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If you're young, in good health, and don't have a lot of regular medical expenses, the HDHP with HSA is one of the best investments you can make in your future.

• HSA contributions are tax deductible (every dollar you put in through payroll deduction is a dollar you don't have to pay taxes on; similar to a Traditional 401k)
• HSA investment growth is tax and penalty free if used for medical expenses (similar to Roth IRA)
• HSA disbursements for medical expenses are tax and penalty free
• After age 65, the account basically turns into an IRA that you can use for whatever you want.

The HSA plan is basically made for people like you.

Just note that the premiums do not go into the account. The premiums are what you pay for the insurance itself. HSA contributions are above and beyond that.

EDIT: One other thing that I would add is that this is not a forever decision. If you are expecting a year with a lot of medical expenses (e.g., if you find out you're having a baby), you can switch to the PPO for a year during open enrollment then switch back to the HDHP+HSA when things settle down. The HSA and all the funds inside are yours, regardless of if you maintain that particular plan, stay with the company, etc.

The HDHP costs less (premiums *12) and you get a $500 contribution so it's the better choice if you don't go to the doctor much or have any medications. You also get the tax savings if you contribute to your HSA so based on what you described the HDHP is better.

Are you not staying on your parents plan until 26?

Between the premium difference and the HSA contribution (which you only get on the HDHP), you save $824 on the HDHP right out of the box. So until you have $1,824 (PPO deductible+$824 savings) the HDHP will be cheaper. And if you max out your HSA, that would be another probably $600-$1000+ in tax savings.

If you are young and don't have any ongoing medical needs or prescriptions, I would old for the HDHP. Remember that routine doctors visits are 100% covered in any plan, so you don't pay for those at all.

Ok, so the HDHP is about $325/year cheaper in premiums. Lets say you put that savings into the HSA also. Saves you an extra about $100 in taxes. Then you factor in the employer match. You now have $600/year that you are saving towards health care.That means for any given year, if you have less than $1600 in healthcare expenses, the HDHP will be cheaper. If you have less than $600 in expenses, then you can carry over that money for use in future years making the plan even better in comparison. If you contribute more towards your HSA, value further increases due to tax savings (and not to mention potential to invest).

Thank you for all the info, made it very digestible. The HDHP plan does seem like the better one now since I have some money to throw at it for investing.

My plan is a lot cheaper than my dads plan so it’s better for both of us if I head on my own. It was something like $500 premiums monthly for my dads plan.

So the HDHP is better in general if I’m maxing out the HSA?

Thanks for doing all those calculations, now the HDHP seems like a no brainer. I have some wiggle room with my income so I can probably max out my HSA as well.

HDHP for you most likely. You can incur $824 in healthcare costs/year before PPO could possibly cheaper. That'll easily cover a couple doctor's appointments. 1 true annual check is free even on the HDHP.