Are HSA (or whatever they are called now) worth it?

[mackmama]

We did it one year, and it was such a pain. We haven't done it again and didn't find it to be worth it.

[twowhat?]

We have had it before, and have it again now. It saves money, but yes is more of a PITA because you have to keep on top of it. But if you can keep on top of it, and have the financial accountability to be sure you have money set aside to go towards it (esp if there is an unexpected medical issue), then it can be a huge savings - particularly if your employer contributes a substantial amount towards it. So whether it's worth it will depend on where you stand on "time equals money".

[squimp]

Our HSA doesn't require documentation. It is part of our high deductible health plan, and our employer kicks in a certain amount per month, tax free and rolls over from year to year. Very different from the FSA, which requires documentation and does not roll over. We use it like a credit card to pay for all our scripts, glasses and any other medical expenses not directly covered by insurance. Our accountant actually recommended an HSA to us to be another place to put pre-tax funds. Initially I was concerned about the high deductible plan but it has ended up saving us about $2k per year overall compared to our old plan.

[maestramommy]

We have HSA but have not tapped into it since we are able to cover the out of pocket expenses so far. WE look at it as another investment account. I will say when we had an FSA it was kind of a pain because we had to project how much our out of pocket was going to be and we never wanted to be over since that money would then go down the drain.

[MelissaTC]

We too have switched to a high deductible plan with HSA. Our savings have been substantial. We use it like the previous poster- to pay for glasses, prescriptions, dental work, etc..

[anonomom]

We've had both HSAs and FSAs and have found them to be more trouble than they're worth. Our first time doing and FSA was great -- it was just a credit card we could use for eligible purchases. The next year, it started getting annoying. They'd come back months after we used the card to demand documentation of random transactions, so we had to keep receipts forever.

We have an HSA right now and it makes me so angry. It's very difficult to file a claim (I have no idea how to do it and they don't make it easy to find out) and they charge us $4 a month just to have the HSA. Basically, the money is just sitting there being pissed away because we can't figure out how to access it.

[brittone2]

We have a higher deductible plan with an hsa. Yes, it is at times a pain because we are randomly asked for supporting documentation, but overall we are happy with the combo.

[egoldber]

Interesting. I've never found it to be that onerous. It was worse before we could submit on-line. When I had to fax claims, that sucked.

But we generally almost always have 2-3 large expenses per year that max out most of it.

[janine]

Is it an FSA or an HSA?

Our HSA requires no paperwork. We deposit and withdrawal money with no paperwork. We have to keep documentation in case of an audit, but that is separate.

When we had an FSA we had to submit paperwork for everything.

A rough estimate of the benefit is to take your tax bracket and multiply it by the amount you are putting in. So, if you are in the 25% tax bracket and put in $4000, you save $1000.

Agree with this. I find it a pain for the FSA but the HSA actually does not require anything, you keep the paperwork in case only. It is a great tax savings and also potential investment vehicle and never lose the funds. I think its is great option and can use it as little or as much as you want. The filing process is via HSA bank for us and is all on line, I found it very easy, direct deposit straight to your account of choice. My employer contributes anywhere from 500 to 1000 a year. I was able to pay for my pricey root canal using the HSA which helped ease the blow a bit so to speak.