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Post by sd51555 on Nov 20, 2019 12:16:46 GMT -6
I’ve had people come in my office and day I’d like to get some low cost health insurance. I say “it doesn’t exist”. Not exaggerating when I say Obama tripled health rates. Medicare supplements at age 65 are much more affordable. The one benefit to getting older!😊 Our local, independent agent thinks it is all a plan where we will end up with Medicare for all. Sad that she is probably right. That will add another whole layer of government employees to monitor paperwork and another layer to monitor each other. It was designed to push premiums and deductibles into the stratosphere. Even if those with tax credits were getting the insurance for free, it didn't cover shit. The out of pockets were going to drive the voters right into a government high fence community in Arizona called single payer. It all fell apart when orange man bad took out HilSniz.
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Post by wklman on Nov 20, 2019 20:18:04 GMT -6
My costs will go up to $300 a month from nothing now when I retire. Do you get the annual report on the pension fund ? I used to read the one for the plan I was almost in. It was a neat read. I skim over it a bit but don't dive in completely.
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Post by sd51555 on Nov 20, 2019 21:57:03 GMT -6
Do you get the annual report on the pension fund ? I used to read the one for the plan I was almost in. It was a neat read. I skim over it a bit but don't dive in completely. I asked the people in the office to explain it to me, and nobody in my company could, including HR. Pensions are required to send an annual notice stating the funded (or underfunded) status of the fund. It was always stated as two numbers. One number showed at "current" interest rates, the plan was 95% funded. Then there was another number showing it was only funded around 65% if interest rates were to return to normal levels. I don't know if it was a factor of reduced payouts and no growth in benefits due to the magic eraser of the CPI, or what the hell.
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Post by MoBuckChaser on Nov 21, 2019 9:14:15 GMT -6
What do you guys know about health Share Insurance. Good bad, stay the fuck away? Looks to be less then 1/2 of normal insurance.
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Post by nhmountains on Nov 21, 2019 22:19:48 GMT -6
Can any of you enlighten me on HSAs? I have one for myself. My wife is not one my health insurance as it’s more cost effective for us to have separate insurance through our employers. We had our annual benefits fair at work last week. I asked the Cigna guy whether I could use my HSA to pay for eligle healthcare bills my wife might have like eye glasses, dental bills, surgeries, etc? He quickly said No. I said are you sure because my HR person thought it was ok. He said no so I thanked him and moved on. A few minutes later he said let me check on that because there’s been some changes. I got an email from him yesterday basically saying he couldn’t provide legal advise for my spouse and just sent me the generic IRS link about HSAs which I’d already had read. I emailed him and told him it was kind of sad I’d need to spend money on a lawyer to answer a simple question about whether my wife would be eligible for claims on my personal HSA. Crickets back. I know there are family HSAs as well so I don’t know if I would have to open a family HSA and pay for family insurance before I could submit and use any of her claims. Here’s a link to the IRS page but, I couldn’t find anything about spouses on reimbursement. www.irs.gov/publications/p969
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Post by MoBuckChaser on Nov 22, 2019 4:19:26 GMT -6
Can any of you enlighten me on HSAs? I have one for myself. My wife is not one my health insurance as it’s more cost effective for us to have separate insurance through our employers. We had our annual benefits fair at work last week. I asked the Cigna guy whether I could use my HSA to pay for eligle healthcare bills my wife might have like eye glasses, dental bills, surgeries, etc? He quickly said No. I said are you sure because my HR person thought it was ok. He said no so I thanked him and moved on. A few minutes later he said let me check on that because there’s been some changes. I got an email from him yesterday basically saying he couldn’t provide legal advise for my spouse and just sent me the generic IRS link about HSAs which I’d already had read. I emailed him and told him it was kind of sad I’d need to spend money on a lawyer to answer a simple question about whether my wife would be eligible for claims on my personal HSA. Crickets back. I know there are family HSAs as well so I don’t know if I would have to open a family HSA and pay for family insurance before I could submit and use any of her claims. Here’s a link to the IRS page but, I couldn’t find anything about spouses on reimbursement. www.irs.gov/publications/p969I have no idea. We have a family HSA, and Max it out every year as tax free way to invest. I have no idea how or what all you can pay for things with them.
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Post by Freeborn on Nov 22, 2019 6:18:58 GMT -6
Can any of you enlighten me on HSAs? I have one for myself. My wife is not one my health insurance as it’s more cost effective for us to have separate insurance through our employers. We had our annual benefits fair at work last week. I asked the Cigna guy whether I could use my HSA to pay for eligle healthcare bills my wife might have like eye glasses, dental bills, surgeries, etc? He quickly said No. I said are you sure because my HR person thought it was ok. He said no so I thanked him and moved on. A few minutes later he said let me check on that because there’s been some changes. I got an email from him yesterday basically saying he couldn’t provide legal advise for my spouse and just sent me the generic IRS link about HSAs which I’d already had read. I emailed him and told him it was kind of sad I’d need to spend money on a lawyer to answer a simple question about whether my wife would be eligible for claims on my personal HSA. Crickets back. I know there are family HSAs as well so I don’t know if I would have to open a family HSA and pay for family insurance before I could submit and use any of her claims. Here’s a link to the IRS page but, I couldn’t find anything about spouses on reimbursement. www.irs.gov/publications/p969If you have an HSA you are required to have a high deductible policy. I'm surprised its cost effective to have separate insurance policies with a high deductible policy. I doubt you can use your HSA to pay for your spouse while she has a separate policy. Is your wife's policy a high deductible? If her policy is not a high deductible then I'm pretty certain the answer is no.
