GEHA

I have GEHA HDHP. It works best if you know you have something big coming up. I had a procedure this year that isntantly put me past the deductible and I started paying 5% on everything. Insurance HSA contribution is a good incentive to get if you're healthy. But remember you can open your own HSA as well.

Switching to Elevate because I know I have a lot of imagining/radiology coming up and it's a flat fee in that plan
 
I'd strongly recommend taking a look at the GEHA HDHP plan. I love it. People sleep on the HSA option this plan provides - the most under utilized financial tool IMO.
For Self +1 the plan will contribute $150 monthly to your HSA. That covers an entire pay period premium ($135.90), plus some! The HSA is triple tax advantaged (tax free contribution, growth, withdrawal) so you have a nice fat account for when you inevitably have health care bills down the road. Best of all, after age 65 you can withdraw from your HSA for non-health expenses, only it's taxed as if it were an traditional IRA - keep in mind it's been growing capital gains free.

The other nice perks include 2 free dental cleanings per year and an annual $5 copay eye exam. Plus 0 copay preventative care. For healthy people this plan can't be beat. But the HSA is the icing on the cake.
Can also transfer out your premium pass through balance every month (no fee) to another brokerage (fidelity here) and invest with no minimum. HSAbank requires 1000 balance before investing. Just remember to save all receipts. GEHA HDHP also gives you an additional 250 a year if you self report a few questions every year through their Health Balance and Healthequity sites.

 
I think it's the no deductible and know what services will cost. I looked at the detailed bill for when I had an eye surgery years ago and the facility fee alone for an out patient eye surgery was over $40k. 3 hours in the building and they wanted $40k.

Elevate does seem like a solid option.
Stories like this are what scares me about the HDHP which I believe has a 5% charge for surgery, so you'd be out of pocket $2,000? Anything can happen and hospital billing is so fucked up. I'd rather have predictable costs.
 
Stories like this are what scares me about the HDHP which I believe has a 5% charge for surgery, so you'd be out of pocket $2,000? Anything can happen and hospital billing is so fucked up. I'd rather have predictable costs.
Exactly. You are perfectly healthy and rarely go the doc right up to the point where you are not and need to see some specialist that isn't fully covered or you need some surgery. I think they can be a good idea for some but I dunno if I'd go that road at the point I am in life now with a family and stuff.
 
Another thing I experienced with both BCBS and GEHA was an out of network ER Dr at an In network hospital. BCBS initially stated they wouldn't cover the visit the lady got nasty with me so I had to write to the state insurance board to get help. 8 months later they finally decided to cover it. Same thing happened with GEHA but they took care of it in the first call no questions asked. I've heard horrible things about their customer service but I haven't had any issues.
 
I'd strongly recommend taking a look at the GEHA HDHP plan. I love it. People sleep on the HSA option this plan provides - the most under utilized financial tool IMO.
For Self +1 the plan will contribute $150 monthly to your HSA. That covers an entire pay period premium ($135.90), plus some! The HSA is triple tax advantaged (tax free contribution, growth, withdrawal) so you have a nice fat account for when you inevitably have health care bills down the road. Best of all, after age 65 you can withdraw from your HSA for non-health expenses, only it's taxed as if it were an traditional IRA - keep in mind it's been growing capital gains free.

The other nice perks include 2 free dental cleanings per year and an annual $5 copay eye exam. Plus 0 copay preventative care. For healthy people this plan can't be beat. But the HSA is the icing on the cake.
Yeah listen to this guy. If you’re military and are covered by the VA you can forget about the deductible, just get seen at the VA the beginning of the year til you “meet” the x amount of the deductible and they’ll pay 90-95% after that.

You pay $135/paycheck= $270/month but FAA puts $150 into HSA, so you’re really paying for half
 
I've had GEHA HDHP for years, love it. No problems with coverage and customer service has been great. The HSA is great for the tax advantages already mentioned. Yes, $1500 deductible for single. But, also remember there is an Annual Out of Pocket Maximum of $5000 (for single), which includes the $1500 deductible. Net premium is about $27 per pay period (insurance cost minus GEHA contribution to HSA) Plus, you can contribute more to the HSA on your own, which is an above the line deduction at tax time.

I've accumulated about $10k in my HSA. So if the worst were to happen, I have two years worth of medical expenses covered with no impact on my regular income. If the worst doesn't happen, at 65 I have a tax-advantaged account to do with whatever I want. I really think the HDHP plans are vastly over looked.
 
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Can also transfer out your premium pass through balance every month (no fee) to another brokerage (fidelity here) and invest with no minimum. HSAbank requires 1000 balance before investing. Just remember to save all receipts. GEHA HDHP also gives you an additional 250 a year if you self report a few questions every year through their Health Balance and Healthequity sites.

I’m pretty sure they no longer require the 1000 min so it can all be invested with TD Ameritrade without fees.
 
How do you do a HSA pass through to another account?
You can't, the "pass through" portion always goes to the HSA Bank account. But you can go in Employee Express and set up a recurring deduction to a third-party HSA of your choosing, and every so often fill out a form to transfer the passthrough money from HSA Bank to your preferred account.
 
You can't, the "pass through" portion always goes to the HSA Bank account. But you can go in Employee Express and set up a recurring deduction to a third-party HSA of your choosing, and every so often fill out a form to transfer the passthrough money from HSA Bank to your preferred account.
Ah! That makes more sense. It would still have to be another HSA account though correct?
And would the form be with HSA bank or where do you find the form?
 
Ah! That makes more sense. It would still have to be another HSA account though correct?
And would the form be with HSA bank or where do you find the form?
Yeah it would be an HSA (as opposed to an IRA or 401k or other tax-advantaged account) just with some other broker you prefer for whatever reason. The transfer-in form would usually come from the new account's broker, you fill it out and send it to HSA Bank and they move the money over.
 
Looking for guidance. Currently on GEHA HDHP (maxing out yearly investment) we also don't go to the doctors a whole lot so it is no problem. I love the insurance. I have heard about Blue Cross Blue Shield but it does not interest me at all.

Here is the catch, my partner and I want to procreate so I was thinking about staying in GEHA but I don't know if we should go FROM HDHP TO the "Standard" coverage or a little higher. We have a hefty amount in our HSA, which is great because it just keeps accumulating every month.

For those who have had families under GEHA health plan, can you elaborate?

Thanks in advance.
 
Looking for guidance. Currently on GEHA HDHP (maxing out yearly investment) we also don't go to the doctors a whole lot so it is no problem. I love the insurance. I have heard about Blue Cross Blue Shield but it does not interest me at all.

Here is the catch, my partner and I want to procreate so I was thinking about staying in GEHA but I don't know if we should go FROM HDHP TO the "Standard" coverage or a little higher. We have a hefty amount in our HSA, which is great because it just keeps accumulating every month.

For those who have had families under GEHA health plan, can you elaborate?

Thanks in advance.

We had a kid on GEHA standard in 2020. Everything was covered free up until the birth. Unfortunately our son spent a week in the NICU, and those expenses were NOT free. I think we ended up with like $3k ish in bills after it was said and done. Can’t really complain cuz the bill was well over $30k pre insurance.

I switched to elevate plus now that I have two kids and go to the doctor what feels like every other week. It’s nice knowing how much each thing is going to cost (fee based) rather than percentage based.

Hopefully this answers some of hour questions.
 
Geha standard and no bills for pregnancy. I was looking at the hdhp plan and it looks like you shouldn’t have any bills for delivery either.
 
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