Originally Posted by
Brickfire
Deductible = you pay it all.
$500 bill and $1000 deductible you pay $500
Coinsurance = cost share AFTER meeting deductible
$1500 bill, $1000 deductible and 5% coinsurance
You pay $1000 plus 5% of the amount over
At some point coinsurance caps out. A million dollar bill may only cost you $3k or something
The IRS restrictions are on deductibles. I suspect the core hdhp is a “high” deductible (by IRS standards), high premium, generous co-insurance plan aimed at high income pilots who want a tax shelter
Good general info for anyone cruising this thread, but I'm clear on how coinsurance, deductibles, and OOP limits work; moreover, what plans qualify to utilize an HSA. The Core HDHP is the union-vetted plan only available to pilots here so it's built specific for us. The alternative is our United Healthy Rewards PPO which is also an HDHP with an HSA. It's a bit more gambling on this one to me because while the premium is a bit lower at $462/month the total costs are more expensive in a situation where out of pocket limits are reached. A very similar plan at some competing carriers is low to mid $300s/month for a family which is why I feel overall our premiums are on the high side. I could be missing some key info though.