I didn’t mean that an individual HDHP plan wouldn’t have a different deductible/OOP max than a family plan.
What I meant was that all of the family HDHP plans I have had do not have a separate lower deductible/OOP max for any individual within the family, it’s just all rolled into “you have a family plan, this is the deductible/OOP max for the family”. It was a big surprise with the first HDHP plan we had since we were used to having individual vs family deductibles and OOP maxes in our prior family non-HDHP non-HSA eligible plans, but each of the subsequent HSA-eligible HDHP ones (at different companies) have all worked the same.
Yeah, our family deductible is $6k, individual OOP maxes within our family are $8.7k, and family OOP max is $12.4k. Next year, the indv OOP maxes are increasing to $9.1k, no change to family max.
We have another high deductible option with higher premiums. That one has a deductible in 2023 of $3.5k, indv OOP max of $9.1k (same as cheaper plan), and family OOP max of $11.6k.
I’ve built out a model to try to find a situation where the more expensive plan is cost-effective, and I can’t find one. I assume the actuaries who priced that have to know that, right?
The premium is $2,080 more a year for the lower deductible/lower OOP max plan.
If the claims are between $3,500 and $6,000, you’re paying 20% of that difference under the more expensive plan, and 100% under the cheaper plan, so the biggest gap there is $2,000. The individual member OOP is the same between the two plans, and the total OOP max is only $800 cheaper…so yeah, there is no scenario where it’s ever cheaper.
If the premiums were less than $2,000 more annually, that scenario would exist.
Maybe all you’re paying for is a smaller risk of getting a giant bill all at once? Or if you know you’re not working the full year and you’ll have some crazy high bills before you stop paying premiums? idk.
and even then, per numbersguy’s found link - it also depends on how the plan options are priced.
at my work and for my family’s expected care needs, we are in HDHP w HSA. There is a higher deductible HDHP option we could choose but based on our expected utilization, that would be a money loser. It’s really the one I suspect the young/invincible types choose.
good info above on HSA’s for those who are not claimed as dependent but are on a parent’s HDHP. for 2023 that will be my son and this is interesting.
My husband’s employer offers 5 health insurance options, and one of them can never ever possibly be the best choice at any level of spending from $0 to infinity, any combination of in-network, out-of-network, GP vs specialist… there is literally precisely nothing about Plan E that isn’t better about Plan D. Now A, B, C, and D… those are legit choices. But E is always wrong in every scenario because it’s very similar to D but worse in every possible way. Yet they continue to offer it.
Actually, C has an extremely limited range of outcomes where it’s the best bet, but it is at least mathematically possible to concoct a scenario where C is your best bet.
my employer once had a program where you could buy extra vacation time at a discount in tiers. they insisted that buying it would not hurt your review. I insisted that there were levels that should disqualify you from being on the analytics team.
I mean, 10-19 extra days were subisidized like, 30%. 20-25 days were subsidized 50%. anyone on analytics team taking 19 days instead of 20 should not be allowed to interpret the analytics.
Wow… that’s a lot of extra days off for not much reduction in pay. I’d love that.
I thought that might be what you meant, but it seemed way too generous to be the right interpretation.
I worked for an employer that let you buy up to 5 days off for 100% of your January 1 pay, but it was frowned upon to take full advantage every year. Maybe the year you were getting married. Or 1 extra day a year. But consistently buying 5 days off a year might wind up as a negative on your performance review. (Ask me how I know.)
If they offer a benefit they offer it, if they don’t want to offer it then don’t.
Don’t penalize me for taking my PTO, or contributing to get a 401k match. You want employee turnover, that’s how you get it.
I don’t take 100% of my employer’s benefits because I feel they treat me fairly and I’d be stretching to “prove” I “should” get them. However, there are some PTO or monetary benefits I take full advantage of, which is why I feel they treat me fairly.
I completely get something like “please let us know if you’re planning PTO over this holiday weekend a few weeks in advance because we want to be sure someone is around”.
However, “You utilized a term of your employment and that upsets me” is just out of line.
Yep. Boss thought I was taking too much time off. And seeing as how his boss reviewed the review before he discussed it with me and seems to have allowed it to stay in… I’m going with “it wasn’t just my boss” (although he was clearly part of the problem).
I worked for an employer that let you choose between an extra week of vacation and a 2% cash bonus on the first payday in January. Everyone took the time. Well, maybe longtime employees who had enough vacation took the money. But 100% of my peers took the time.
