Individual health insurance?

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Originally Posted by El Chupacabra

Good point. I overlooked that. Some employers even contribute to their employee's HSA -- mine doesn't, but I can do direct-from-paycheck deductions.



If you can afford to do it that way (pay med expenses out of pocket, let the HSA grow), it's using the HSA loophole as a sort of IRA. It's another $6750 (per couple) you can sock away, on top of whatever other 401k/ IRA/ etc plans you have. It's not like you lose the money -- if you ever want to cash it out, you can get reimbursed for your medical expenses at any point in the future, so save your receipts.

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My employer contributes $60/mo to the HSA, yet still doesn't allow pre-tax deductions. Annoying.

And fair point re using it as a savings vehicle, it's just that I prefer to use it as a vehicle for tax free medical care.

One HSA oddity: if you have a family HDHP, you can use the HSA money for anyone in your family, even if they are not on your HDHP. My wife has her own employer insurance (they pay for it, so it makes sense for her to use it), and my daughter and I are on my HDHP. But all 3 of us can use the HSA money.

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Originally Posted by AustinFromSA

I about lost my cool when I saw this commercial not too long ago showing these people dancing cause they're stoked about their super awesome health care plans. I wish I could get those sorts of rates! Instead, I'm literally days away from losing my coverage because I can't afford my crappy plan any more.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=odfd5qf9oiQ

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Move to a state that doesn't have a bunch of politicians intentionally ally trying to fuck you. While not perfect ACA is working in many states, ones that made the effort to make it work.

I was in a similar situation a couple of years ago when I left my job and had to figure out health insurance on my own. COBRA was too expensive for me, so I looked into short-term insurance and travel insurance since I was planning to move around. Short-term plans were affordable but had a lot of gaps in coverage, which made me nervous. Travel insurance could help for emergencies, but it wouldn’t cover things like regular doctor visits or ongoing prescriptions.

In the UK, private health insurance can be a great backup for those worried about waiting times with the NHS. I came across this https://premierpmi.co.uk/wpa-health-insurance-review/ review which explained how some plans offer good flexibility and tailored coverage, which might be useful if you're self-employed or between jobs.