Coverages
Health Savings Accounts (HSAs)
Allen Insurance offers expert guidance on Health Savings Accounts or HSAs, which put market forces to work to create a health-conscious community and drive down health costs for everyone. They create financial incentives to manage health care expenses by allowing tax-free contributions to accumulate, and if used for qualified medical expenses, never be taxed.
An HSA is a tax-exempt trust or custodial account established exclusively for the purpose of paying qualified medical expenses, paired with a high-deductible health plan. The combination offers substantial benefits:
- Because Federal regulations require you to have a “qualified” (or QHDHP), having a health savings account frees you to purchase a health plan with lower premium costs.
- You can use tax-free dollars to purchase services that might not be covered on a traditional health insurance plan, like acupuncture, dental and vision services.
- An HSA is portable and is not tied to an employer’s health plan.
- HSA contributions can be rolled over from one year to the next.
To be eligible for an HSA, an employee must be covered by a high-deductible medical benefit plan, and must not be…
- Covered by another health plan that is not a high deductible health plan (with certain exceptions)
- Entitled to benefits under Medicare
- Eligible to be claimed as a dependent on another person’s tax return
Self-employed individuals can be eligible to establish an HSA.
Following are the health plan deductible parameters and maximum allowable contributions to an HSA for 2009 and 2010:
| 2010 | 2009 | |
|
HDHP Minimum Deductible Amount Individual |
$1,200 $2,400 |
$1,150 $2,300 |
| HDHP Maximum Out-of-Pocket Amount
Individual |
$5,950 $11,900 |
$5,800 $11,600 |
| HSA Statutory Contribution Amount
Individual |
$3,050 $6,150 |
$3,000 $5,950 |
| Catch-Up Contributions (age 55 and older) | $1,000 |
$1,000 |
