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Chronicling my transition from an employer health plan to an individual plan. Thanks #aca
1. It was relatively easy to find a plan that was comparable both in price and coverage to the one my former employer had offered.
2. I could even keep my doctor who I like a lot.
3. As an individual, I could cover as many of my dependents as I wanted, not just "individual + family". This comes in handy with a son at BYU where the student health plan is very reasonably priced.
4. The HSA. Aah. Yes, it's my money in an account that is mine. Yes, it's also subject to a monthly maintenance fee.
4a. There are not many financial institutions that sponsor them for rollovers. Not my regular bank, my mortgage lender, or the brokerage that holds my 401-k. In all likelihood, you will need to establish a relationship with a new institution. I chose Fidelity.
4b. I established the account in one day. The rollover is going on two weeks and has still not been completed.
4c. There was a $25 account closing fee.
4d. I'm hopeful that this is the end of the discomfort. But we've got one week until my new coverage kicks in, and the old HSA card has already been deactivated.
4e. My rec for transitioning: create the new HSA and fund it without waiting for the rollover. The rollover is just as long a process as for a 401-K.
4f. Update: I contacted the old HSA company since I hadn't yet seen the check. They said it had been pending a 10-day waiting period. It had been a month, during a pandemic, to be fair. That day, the old account was closed and check got cut.
4g. My HSA debit cards arrived today. I just ordered them last week though. So recommendation: order them as soon as you open the new HSA.
