I don't get paid shit for salary but I do have the cheapest premiums of anyone I know

Posted by Taz on October 30, 2025, 14:54:25, in reply to "Between premiums and payments, I'm north of $55K this year."

By a long shot. Previous Message That is not a typo. Sometimes you just need to yeet a bobcat * Being an Illini fan is a goddamn curse.*

holy shit*

Posted by VIV on October 30, 2025, 13:14:23, in reply to "Between premiums and payments, I'm north of $55K this year."

Previous Message That is not a typo. "the sum value of my outfit will always be higher than yours."

Woof...I'm just shy of 20K and thought I was getting fucked. I'll be quiet now. *

Posted by haighter on October 30, 2025, 12:46:13, in reply to "Between premiums and payments, I'm north of $55K this year."

Previous Message That is not a typo.

whoa*

Posted by EffinIllini on October 30, 2025, 12:33:08, in reply to "Between premiums and payments, I'm north of $55K this year."

Previous Message That is not a typo.

I HATE IT1!!*

Posted by Warrin'_Illini on October 30, 2025, 11:47:16, in reply to "Between premiums and payments, I'm north of $55K this year."

Previous Message That is not a typo. If you read this, you are gay. LMAO

That is asinine*

Posted by snipes824 on October 30, 2025, 11:47:11, in reply to "Between premiums and payments, I'm north of $55K this year."

Previous Message That is not a typo.

I'm learning the limits of the term "out of pocket maximum" this year*

Posted by Sammich on October 30, 2025, 11:44:50, in reply to "Between premiums and payments, I'm north of $55K this year."

Previous Message That is not a typo. strolling through the crowd like Peter Lorre contemplating a crime

I’m sure it depends on the plan but for us everything is the same between PPO and HDHP but the

Posted by ATL on October 30, 2025, 14:19:56, in reply to "Probably super dumb question...but here goes..."

Premiums, copays, limits. That is, same network, same reduction of the provider’s rack rate, etc. so if I went to the doctor for something, they might bill $1000 but the negotiated fee might be $400. The PPO would pay that minus my $15 copay. With the HDHP, I’d be on the hook for the $400 unless I’d hit a deductible and then I’d pay $80 (20% coinsurance) until my personal max or family max. But either way, doctor is only getting the $400. Previous Message How much are Plan Discounts for a charge affected by the type of plan, or does that not matter? Example: Rough numbers from an EOB Billed by Provider: $840 Plan Discount: $700 I know these Plan Discounts can be enormous, but do they vary much whether a PPO vs HDHP? Previous Message Anyone know of a good calculator to compare past costs to see which plan we'd be better off with? (Not certain our plan selection website has one.) Also, reasons why we haven't switched... 1) I'm risk adverse. 2) I'm getting old. 3) Don't recall premium savings being that much. Maybe $1500 to $2000 a year for family coverage. 4) We have several hundred dollars of labs drawn annually which end up just a $25 to $30 co-pay. This year a daughter had a few thousand in labs drawn that ended up costing a few hundred. If it would have all been out of pocket with a HDHP, we easily made up the premium difference. 5) We don't (can't) max out our 401(k)s & Roth IRAs as it is. No way we'd be able to take advantage of maxing out a HSA to use as an IRA. 6) In the past with the PPO we had a pre-tax savings from the plan that had to spent on healthcare. Catch was it was capped and had to be used in that calendar year. Now, it appears we may have an HSA (at least that what it's called) even with our PPO. Probably will not get the potential retirement savings, but still will have pre-tax savings that can be spent on healthcare. “We are old and tired and just want to be taken care of.” - Republican voter, Dec. 2024.

Right. And probably before kids.

Posted by EffinIllini on October 30, 2025, 11:17:40, in reply to "Yeah, if they had it in the 90's-00's I would have taken advantage of it."

Who knows when I'm going to do something stupid, or my teenage daughter is going to turn wrong at a basketball game and we're looking at a surgery. Previous Message At this age, I ain't risking it.

Companies are also lazy and will offer plans that no one should take.

Posted by Carl Spackler on October 30, 2025, 11:28:24, in reply to "It essentially comes down to the premium difference, deductibles, coinsurance rates"

I had a buddy ask me for a sanity check on PPO vs high deductible plan. There was no combination of factors that made the PPO the right choice. PPO had $4K more in premiums. He got $1K from his company towards HSA in HDHP The difference in the deductible was $2K. The out of pocket maximums were the same. Unless someone can tell me something I’m missing, it’s wild that their company even offered the two. Previous Message max out of pocket, and what services you typically use throughout the year. It’s a simple calculation from there that AI could easily help you with. For instance, the HDHP is going to be cheaper for us in a pregnancy year than the PPO, due to the sky high premiums for the PPO. Which was counterintuitive when I began looking into it since it’s going to be a high usage year. Previous Message Anyone know of a good calculator to compare past costs to see which plan we'd be better off with? (Not certain our plan selection website has one.) Also, reasons why we haven't switched... 1) I'm risk adverse. 2) I'm getting old. 3) Don't recall premium savings being that much. Maybe $1500 to $2000 a year for family coverage. 4) We have several hundred dollars of labs drawn annually which end up just a $25 to $30 co-pay. This year a daughter had a few thousand in labs drawn that ended up costing a few hundred. If it would have all been out of pocket with a HDHP, we easily made up the premium difference. 5) We don't (can't) max out our 401(k)s & Roth IRAs as it is. No way we'd be able to take advantage of maxing out a HSA to use as an IRA. 6) In the past with the PPO we had a pre-tax savings from the plan that had to spent on healthcare. Catch was it was capped and had to be used in that calendar year. Now, it appears we may have an HSA (at least that what it's called) even with our PPO. Probably will not get the potential retirement savings, but still will have pre-tax savings that can be spent on healthcare.

