“Natalie” is the fourth of four Penn State employee examples illustrating claims and premium expenses that a Penn State employee could expect to pay within both plans.
Natalie, 41, is married with two young children (one is a newborn), and makes $50,000 per year. She covers the family. She is a bit uncomfortable with paying up front costs for medical care since she recently had a C-section and her son had ear surgery. She likes to be able to budget her monthly expenses.
Recommendation after comparison:
Either plan is recommended, but for someone who likes to budget monthly expenses, the PPO Plan is recommended. Natalie will have spent more for medical services in the PPO Savings Plan versus the PPO Plan given her experience over the year. However, she will not have received the $1,200 contribution for the Health Savings Account (HSA) which could have been used to pay for out-of-pocket expenses. She then could have taken the premium difference and put it in the HSA, as well. Natalie still was comfortable with her choice of the PPO Plan.