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Post by sd51555 on Nov 22, 2019 6:29:28 GMT -6
Can any of you enlighten me on HSAs? I have one for myself. My wife is not one my health insurance as it’s more cost effective for us to have separate insurance through our employers. We had our annual benefits fair at work last week. I asked the Cigna guy whether I could use my HSA to pay for eligle healthcare bills my wife might have like eye glasses, dental bills, surgeries, etc? He quickly said No. I said are you sure because my HR person thought it was ok. He said no so I thanked him and moved on. A few minutes later he said let me check on that because there’s been some changes. I got an email from him yesterday basically saying he couldn’t provide legal advise for my spouse and just sent me the generic IRS link about HSAs which I’d already had read. I emailed him and told him it was kind of sad I’d need to spend money on a lawyer to answer a simple question about whether my wife would be eligible for claims on my personal HSA. Crickets back. I know there are family HSAs as well so I don’t know if I would have to open a family HSA and pay for family insurance before I could submit and use any of her claims. Here’s a link to the IRS page but, I couldn’t find anything about spouses on reimbursement. www.irs.gov/publications/p969Spending on your spouse looks pretty cut and dry. You really need to bounce it off someone who carries the liability for the answer. I would reach out to a tax guy for assurance. Wayward HSA distributions are a no no given that Obama jumped up the non-qualified distribution penalty to taxable + 20% penalty. Read this section: www.irs.gov/publications/p969#en_US_2018_publink1000204083
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Post by nhmountains on Nov 22, 2019 6:32:59 GMT -6
Can any of you enlighten me on HSAs? I have one for myself. My wife is not one my health insurance as it’s more cost effective for us to have separate insurance through our employers. We had our annual benefits fair at work last week. I asked the Cigna guy whether I could use my HSA to pay for eligle healthcare bills my wife might have like eye glasses, dental bills, surgeries, etc? He quickly said No. I said are you sure because my HR person thought it was ok. He said no so I thanked him and moved on. A few minutes later he said let me check on that because there’s been some changes. I got an email from him yesterday basically saying he couldn’t provide legal advise for my spouse and just sent me the generic IRS link about HSAs which I’d already had read. I emailed him and told him it was kind of sad I’d need to spend money on a lawyer to answer a simple question about whether my wife would be eligible for claims on my personal HSA. Crickets back. I know there are family HSAs as well so I don’t know if I would have to open a family HSA and pay for family insurance before I could submit and use any of her claims. Here’s a link to the IRS page but, I couldn’t find anything about spouses on reimbursement. www.irs.gov/publications/p969Spending on your spouse looks pretty cut and dry. You really need to bounce it off someone who carries the liability for the answer. I would reach out to a tax guy for assurance. Wayward HSA distributions are a no no given that Obama jumped up the non-qualified distribution penalty to taxable + 20% penalty. Read this section: www.irs.gov/publications/p969#en_US_2018_publink1000204083Thanks SD, That’s the section I saw that made me think it was ok. Then the Cigna guy initially gave me an emphatic No. He then backtracked and eventually sent me the link which I already had. I received an email from my HR rep asking if I was all set. I said no. If I get crickets from her I’m sending an email off to our one and only Senator Jeanne Shaheen who voted in this debacle. Let her answer me.
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Post by sd51555 on Nov 22, 2019 6:35:33 GMT -6
Can any of you enlighten me on HSAs? I have one for myself. My wife is not one my health insurance as it’s more cost effective for us to have separate insurance through our employers. We had our annual benefits fair at work last week. I asked the Cigna guy whether I could use my HSA to pay for eligle healthcare bills my wife might have like eye glasses, dental bills, surgeries, etc? He quickly said No. I said are you sure because my HR person thought it was ok. He said no so I thanked him and moved on. A few minutes later he said let me check on that because there’s been some changes. I got an email from him yesterday basically saying he couldn’t provide legal advise for my spouse and just sent me the generic IRS link about HSAs which I’d already had read. I emailed him and told him it was kind of sad I’d need to spend money on a lawyer to answer a simple question about whether my wife would be eligible for claims on my personal HSA. Crickets back. I know there are family HSAs as well so I don’t know if I would have to open a family HSA and pay for family insurance before I could submit and use any of her claims. Here’s a link to the IRS page but, I couldn’t find anything about spouses on reimbursement. www.irs.gov/publications/p969If you have an HSA you are required to have a high deductible policy. I'm surprised its cost effective to have separate insurance policies with a high deductible policy. I doubt you can use your HSA to pay for your spouse while she has a separate policy. Is your wife's policy a high deductible? If her policy is not a high deductible then I'm pretty certain the answer is no. Shit, look at that, we got two different answers. I am not sure I'm reading it right myself, so I always urge someone to also bounce this stuff off the experts. HSAs have been the most confusing part of the tax code since they were introduced.
