Originally Posted by
PilotJ3
Delta Pilot Medical Plan, IMO is the best choice, specially if your family has special needs.
Originally Posted by
Tropical
The new copay plan looks like a copy of the DPMP with slightly higher deductibles, nominal copays for everything, and premiums about $200 less a month. It is a traditional PPO plan. It seems like a decent middle option for a family if you don't want the Cadillac DPMP that is like an all inclusive resort, or the high deductible plans. If you have minimal health care needs, take an HDP. If you have high medical needs (chronic conditions that need to be managed), take the DPMP. Somewhere in the middle, like a typical family, take the Copay Plan.
This idea comes up every year that a heavy healthcare user is going to be better off on the DPMP compared to the HSA, when in fact in most cases the opposite is true.
Some math (assuming a family plan for everything):
DPMP yearly premiums: $8016 + Max out of pocket $7700 = Maximum cost you would bear of $15616
Gold HSA yearly premiums: $3828 + Max out of pocket $7800 - Company HSA cash contribution $2200 = Maximum cost you would bear of $9428
Silver HSA yearly premiums $1392 + Max out of pocket $13100 - Company HSA cash contribution $2200 = Maximum cost you would bear of $12292
As you can see both HSA plans are significantly lower on cost for extremely high user families who are going to max out every year. The Silver HSA is actually cheaper than the Gold as long as only 1 family member hits the individual max. Most normal users (myself included) tend to take the Silver HSA to guarantee the $2436/year premium savings on the gamble that we won't have more than 1 family member hit the individual max.
I personally know a couple of very high use families (long term health issues, medically fragile children, etc) and every year they use one of the HSA plans and are saving money as a result. This is mainly due to the huge difference in monthly premiums with the DPMP being so expensive.
Now, there are a handful of cases where the DPMP will be cheaper for an individual or family even with the higher premiums. For one, the DPMP coverage is the same for in- or out-of-network care. So if you have no viable in-network options where you live (especially for specialists, hospitals, or other high cost services) then the DPMP will be your better option. Also, the prescription copay coverage of the DPMP is far and away better than the HSA's if you have a family member on one or more very high-cost drugs.
Outside of those 2 cases, almost every pilot would be better off on one of the HSA plans. And those numbers don't even take into account the double-tax benefits of investing in your HSA. Tax free money going in, and tax-free growth. If you are hired at 35 and put the current max allowable contribution in ($7200, but company contributes $2200 of that amount for you for families), and it grows at 8% for 30 years, and you don't pull any out, that'll grow to over $800,000. So you save taxes on your total contributions of $150,000 ($5000X30), and you've got $800k that can be used completely tax free for any medical expenses for the rest of your life once you retire. Plus it acts as another tax-deferred account if used for non-medical expenses once you retire.
HSA FTW.