HSA contribution

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faltuk1
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HSA contribution

Post by faltuk1 »

I am a federal employee and enrolled in Aetna HDHP. The plan contributes $1500 to my HSA account. Does this count towards my annual contribution of $6450, meaning I am limitied to $4950 ($6450-$1500)?
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VictoriaF
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Re: HSA contribution

Post by VictoriaF »

I have not checked the 2014 numbers yet, but in principle, you are correct. In my case, GEHA is contributing $60/month on my behalf, and I contribute the remainder up to the maximum annual HSA contribution. I do it via payroll and don't pay income and payroll taxes on the amounts going to HSA.

Victoria
Inventor of the Bogleheads Secret Handshake | Winner of the 2015 Boglehead Contest. | Every joke has a bit of a joke. ... The rest is the truth. (Marat F)
SteveKL
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Re: HSA contribution

Post by SteveKL »

Correct. The contribution limit applies to the total, regardless of whether the employee or the employer is making the contribution.
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faltuk1
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Re: HSA contribution

Post by faltuk1 »

Thanks VictoriaF. Have you done any comparision of GEHA vs Aetna? Any suggestions? Pricewise, Aetna is little ceaper.
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VictoriaF
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Re: HSA contribution

Post by VictoriaF »

faltuk1 wrote:Thanks VictoriaF. Have you done any comparision of GEHA vs Aetna? Any suggestions? Pricewise, Aetna is little ceaper.
I did the comparison a few years ago and decided to go with GEHA for two reasons. The first one is that Grabiner is using it, and he's one of the most knowledgeable and analytical posters here. The second reason is that GEHA is a non-profit and thus probably provides a better value. You can see that my reasons are subjective, but the difference between the two HDHP/HSAs is so small that in the end it probably does not matter.

Victoria
Inventor of the Bogleheads Secret Handshake | Winner of the 2015 Boglehead Contest. | Every joke has a bit of a joke. ... The rest is the truth. (Marat F)
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faltuk1
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Re: HSA contribution

Post by faltuk1 »

Thanks VictoriaF. I am going through GEHA coverage now. It looks with 2014 rates, GEHA has now gotten cheaper. Also, they use HSA account with HSA bank. My personal HSA account is with HSA bank. Do you know if they would keep a seperate account or would contribute to my existing account?

Are you overall happy with their network , service etc?
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VictoriaF
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Re: HSA contribution

Post by VictoriaF »

faltuk1 wrote:Thanks VictoriaF. I am going through GEHA coverage now. It looks with 2014 rates, GEHA has now gotten cheaper. Also, they use HSA account with HSA bank. My personal HSA account is with HSA bank. Do you know if they would keep a seperate account or would contribute to my existing account?

Are you overall happy with their network , service etc?
I have a single HSA account with HSABank and have not had to deal with the account maintenance yet. Grabiner says that I can use their brokerage account to buy something interesting, but so far I have not looked into it. And so my HSA funds are just stagnating in cash.

I am quite happy with GEHA, but I don't have any medical problems and did not have a chance to stress test them. Every year I am getting free physicals and top up the HSA account. One question I had in the beginning was which doctors and hospitals were in-network, and it turned out that everybody I was interested in was in. I am in the D.C. area.

Hope this helps,

Victoria
Inventor of the Bogleheads Secret Handshake | Winner of the 2015 Boglehead Contest. | Every joke has a bit of a joke. ... The rest is the truth. (Marat F)
BackOfTheNet
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Re: HSA contribution

Post by BackOfTheNet »

I too have GEHA (last 3 years) and have been very happy. In my opinion they are very good about paying bills on time and their customer service is great. I actually called them today and you can get a competent person on the phone in a few minutes.

We also recently had an out-of-network hospital birth and what GEHA paid (over $10k) seemed very fair. This was with the standard option but we have had the HDHP in the past.
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faltuk1
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Re: HSA contribution

Post by faltuk1 »

Thanks VictoriaF. The only thing so far I find lacking is that GEHA pays only 50% of dental preventative services (cleaning). Considering that I have 4 member family (2 adult and 2 children), with 2 cleanings per year, this could add up (porbably around $500/year out of pocket).
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VictoriaF
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Re: HSA contribution

Post by VictoriaF »

faltuk1 wrote:Thanks VictoriaF. The only thing so far I find lacking is that GEHA pays only 50% of dental preventative services (cleaning). Considering that I have 4 member family (2 adult and 2 children), with 2 cleanings per year, this could add up (porbably around $500/year out of pocket).
faltuk1,

I am getting a dental insurance every year. As a Federal employee you could get a dental insurance from GEHA, which would be convenient for the benefit coordination, but my dentist's office likes MetLife and I accommodate them. If you do get a dental insurance, check if your dentists are in-network. Also note that while HDHP with HSA does not allow you to have an FSA, you can have LEX. In other words, you can put aside some pretax money to cover dental and vision out of packet expenses (BUT not for regular medical expenses).

Victoria
Inventor of the Bogleheads Secret Handshake | Winner of the 2015 Boglehead Contest. | Every joke has a bit of a joke. ... The rest is the truth. (Marat F)
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