Shannon Skinner (she/her) on Nostr: 2/4 Someone I know, let’s call them Carey, works for Optum Health, a subsidiary of ...
2/4
Someone I know, let’s call them Carey, works for Optum Health, a subsidiary of UnitedHealth Group. A few years back, Carey said their new healthcare plan at Optum had been switched to a high-deductible health plan (HDHP) paired with a health savings account (HSA). They now have to pay monthly out of pocket for a portion of their healthcare premium.
For those of you outside the US who may not be aware of the scourge that is an HDHP, I’ll try to explain. An HDHP is basically catastrophic health coverage paired with a savings account that comes with all sorts of tax advantages to encourage people to put aside money for their healthcare. “Personal responsibility” and all that. In order to open and contribute to an HSA, your healthcare plan must achieve a certain level of shittiness.
How shitty? For 2025, an HDHP must have a deductible of *at least* $1,650 for self-only coverage, or $3,300 for family coverage. Annual out-of-pocket expense maximums (deductibles, co-payments and other amounts, but not premiums) cannot exceed $8,300 for self-only coverage or $16,600 for family coverage. In summary, these plans are so shitty that in addition to the high premiums paid to cover your family with an HDHP, you could pay an additional $16,600 annually out-of-pocket for healthcare.
As compensation for having such a shitty health plan, the US Internal Revenue Service allows you to contribute annually up to $4,300 as an individual or $8,550 as a family tax-free into an HSA account. The money is not taxed upon withdrawal as long as it is used to pay for healthcare expenses, as defined by the IRS. Further, if you invest the money in your HSA, earnings are also not taxed. This is why rich people *love* HSAs, but that is for another post.
#Healthcare #UnitedHealth #USPol #USPolitics #BrianThompson #HealthcareIsAHumanRight #GetProfitOutOfHealthcare
Someone I know, let’s call them Carey, works for Optum Health, a subsidiary of UnitedHealth Group. A few years back, Carey said their new healthcare plan at Optum had been switched to a high-deductible health plan (HDHP) paired with a health savings account (HSA). They now have to pay monthly out of pocket for a portion of their healthcare premium.
For those of you outside the US who may not be aware of the scourge that is an HDHP, I’ll try to explain. An HDHP is basically catastrophic health coverage paired with a savings account that comes with all sorts of tax advantages to encourage people to put aside money for their healthcare. “Personal responsibility” and all that. In order to open and contribute to an HSA, your healthcare plan must achieve a certain level of shittiness.
How shitty? For 2025, an HDHP must have a deductible of *at least* $1,650 for self-only coverage, or $3,300 for family coverage. Annual out-of-pocket expense maximums (deductibles, co-payments and other amounts, but not premiums) cannot exceed $8,300 for self-only coverage or $16,600 for family coverage. In summary, these plans are so shitty that in addition to the high premiums paid to cover your family with an HDHP, you could pay an additional $16,600 annually out-of-pocket for healthcare.
As compensation for having such a shitty health plan, the US Internal Revenue Service allows you to contribute annually up to $4,300 as an individual or $8,550 as a family tax-free into an HSA account. The money is not taxed upon withdrawal as long as it is used to pay for healthcare expenses, as defined by the IRS. Further, if you invest the money in your HSA, earnings are also not taxed. This is why rich people *love* HSAs, but that is for another post.
#Healthcare #UnitedHealth #USPol #USPolitics #BrianThompson #HealthcareIsAHumanRight #GetProfitOutOfHealthcare