Choosing an HSA

[phantom]

Does anyone know of a good web site for comparing HSA fees and features or have any suggestions on good HSA options? Other general tips for using an HSA and a high deductible insurance plan are also welcome.

My employer informed us last week that our current no deductible health insurance plan is going away, we got the details on our new options yesterday, and we have until next week to decide what we're doing. My employer is offering two options now, a high deductible plan for the same price as our old no deductible plan and a new, much more expensive no deductible plan. My husband's employer offers a high deductible plan for $8/month more than the new no deductible plan and other plans that cost even more, so we're clearly not going to switch to his insurance. The new no deductible plan costs slightly more per year than the deductible on the high deductible plan. So, since we're not anticipating any high health care costs in the next year, we're going with the high deductible plan, and we figure we should start an HSA.

I hate to complain since I recognize I've had a pretty sweet plan for the past 4 years. Unfortunately, the only way my employer was able to keep the costs of our plan low was by self insuring, and that has turned around to bite them for the past two years, so they're giving up and blaming Obamacare and the catty health insurance providers in our region. At this point, I'm mostly annoyed to have less than a week to pick a plan and find an HSA.

[TBH]

I don't know of a good tool to compare HSAs, but I would recommend going with one that allows you to invest the funds in the account in a mutual fund. Otherwise the buying power of that money is eroded by inflation, especially if you're lucky enough not to need the HSA funds until retirement.

Here's a good article about it.

[ua_guy]

I could be wrong, but I thought the HSA was only available through the employer's High Deductible Health Plan (HDHP), so there wasn't really a choice in selecting administration of the funds or which bank held the money.

My first one was through BNY Mellon, and they were absolutely horrible. They charged below a certain balance, and to close the account, they would not issue you a check but rather you had to spend down the balance or make a withdrawl for the exact amount of the account balance THEN, notify them in writing you wished to close the account, which they processed at glacial speeds, of course.

[phantom]

The people who came to talk to us about the change in our health insurance specifically said we could open an HSA wherever we liked. It's just a matter of filling out a direct deposit form. I get the impression that some employers are less accommodating. My understanding is that anyone with a HDHP can contribute to any HSA, but an employer may choose to only handle the deposits and adjust tax withholdings if an employee chooses a specific bank.

While I would like an HSA that allows investments and offers good investment options, the ability to invest is low on my priority list right now. For the moment, I only plan on keeping enough in the account to cover my deductible, and as long as I only have enough to cover my deductible, I want what I have to be liquid. Just putting aside enough to cover the deductible is going to cut into our ability to meet our short/mid term goals enough as it is. I definitely don't want to start doing extra long term savings. I am much more interested avoiding fees and having easy access to my money.

I did eventually find this web site. I wish it would let me sort by fees. But, at least I have a decent starting point now.