Ever purchased an avy beacon with HSA account?

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habaceeba
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Ever purchased an avy beacon with HSA account?

Post by habaceeba »

I had the most random thought in the shower last night where all of my best ideas are born. My employer contributes $100/mo. to my HSA (health savings account). I have racked up quite a balance in that account. The thought was - I am in need of an avy beacon and since it is an item that could save your life, does it qualify as a health expense? Has anyone ever tried to buy an avy beacon with their HSA account? Totally left-field question, but Google is useless for this.
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SchralpTheGnar
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Re: Ever purchased an avy beacon with HSA account?

Post by SchralpTheGnar »

It's not covered under HSA, unless you can get a LMN from physician, same as gym equipment and what not.
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Re: Ever purchased an avy beacon with HSA account?

Post by pvnisher »

Statistically, wearing that beacon and the training to go along with it will increase your likelihood of dying in an avalanche by a fair amount.
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Jorts
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Re: Ever purchased an avy beacon with HSA account?

Post by Jorts »

pvnisher wrote: Tue Oct 26, 2021 6:54 pm Statistically, wearing that beacon and the training to go along with it will increase your likelihood of dying in an avalanche by a fair amount.
Correct, but wearing a seatbelt means statistically you're more likely to die in a car accident. People that don't wear seatbelts don't drive around in cars as much.

There's a certain ubiquity to beacons/shovels/probes amongst backcountry winter travelers. I think, anecdotally, that airbags and having partners give more of a false sense of security out there than wearing a beacon and knowing how to use it.
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curt86iroc
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Re: Ever purchased an avy beacon with HSA account?

Post by curt86iroc »

pvnisher wrote: Tue Oct 26, 2021 6:54 pm Statistically, wearing that beacon and the training to go along with it will increase your likelihood of dying in an avalanche by a fair amount.
that's a slightly misleading claim
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Re: Ever purchased an avy beacon with HSA account?

Post by Jorts »

curt86iroc wrote: Wed Oct 27, 2021 8:07 am
pvnisher wrote: Tue Oct 26, 2021 6:54 pm Statistically, wearing that beacon and the training to go along with it will increase your likelihood of dying in an avalanche by a fair amount.
that's a slightly misleading claim
Not completely misleading though. More experience leads to thinner margins and more accidents. Until it doesn't. It's a bell curve.

Image

https://www.avalanche.state.co.us/educa ... he-season/
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Re: Ever purchased an avy beacon with HSA account?

Post by two lunches »

honestly.. i think it's worth a shot. be prepared to argue your case if it gets audited, but something tells me that if the purchase goes through, no one is going to care about you spending $500.
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Re: Ever purchased an avy beacon with HSA account?

Post by curt86iroc »

thanks, im well aware of the data. my point was, if you reduce the population down to people caught in avalanches, the rate of mortality is less for those wearing transceivers than those without.

https://www.researchgate.net/publicatio ... n_survival

The study population was 1504 persons who were involved in 752 avalanches either in Switzerland from 1990 to 2000 and from 2002 to 2003 (1296 persons, 86.2%) or in Austria from 1998 to 2004 (208 persons, 13.8%). Persons equipped with an avalanche airbag had a lower chance of dying (2.9% versus 18.9%; P=0.026, OR 0.09, n=1504). In persons who were completely buried, without visible or audible signs at the surface and who did not rescue themselves (n=317), we found a lower median duration of burial (25min versus 125min; P<0.001) and mortality (55.2% versus 70.6%; P<0.001, OR 0.26) in those using an avalanche transceiver than in those not using the device.

the study from the CAIC deals with relative levels of experience and doesn't necessarily correlate any data between transceiver usage and mortality.
Last edited by curt86iroc on Wed Oct 27, 2021 9:51 am, edited 1 time in total.
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HikerGuy
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Re: Ever purchased an avy beacon with HSA account?

Post by HikerGuy »

Slightly off topic, but here's a good article in The Colorado Sun today, https://coloradosun.com/2021/10/27/colo ... ties-caic/. Last season's fatalities were mostly experienced parties. Also, I wonder if we will see another bad year with this season's early snowfall, looks like it's shaping up that way.
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Dave B
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Re: Ever purchased an avy beacon with HSA account?

Post by Dave B »

curt86iroc wrote: Wed Oct 27, 2021 9:46 am
the study from the CAIC deals with relative levels of experience and doesn't necessarily correlate any data between transceiver usage and mortality.
They're also self-identified skill levels. My buddy who's been skiing since he could walk and absolutely shreds commonly refers to himself as an intermediate skier. Meanwhile, another buddy who skis blues fast, but barely in control, and has two marginal seasons in the BC considers himself an advanced skier.

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Re: Ever purchased an avy beacon with HSA account?

Post by Bale »

I agree with Jorts, the real dangers are the false sense of security and bad decisions associated with groupthink. To the OP, nice try, but don’t think so. By that rationale, they would cover climbing ropes, bike helmets, base rigs, etc.
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Re: Ever purchased an avy beacon with HSA account?

Post by HikerGuy »

Dave B wrote: Wed Oct 27, 2021 10:05 am They're also self-identified skill levels. My buddy who's been skiing since he could walk and absolutely shreds commonly refers to himself as an intermediate skier. Meanwhile, another buddy who skis blues fast, but barely in control, and has two marginal seasons in the BC considers himself an advanced skier.

People gonna people.
Great example cognitive bias and the Dunning-Kruger effect.
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