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HSA
- Health Savings Accounts in Oregon
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HSA Eligible Plans:
HealthNet | LifeWise
HSA PPO | LifeWise HSA Choice
| ODS HSA Choice | ODS HSA Value | PacificSource
| Regence
Health Savings Account Qualified Medical Plans
Under the legislation passed by Congress, the HSA must be coupled with a high-deductible
medical insurance plan. Individuals (Group Plans
are also available) pay small medical bills out of their own pocket up to the
deductible but have medical coverage in case of serious illness or accident.
$1,150 deductible plan with a total out of pocket maximum of $5,800 per individual,
and aggregate deductibles of between $2,300 with a maximum of $11,600 out-of-pocket
for families. There are 7 companies in Oregon as of this writing which offer
Individual and Family HSA qualified Major Medical Plans; Time Insurance Company,
John Alden, Lifewise WiseSavings plan, FlexPerks
from PacificSource, ODS has their HSA
Choice Option & HSA Value plans, Regence and their HSA
Qualified Plan, and also HealthNet has their Crystal
HDHP 80 and Crystal
HDHP 100 plans. We represent all of them.
Things that cause a common health insurance plan not
to qualify as HSA eligible:
- A plan that has an individual deductible lower than $1,150
- A plan that has a "family out of pocket maximum" that is greater
than $11,600 ($5,800 for an individual)
- A plan that has a separate prescription benefit (ie - 50% not subject to
a deductible)
- A plan that has a doctor visit copay for "non-preventative" services.
Health Savings Account (HSA)
Health Savings Account (HSA) plans offer the ability to build up savings to
pay for future medical expenses as a tax exempt savings account that is owned
by you and managed by a financial institution. Like an IRA, contributions to
an HSA are tax deductible and continue to grow tax deferred. Also, you can still
deduct 100% of your monthly premium if you are self-employed. The cost of a
high-deductible health plan is lower than a low-deductible plan. The contributions
to an HSA can be used to pay for health care that is not covered under your
traditional or PPO individual health plan. Examples of some of these forms of
treatment are vision, acupuncture, chiropractic, or dental care. All of your
unused contributions to the HSA will continue to grow. At age 65, you can use
these accumulated funds as retirement income or to offset future health care
costs such as long term care. All of the money deposited into your personal
HSA is your money. If you change jobs or move, your HSA account still belongs
to you.
Contributions are allowed up to 100% of the health plan deductible. The maximum
annual contribution is $3,000 for self-only policies and $5,950 for family policies
(indexed annually). Individuals 55-64 may make additional "catch-up"
contributions of up to $1,000 annually in 2009 and
thereafter. A married couple can make two catch-up contributions as long as
both spouses are at least 55. Catch-up contributions will help individuals accumulate
assets for retiree health expenses.
Contributions to HSA accounts may be made by individuals, family members and
employers. Contributions made by individuals and family members are tax-deductible
(for the account beneficiary) even if the account beneficiary does not itemize.
Employer contributions are made on a pre-tax basis and are not taxable to the
employee. Employers will be allowed to offer HSA's through cafeteria plans.
The investment earnings accrue tax-free.
HSA distributions
are tax free if they are used to pay qualified medical expenses. Distributions
made for any other purpose are subject to income tax and a 10% penalty. The
10% penalty is waived in the case of death or disability. The 10% penalty is
also waived for distributions made by individuals age 65 and older. Upon death,
HSA ownership may transfer to the spouse on a tax-free basis.
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