By getting the HDHP, you can contribute to an HSA, which is a literal savings account. Just like an FSA account, you put in money that's not taxed, and it's also not taxed when you take money out of it to spend on medical expenses. Unlike an FSA account, however, the money in the HSA account at the end of the year stays yours. (Whereas, with an FSA, it's a "use it or lose it" kind of thing.) I believe you can contribute more to an HSA than you can to FSA, too.
If you can actually keep a portion of the funds you contribute to HSA each year while on the HDHP, then you'll have the benefit of a HSA (which also acrues interest) which can build a safety net for future medical expenses.
If you can't save what you're contributing to HSA while on HDHP, then there's likely no reason to get the HDHP at all. Even if it could save you a lot in terms of withholdings from your paycheck, as you've pointed out, the HDHP makes you shell out a lot of money before offering any coverage--so it only saves you money if you can avoid any and all medical costs, which is basically a gamble.
In my experience, HDHP and PPO plans tend to have a larger cost divide than what you described. That also factors in...
toxicredox t1_iyatxh3 wrote
Reply to I don't see the point of my employer's HDHP /w HSA compared to the PPO plan by zk2997
By getting the HDHP, you can contribute to an HSA, which is a literal savings account. Just like an FSA account, you put in money that's not taxed, and it's also not taxed when you take money out of it to spend on medical expenses. Unlike an FSA account, however, the money in the HSA account at the end of the year stays yours. (Whereas, with an FSA, it's a "use it or lose it" kind of thing.) I believe you can contribute more to an HSA than you can to FSA, too.
If you can actually keep a portion of the funds you contribute to HSA each year while on the HDHP, then you'll have the benefit of a HSA (which also acrues interest) which can build a safety net for future medical expenses.
If you can't save what you're contributing to HSA while on HDHP, then there's likely no reason to get the HDHP at all. Even if it could save you a lot in terms of withholdings from your paycheck, as you've pointed out, the HDHP makes you shell out a lot of money before offering any coverage--so it only saves you money if you can avoid any and all medical costs, which is basically a gamble.
In my experience, HDHP and PPO plans tend to have a larger cost divide than what you described. That also factors in...