I haven't had health insurance since I got off welfare. Yay, I worked hard and bettered myself and now I can't get my dental care for my gum disease! Or continue working with my doctor to alleviate my migraines!

Sorry, I got bent out of shape for a minute. I have mixed feelings about the "system".

Anyhoo, I will qualify for a health plan through my employer soon. I've never had health insurance benefits through an employer before, so I'd like some insight into how this plan compares.

Its a high deductible plan with an HSA. The annual deductible is $3000, the monthly premium for me would be around $100 (I have to check on that for an exact figure) and there's a $100 a month employer match for the HSA.

So, it will cost me about $200 a month to have $200 a month towards medical expenses (no dental) and be covered (I assume) if I have an accident or need surgery or something big like that. One thing I've heard is that if you run your medical through your insurance plan (even if you know the deductible is not met and you will have to pay) it will be billed at the rate negotiated by the insurance company, instead of a self-pay rate. Is that correct? My doctor billed medical assistance $120 a visit but when I went in as self-pay, they billed me $294!

Oh, I only have $211 a month after my current bills and expenses and I don't have any retirement savings going yet. That starts in March, but I wouldn't be able to do that if I enrolled in the health plan and contributed to get the match with the HSA.

Any ideas/advice?

You can use HSA funds to pay for dental but it won't count towards your deductible (I don't believe).

Yes that is correct.

I'd go with the HSA first. If you have medical expenses, that's what it's there for. If you don't use all of it by the time you reach 65 you can start to take money out of it like a retirement plan anyway.

I'd go with the HSA as well. At some point, you'll have medical expenses (even if it's years down the road) and from what I understand, you "own" the money in your HSA even when you leave your employer.

I know it's a tough situation, but keep on doing everything you can to earn more and spend less. From your other posts, sounds like this is exactly what you're currently doing. Stay the course!