duckduckgos

Business Development

PPO or HSA?

Hello Fellow Sales Savages,

I recently relocated and have to reassess which type of healthcare coverage I would like from my employer. My two options are PPO and HSA?

Do either of you have a preference? Leaning towards PPO as HSA seems more expensive but I would like to hear your thoughts.

Let me know!

🙏 Mental Wellness

🩺 Health

37 comments

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paddy

WR Officer

Director of Business Development

I have a PPO since I have a heart condition where I may need to see an out of network doctor on the go so that's the only thing I really take into account...

Incognito

WR Officer

Master of Disaster

Peace of mind has a price 🖤

CuriousFox

WR Officer

🦊

I chose PPO. HSA has much higher fees. However it's the better choice for tax reasons and the only one that works with a Flex I believe? I just know what works for me.

hh456

Celebrated Contributor

sales

Honesty, insurance is a scam.

Here is what I would do:

First - if you're young and single, find direct primary care. Pay $50 a month to some doctor who can do everything you need, minus catastrophic. If you think you're going to do something dangerous, buy temporary insurance from GEICO or something. It's for 90 days and catastrophic and can help you should you break a bone when snowboarding.

Second - pay for GoodRx premium. Those scripts your direct primary care writes you for sinus infection or whatever will be super cheap.

Third - save money. Set aside whatever your premium would be each month and put it in a low earning savings account. Then when you need to go to the hospital or pay a PCP co-pay, take it out of that account.

I did this for four years and saved a ton of money on premiums over that time. Didn't get insurance until we were having kids. Then it helped barely to be honest. Co-pays, deductibles and max out of pockets are still a fucking joke.

Incognito

WR Officer

Master of Disaster

Ex-fucking-cuse-me “insurance is a scam”

Fuck you very much I do this for a living (not health insurance, but still!)

I do an HSA that pays for all out of pocket costs (premiums/copays) and insurance pays the rest. You don’t want a bankrupting life event (hi. We are in a FUCKING PANDEMIC and gods forbid you or someone you care about is in an accident or gets cancer or some shit).

hh456

Celebrated Contributor

sales

I’m not devaluing what you do. I’m saying the space is corrupt. It’s an unnecessary evil. I’m being sincere here @Incognito. I apologize if I offended you. Health coverage right now is a joke. We pay all this money for nothing.

Incognito

WR Officer

Master of Disaster

So see my response to it.

Everyone needs their pound of flesh. Gotta pay those executive
bonuses somehow.

The real Gs know the workarounds - which is what I sell.

If you don’t want to pay insurance executive bonuses, have universal health care. Stop paying the government to give exorbitant amounts of money to the energy sector and military and reallocate it to helping its citizens. You know, where they don’t need a profit margin.

Or clean up the tax code.

In any case, people who read will find a way to benefit them personally. Which excludes 98% of the current population.

Thank you for coming to my TED talk.

poweredbycaffeine

WR Lieutenant

☕️

"We pay all this money for nothing"

I paid $200 for a $15,000 bill two months ago from an overnight in the ER. I've been in several ERs across the country after doing stupid shit on bikes and skis, and have yet to see a bill that has crippled me.

The difference between baseline insurance from a company that devalues their employees vs top-line coverage is worlds apart. Find a company that goes with the latter and pays for 80%+ of your prems.

hh456

Celebrated Contributor

sales

I have anthem. It's terrible. 5000 individual deductible and 7500 family.

we had a week long stay in the hospital lately and i still have like 9k in bills somehow. i fucking hate insurance.

poweredbycaffeine

WR Lieutenant

☕️

I have Anthem as well, but, according to my wife who deals with insurance for her clinic, we have a great plan. All depends on how much the company plans to invest in their people.

hh456

Celebrated Contributor

sales

mine sucks. sorry for yelling.

Incognito

WR Officer

Master of Disaster

I paid $3500 for an ambulance ride, emergency visit, two endoscopies, a colonoscopy, an MRI, ultrasound (internal and external), multiple blood tests to the point that I had no working veins left, 10+ doctor visits and 8+ specialist visits from bleeding ulcers.

Actual total bill was well over $110,000. The HSA paid the $3500.

hh456

Celebrated Contributor

sales

yikes.

Incognito

WR Officer

Master of Disaster

You have what I'd call "oh shit insurance" - you know, the kind that limits the impact of a catastrophic event but not much else.

Did you have a choice? Did you choose the low monthly premium?

When choosing a plan, add up all the known costs - like average doctor visits, prescriptions, etc for one year. Then, take each coverage option and add up the total premiums for the year. Then subtract the amount that is covered from your known costs minus deductibles. NOW compare totals.

Additionally, anyone can open an HSA/FSA which is funded with pre-tax dollars to pay for out of pocket expenses. Mine is through work so it's automatically deducted from my paycheck. They will give you a card to use whenever you need something health related (could even be Band-Aids from CVS!).

It's a bit of work initially, but it's really part of tax planning and annual budgeting. The tax advantages of this will offset the sting of premiums, so you get the coverage you need for far less.

Again, this is not my field of expertise but I do know accounting, budgeting, bookkeeping and general insurance basics.