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Post by sd51555 on Nov 22, 2019 6:41:08 GMT -6
Spending on your spouse looks pretty cut and dry. You really need to bounce it off someone who carries the liability for the answer. I would reach out to a tax guy for assurance. Wayward HSA distributions are a no no given that Obama jumped up the non-qualified distribution penalty to taxable + 20% penalty. Read this section: www.irs.gov/publications/p969#en_US_2018_publink1000204083Thanks SD, That’s the section I saw that made me think it was ok. Then the Cigna guy initially gave me an emphatic No. He then backtracked and eventually sent me the link which I already had. I received an email from my HR rep asking if I was all set. I said no. If I get crickets from her I’m sending an email off to our one and only Senator Jeanne Shaheen who voted in this debacle. Let her answer me. This wouldn't be the first place there was broad confusion in the tax code. There are articles out there talking about how you could reach out even further into your family tree to pay for others medical expenses if need be. But that drags you out into who "could" claim who and shit like that, and that's where my knowledge gets murky. When I did taxes for cat food money, I could never wrap my head around dependency rules. I spent my time learning the business and income and investment side of taxes. Anymore, I have no idea what the new tax law has done with family taxes.
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Post by nhmountains on Nov 22, 2019 7:14:01 GMT -6
Thanks SD, That’s the section I saw that made me think it was ok. Then the Cigna guy initially gave me an emphatic No. He then backtracked and eventually sent me the link which I already had. I received an email from my HR rep asking if I was all set. I said no. If I get crickets from her I’m sending an email off to our one and only Senator Jeanne Shaheen who voted in this debacle. Let her answer me. This wouldn't be the first place there was broad confusion in the tax code. There are articles out there talking about how you could reach out even further into your family tree to pay for others medical expenses if need be. But that drags you out into who "could" claim who and shit like that, and that's where my knowledge gets murky. When I did taxes for cat food money, I could never wrap my head around dependency rules. I spent my time learning the business and income and investment side of taxes. Anymore, I have no idea what the new tax law has done with family taxes. The bigger question that needs answering is after I retire and have this HSA sitting there is it available for my retired spouse? Seems odd that it wouldn’t be but, remember no republicans voted for this debacle.
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Post by sd51555 on Nov 22, 2019 7:25:09 GMT -6
This wouldn't be the first place there was broad confusion in the tax code. There are articles out there talking about how you could reach out even further into your family tree to pay for others medical expenses if need be. But that drags you out into who "could" claim who and shit like that, and that's where my knowledge gets murky. When I did taxes for cat food money, I could never wrap my head around dependency rules. I spent my time learning the business and income and investment side of taxes. Anymore, I have no idea what the new tax law has done with family taxes. The bigger question that needs answering is after I retire and have this HSA sitting there is it available for my retired spouse? Seems odd that it wouldn’t be but, remember no republicans voted for this debacle. I witnessed the problem solving process for years in the tax biz. The smartest people in the room gather around the tax book, look up the answer, and then debate what it means, first the words, and then the intent, then everyone would agree on what they "think" is right. My situation now might be helpful. I saved up some $$ in an HSA, but I no longer qualify to contribute to an HSA because I am in a non-HSA employer plan. I can still use what I have, I just can't put more in. Imagine I got married (the horror!). Let's say my spouse is covered under my non-HSA work plan, but we still have a $1500 deductible. Do you imagine the IRS would step in and say I cannot pay for my wife's out of pocket expenses with my HSA? Not saying it's not possible, but that's the process I go through in my head.
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Post by Freeborn on Nov 22, 2019 7:28:16 GMT -6
I recommend you talk to your administrator. I would think CIGNA would have a general customer service line you can talk to. My comments were general comments but based on a couple google searches I am probably wrong. Here is a link with an example: For what its worth? hsastore.com/learn/taxes/who-can-i-cover-hsaQuote/example from link above. "Spouses have separate health plans, dependent child covered under university insurance You and your wife each have coverage through your own employers. You have an HDHP that just covers yourself, while your wife has a non-HDHP for her own coverage. You have a 20-year-old son who is a full-time college student. He's enrolled in the non-HDHP health insurance plan that his college offers. You and your wife file a joint tax return, and claim your son as a dependent (as long as he's a student, you can claim him as a dependent until he turns 24). You can contribute $3,500 to your HSA in 2019, since you have self-only HDHP coverage. But you can use the money in your HSA to pay for qualifying medical expenses for yourself, your wife, and your son."
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Post by Sandbur on Nov 22, 2019 7:40:16 GMT -6
I was told that HSA’s could even be used to pay health insurance premiums after you are no longer working. We did not have enough in theHSA to do so.
Mo, you might check before year end and see if your wife can make an increased contribution based on age.
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