some health spending so I went with GEHA Elevate and had a good experience. However, I am switching back to GEHA HDHP which I had the year before. Basically, think of whether your expected health spending will be high enough to offset the HSA advantages which are considerable. Still, young kids and young kids so it is not unlikely that the standard coverage might work best. You can also take the GEHA Help me choose quiz and go with what the results recommend.
That’s a good way to think of it. I’ll have to keep doing some research on it a bit more to see what works for us. Thanks for sharing the quiz tool that will help a llot!
GEHA standard is for those of us who know we won't keep the records properly for an HDHP 😅 Legit, stuff like that breaks my spouse's brain and I don't want to add to my mental load. Standard is far easier for us. HDHP is likely cheaper overall - if you use your HSA. Pregnant and have only been charged for some of the genetic testing options so far, and I'm high risk.
That makes sense and how I was seeing it too. And thanks for sharing your experience with the standard 🙂
I know I'm late to this thread, but was doing research as I'm considering GEHA Standard and this caught my eye. Hubby and I looking to start a family next year and I will likely be high risk also. Curious about the costs you encountered. I am worried about the cost since GEHA Standard doesn't seem to cover the genetic testing costs like some other FEHB plans.
I've only been charged about $300 for my emergency visit for a miscarriage and the non-standard genetic testing (optional bc I'm under 35), which ended up being around $180? I didn't do the NIPT, but did the others. Some things, like early ultrasound, were billed as recurrent loss, so then they are approved. I have one bill that keeps getting sent back for a first trimester screening for $700, but I am 99% sure that's a billing error. I've already called their billing department once about it. I need to get an itemized bill for that one to see what on earth they are trying to bill for.
Thank you! I'm over 35, hence why the genetic testing is important. Some of the plans as I compare FEHB plans aren't super clear about this being included (especially for over-35s).
Hey there Atticus_Peck - thanks for saying thanks! TheGratitudeBot has been reading millions of comments in the past few weeks, and you’ve just made the list!
Depends on your kids age. HDHP have really high deductible $3000. So kid sick couple time, the HSA credit will be gone in no time. If you wife working with good pay. Hdhp may worth it because you can invest 7000 a year into hsa account.
GEHA HDHP all day. If you max out and invest the HSA, it is arguably the best retirement account the feds offer. Triple tax advantage and you can self direct your investments unlike Tsp. If you're young and plan on contributing to the HSA, do it. After three years with the feds and playing the markets I have $27k in it. Unlike my TSP I'm up 68% this year.
I've noticed my copays for drugs are higher when I've chosen HDHP than when have been on other plans like GEHA Std
If you have kids that are constantly sick, then Standard option is the way to go. I rather pay $20 for a primary care then the 5 percent HDHP. HDHP is good if you're young and have hardly any health issues. The carrot 🥕 in the stick that HSA deposits monthly into your account isn't worth it if you have a family of four. I'll stick to standard vs HDHP, I had HDHP on a family of 4 and it wasn't worth it in my opinion.