You can absolutely game the system, you just need a bit of patience and the desire to do it. Personally, its why I do what I do. I love finding loopholes that benefit me and others overlooked.

hh456

Celebrated Contributor

sales

I just have anthem. they take it from my check, then i have to pay the first 5000 for each person and 20% of 5000-7500. and family deductible is like 7500 i believe. its unfortunate but its what our employer offers pretax

Incognito

WR Officer

Master of Disaster

Gross. Your employer is a cheap fuck.

Definitely look into an HSA/FSA.

paddy

WR Officer

Director of Business Development

What's your favorite color

hh456

Celebrated Contributor

sales

I like white space w solid colors contrast against it.

Incognito

WR Officer

Master of Disaster

“From Geico or something”

talk about a scam 🙄

You hit a nerve today @GrizzleMcThornBody

goose

Politicker

Sales Executive

This is terrible advice and you should not follow it. Unless you are a drug kingpin running a full cash operation.

hh456

Celebrated Contributor

sales

no its not. its great advice if you can do basic math and you're healthy enough to carry the risk.

Incognito

WR Officer

Master of Disaster

As I said in the comments - BOTH! Do the HSA to cover all out of pocket expenses and let a carrier pay the rest.

desperado

Politicker

Head of Sales

PPO 100%

MinisterOfChaos

Politicker

Commercial Account Executive

As shitty of an idea as it may seem, and how much we as Savages loathe the department, this is actually what HR gets paid to do: explain the benefits the company provides to their employees.

If you're single (or if you're married but with no kids), an HDHP with an HSA option may be the most appealing. If not, and you plan on having even just regular annual check-ups for you and your family, the PPO may be the better option.

Suck it up, talk to HR, make a more informed decision.

happyhunter

Politicker

spittin' sunshine

Our company pays 100% of our monthly insurance which is amazing!!! But I think we all have a PPO. If I had to pay more out of pocket, I would probably stay with that because I have to see doctors and specialists regularly.

Incognito

WR Officer

Master of Disaster

That is amazing!

1nbatopshotfan

Politicker

Sales

Do you have a family or any pre-existing conditions? These will factor into your decision. Check with HR they may have a direct line with your insurance provider to call and walk through what’s best for you.

It’s tough for us to say without knowing your family and history, along with what’s included in your plan.

duckduckgos

Opinionated

Business Development

Appreciate the feedback! Going to go with PPO after looking into the details of the plan more.

justatopproducer

Politicker

VP OF SALES -US

PPO is typically the better option, although it depends on how much you tend to use it? HSA only allows you to roll over if you keep the same plab as last year. In mu experiemce i didnt and lost the money I input into the hsa. My advice is workout 5 times a week and eat right and you wont have to use your health insurnace anyway.

duckduckgos

Opinionated

Business Development

The best medicine is preventive medicine!

Blackwargreymon

Politicker

MDR

I chose PPO. HSA has much higher fees. However it's the better choice for tax reasons and the only one that works with a Flex I believe? I just know what works for me.

JustGonnaSendIt

Politicker

Burn Towns, Get Money

I have been on PPO for a long time now. Although I rarely use my insurance, (don't really get sick, just regular checkups) it's very helpful to have the peace of mind that if you're wherever the fuck and your HMO wouldn't be a viable option to cover it, you're good.

Usually the PPO plan is not THAT much more expensive than an HMO.

Regarding HSA's... I've never been part of that party, but I can see the value if you want to have a tax advantaged way of saving for premiums if you have more variables, such as children, in your life.

OingoBoingo

Executive

Sr. Enterprise Account Executive

It depends on your situation, I have maximized both.

- PPO - if you have a spouse, kids etc you definitely want PPO based on full coverage, giving you a greater security blanket when it hits the fan. You typically hit the deductile threshold every year so paying the premium to keep the costs down helps in the long run.

- when I was single I went all in on HSA. You do typically pay full "list price" on anything but if you are keeping your health in check you rarely have to worry about the price of healthcare. The huge perk here is once you contribute its yours for good so you can always revert back to it. From all the saving I did in two years of contributions, I was able to pay for numerous ER visits, two births, wife's dental work. I still have a good amount left that is accumulating interest.

- If you are young, I'd recommend HSA.

Covfefe4ClosersOnly

VP of Sales

Ignore every comment that gave you a direct answer, and focus on the ones saying it depends on your health situation. I’m in the field. Also, ignore the “I have x company and they suck”. Each insurance company sells 30+ different plans per market/portfolio, some of their plans suck, others are great (and expensive).

goose

Politicker

Sales Executive

HSA if you are single and healthy. Medical expenses will cost you but most young, healthy people only really go to the doctor once or twice. If you have a family or need actual medical care then PPO is probably the best way to go. Your employer may have PPO options.

MR.StretchISR

Politicker

ISR

ask for feedback from the team as you ramp. What are you doing well, what could you improve, etc.

Clashingsoulsspell

Politicker

ISR

ask for feedback from the team as you ramp. What are you doing well, what could you improve, etc.

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duckduckgos

PPO or HSA?

37 comments

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