Health Savings Account

What is a Health Savings Account? (HSA).  You could be at the age you start thinking more seriously about any tax advantages available to you so let us explore the HSA benefits and if they work for you.

According to the Internal Revenue Service (Publication 969, 2007):  A Health Savings Account (HSA) is a tax-exempt trust or custodial account that you set up with a qualified HSA trustee to pay or reimburse certain medical expenses you incur.  You must be an eligible individual to qualify for an HSA. A qualified HSA trustee can be a bank, an insurance company, or anyone already approved by the IRS to be a trustee of individual retirement arrangements (IRAs). 

You can claim a tax deduction for contributions you or someone other than your employer, make to your HSA even if you do not itemize your deductions on Form 1040.

• Contributions to your HSA made by your employer (including contributions made through a cafeteria plan) may be excluded from your gross income.
• The contributions remain in your account from year to year until you use them.
• The interest or other earnings on the assets in the account are tax free.
• Distributions may be tax free if you pay qualified medical expenses.
• An HSA is “portable” so it stays with you if you change employers or leave the work force.

High deductible health plan (HDPD).

• An HDHP has a higher annual deductible than typical health plans, and
• A maximum limit on the sum of the annual deductible and out of pocket medical expenses that you must pay for covered expenses.  Out-of-pocket expenses include copayments and other amounts, but do not include premiums.*

*”Health Savings Accounts and Other Tax-Favored Health Plans”, Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Services.  Publication 969, Cat. No. 24216S, 2007.

BlueOptionsHSA is a high deductible plan linked to a health savings account (HSA).  There are many benefits for choosing an HSA plan for you or your family.

• As much as a 50% savings over BlueAdvantage
• Preventive Care services are covered at 100%- even before your deductible is met.
• Prescription coverage is covered after you meet your deductible, you pay your coinsurance amount.
• Medical and Pharmacy claims apply to the same deductible.
• Contributions to your HSA are tax-deductible, withdrawl and interest are tax-free.*

For more information on health insurance coverage in North Carolina, please visit our website at www.nchealthplans.com or call our toll free number 888-765-5400 and speak with one of our qualified agents.  Our agency provides coverage for health insurance in North Carolina through Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina (BCBSNC).  You may qualify for a 15% healthy lifestyle discount if you are in excellent health.  Call us for details.

*BCBSNC internal data, 2007.

This entry was posted on Thursday, October 30th, 2008 at 8:00 am and is filed under Blue Advantage/Blue Options HSA. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.