Congrats!*

Posted by ISeeDeadHawkeyes on October 30, 2025, 11:07:28, in reply to "It essentially comes down to the premium difference, deductibles, coinsurance rates"

Previous Message max out of pocket, and what services you typically use throughout the year. It’s a simple calculation from there that AI could easily help you with. For instance, the HDHP is going to be cheaper for us in a pregnancy year than the PPO, due to the sky high premiums for the PPO. Which was counterintuitive when I began looking into it since it’s going to be a high usage year. Previous Message Anyone know of a good calculator to compare past costs to see which plan we'd be better off with? (Not certain our plan selection website has one.) Also, reasons why we haven't switched... 1) I'm risk adverse. 2) I'm getting old. 3) Don't recall premium savings being that much. Maybe $1500 to $2000 a year for family coverage. 4) We have several hundred dollars of labs drawn annually which end up just a $25 to $30 co-pay. This year a daughter had a few thousand in labs drawn that ended up costing a few hundred. If it would have all been out of pocket with a HDHP, we easily made up the premium difference. 5) We don't (can't) max out our 401(k)s & Roth IRAs as it is. No way we'd be able to take advantage of maxing out a HSA to use as an IRA. 6) In the past with the PPO we had a pre-tax savings from the plan that had to spent on healthcare. Catch was it was capped and had to be used in that calendar year. Now, it appears we may have an HSA (at least that what it's called) even with our PPO. Probably will not get the potential retirement savings, but still will have pre-tax savings that can be spent on healthcare.

Your last line seems crazy to me that a HDHP would be cheaper than a PPO in that situation.

Posted by EffinIllini on October 30, 2025, 11:05:26, in reply to "It essentially comes down to the premium difference, deductibles, coinsurance rates"

Can I ask your relative difference in premiums from PPO to HDHP? Maybe I'm looking at this all wrong. Or we have relatively inexpensive insurance. Previous Message max out of pocket, and what services you typically use throughout the year. It’s a simple calculation from there that AI could easily help you with. For instance, the HDHP is going to be cheaper for us in a pregnancy year than the PPO, due to the sky high premiums for the PPO. Which was counterintuitive when I began looking into it since it’s going to be a high usage year. Previous Message Anyone know of a good calculator to compare past costs to see which plan we'd be better off with? (Not certain our plan selection website has one.) Also, reasons why we haven't switched... 1) I'm risk adverse. 2) I'm getting old. 3) Don't recall premium savings being that much. Maybe $1500 to $2000 a year for family coverage. 4) We have several hundred dollars of labs drawn annually which end up just a $25 to $30 co-pay. This year a daughter had a few thousand in labs drawn that ended up costing a few hundred. If it would have all been out of pocket with a HDHP, we easily made up the premium difference. 5) We don't (can't) max out our 401(k)s & Roth IRAs as it is. No way we'd be able to take advantage of maxing out a HSA to use as an IRA. 6) In the past with the PPO we had a pre-tax savings from the plan that had to spent on healthcare. Catch was it was capped and had to be used in that calendar year. Now, it appears we may have an HSA (at least that what it's called) even with our PPO. Probably will not get the potential retirement savings, but still will have pre-tax savings that can be spent on healthcare.

My old employer had a very generous post tax contribution policy (matched all the way)

Posted by ATL on October 29, 2025, 20:48:36, in reply to "It's easy if your 401k allows in plan conversions. If not, you need an empty traditional IRA*"

but sadly no in service conversions. Previous Message Previous Message Previous Message Or something less than that? “We are old and tired and just want to be taken care of.” - Republican voter, Dec. 2024.

Yeah it’s a sound financial strategy, but it’s a half too clever for me*

Posted by snipes824 on October 29, 2025, 11:10:20, in reply to "Hats off to you, but I can’t believe people do this."

Previous Message Trusting myself to save healthcare receipts in an organized way for years or decades?! No fucking way. Previous Message Offset by some Company provided matching. I then dont touch it and leave it as a rainy day fund. As long as you save receipts, no time frame for submitting claims, but I try to pay out of pocket. Previous Message Or something less than that?

To be clear, the intention is to save and use in retirement.

Posted by Dilbert on October 29, 2025, 10:53:03, in reply to "Hats off to you, but I can’t believe people do this."

But if I need $5k right now, yes - I have the receipt from paying the hospital for the little ones birth that I can submit. Previous Message Trusting myself to save healthcare receipts in an organized way for years or decades?! No fucking way. Previous Message Offset by some Company provided matching. I then dont touch it and leave it as a rainy day fund. As long as you save receipts, no time frame for submitting claims, but I try to pay out of pocket. Previous Message Or something less than that?