I was reading an article on crummy insurance policies colleges advocate for students and it made me think about my own kids and HSAs. My oldest, is fairly likely to continue education at the college level in a couple of years and I wonder if setting them up in their own HDHP/HSA makes sense. I suppose any contributions I would make to my child's HSA would not be deductible by me, but they would get the benefit. At the end of college, if I can afford to fund the HSA and they don't get ill, it would seem like a pretty good health nest egg for them. Any thoughts by the experts?

If you are still claiming your child on your tax return (and you probably should) then your child will not be eligible for setting up the HSA account. You can use your HSA account to pay for any eligible medical expenses your child or spouse incurs even if they aren't covered by an HSA qualified High Deductible Health Plan (HDHP).

You are correct in calling a lot of the college plans "crummy". Just a few minutes ago I received a call from an ER physician whose son is in college. They offered him one of those college plans and the maximum it would pay per calendar year is $100,000! There are many sicknesses or injuries that cost way more than $100,000 to treat. She likes the low premium (less than $70 per month) I quoted her for a $2500 deductible plan that pays up to $5 million for her son.

Once again, you should contact an independent agent that is familiar with the options you have available for comprehensive major medical health plans... HSA qualified of course!