HealthSavingsAccount-HSA.com

a comprehensive resource of information on health savings accounts

open a health savings accountOpen a Health Savings Account

downloadable application forms for mail-in with deposit

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FAQs about Health Savings AccountsFrequently Asked Questions updated for 2008!

over 150 topics including taxes, insurance & administration

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This Web site is sponsored by:  

MedSave.com

short term and low cost health insurance including HSA-qualified plans

 

 

 Ehealthdiscountplan.com

access to PHCS network discount prices to supplement your HSA

 

 

 

 

allowable supplemental insurance for HSA plans

 

 

 

WHAT'S NEW:

Health Savings Account Limits for 2008

"Health Savings Accounts: How to implement and administer an HSA in your organization with Tony Novak" now available for employee benefits managers on CD for $199.

Open a Health Savings Account Now!

Take the first step toward defeating runaway health care costs by enrolling in your own self-directed health savings account today.  Just follow these three easy steps for opening and managing a health savings account. 

bullet Step 1: Enroll in a High Deductible Health Insurance Plan
To have an Health Savings Account, you must first have a qualified high deductible health insurance plan.  We can help you find reputable insurance companies that allow you to enroll in their High Deductible Health Plans online.  This health insurance typically costs 10-50% less than traditional full coverage health insurance because of the higher policy deductibles.  Anyone who is not covered by Medicare and is not enrolled in another health insurance plan is eligible to open a Health Savings Account but eligibility for most health insurance plans is based on your state insurance laws.
bullet Step 2: Open Your Health Savings Account
After you are enrolled in a qualifying high deductible health insurance plan, just download and print an account application and other necessary forms provided by the banks that are the largest national providers of HSA trustee services.  Mail the application with your initial deposit.  Your new account will be opened and confirmed within a few days.  You will receive a "welcome kit" with specific information about managing your account.  (There is usually no charge to open an account when you enroll in insurance at the same time.  If you enroll separately, there may be an account fee).
bullet Step 3: Use Your Health Savings Account to Save on Taxes
You can make deposits, withdrawals, write checks or use your debit card (depending on the options you selected) for immediate disbursements for any qualified out-of-pocket medical expenses.  Alternately, you may wish to simply let your money accumulate tax-free in a no-load mutual fund or other investment. Next year when tax-filing season comes around, you will deduct the entire amount of all of the contributions to your Health Savings Account directly from your gross income.  It is not necessary to itemized deductions in order to qualify for this tax benefit and it does not matter whether you had any medical expenses.

Not Eligible? - Health Savings Accounts are not available to millions of Americans for a variety of reasons.  Those not eligible for a HSA may wish to consider other alternative benefit plans that provide similar tax and insurance savings.

Example of a Health Savings Account in Action

bulletThis example assumes an average household previously had a $500 per person deductible health insurance policy priced at $650 per month and has $1,200 of total family medical and dental expenses for the year of which $400 are covered by a traditional health insurance and none are covered by the HSA insurance (because they fall beneath the policy deductible).  (These are approximately the current national average household out-of-pocket health costs). The example also assumes an arbitrary 25% income tax bracket.
bulletThe traditional health insurance policy has a $1,500 maximum out-of-pocket risk with 3 persons and $500 per person deductible.  The family then switches to an HSA-qualified insurance plan with a $5000 family deductible priced at $325 per month and puts the premium savings plus a little more ($333 per month) into an HSA account.  We assume no investment earnings or loss in the account.
bulletThe result in this example is an overall net decrease in cost from $8,600 to $4,100 for a net savings of $4,500 (or 52% net savings) for the year.

 

 Example is for Tax Year 2004

 Traditional Health Plan

 ($500 per person deductible)

 HSA Health Plan

($5000 family deductible)
Monthly Premium $650 $325
x 12 = Annual Insurance Cost $7,800 $3,900
plus HSA deposit $0 $4,000
Assumed annual medical and dental expenses not covered by insurance. $800 (paid out of pocket) $1,200 (paid from HSA account)
TOTAL OUTLAY $8,600 $7,900
HSA account balance at end of year $0 $4,000 - $1200 =  $2,800 
Tax savings (assuming a 25% tax bracket) $0 $4,000 x .25 = $1,000
Net Cost $8,600 $7,900-$2,800-$1,000 = $4,100

User Support

This Web site was developed by Freedom Benefits Association as a public resource that focuses on free or low cost Health Savings Accounts . Free e-mail support is available on and HSA-related issue is available through OnlineAdviser service under the terms posted at http://www.medsave.com/onlineadviser.htm.  "OnlineAdviser" is a trademark of Freedom Benefits Association.  P.O. Box 102 Narberth PA 19072   E-mail onlineadviser@comcast.net.