Control Over Your Healthcare

You own and you control the money in your HSA. You decide how to spend the money without a health insurance company telling you what to do. You also decide what types of investments to make with the money in the account in order to make it grow.

Eligibility for Health Savings Accounts

• To be eligible for a Health Savings Account, you must be covered by a HSA-qualified High Deductible Health Plan (HDHP) and must not be covered by other health insurance that is not an HDHP.

• You are only allowed to have auto, dental, vision, disability and long-term care insurance at the same time as an HDHP.

• You may also have coverage for a specific disease or illness as long as it pays a specific dollar amount when the policy is triggered. Wellness programs offered by your employer are also permitted if they do not pay significant medical benefits.

• You cannot establish and contribute to an HSA unless you have coverage under a HDHP.

• The policy does not have to be in your name. As long as you have coverage under the HDHP policy, you can be eligible for an HSA (assuming you meet the other eligibility requirements for contributing to an HSA). You can still be eligible for an HSA even if the policy is in your spouse’s name.

• You are not eligible for an HSA after you have enrolled in Medicare. If you had an HSA before you enrolled in Medicare, you can keep it. However, you cannot continue to make contributions to an HSA after you enroll in Medicare. If you received any Veterans Administration benefits in the past three months, you are also ineligible to contribute to a HSA.

• You can't have an HSA if you are considered a dependent on somebody's tax return.

2010 HSA Contribution Limits

• Self-only: $3,050 (up from $3,000 for 2009)

• Family Coverage: $6,150 (up from $5,950 for 2009)

HDHP Deductibles and Out-of-Pocket Maximums

Self-Only

• Annual deductible: not less than $1,200 (up from
  $1,150 for 2009)

• Out-of-pocket expenses: not more than $5,950 (up
  from $5,800 for 2009)

Family Coverage

• Annual deductible: not less than $2,400 (up from $2,300 for 2009)

• Out-of-pocket expenses: not more than $11,900 (up
  from $11,600 for 2009)

  The annual catch-up contribution limit (for HSA-eligible individuals who are age 55 or older), set by statute, remains at $1,000 for 2010.

 

Disqualifying Insurance Coverage

Even if you have a HDHP, you can still not be eligible for HSAs if you are covered by another insurance policy. For instance, if your spouse has traditional health insurance and you are covered under that, you can't contribute to a HSA.

You can, however, have some sorts of insurance, including insurance for accidents, long-term care, and dental care. You can also have Flexible Spending Accounts and Health Reimbursement Accounts if they are for limited purposes and reimburse expenses covered by the HDHP after the deducible.