Health Savings Account (HSA)
About the Health Savings Account (HSA)
The HSA is available if you choose the Cigna OAP HSA $3,200 plan at open enrollment.
Health Savings Account (HSA) allows you to set aside money on a pretax basis to pay for qualified expenses, such as doctor visits, prescriptions, braces, or even Lasik eye surgery, with tax-free dollars. There is no use it or lose it rule with HSAs. Any remaining balance at the end of the year will roll over into the next plan year. HSAs are also portable. This means that if you were to change jobs or health plans, the money in your account stays with you.
One of the best parts of the HSA is its triple-tax advantage: tax-free deductions when you contribute to your account, tax-free investment earnings, and tax-free withdrawals for qualified medical expenses. You earn tax-free interest on the money in your HSA account. You may also have the option to invest the money in your HSA.
You will receive a card linked to your account to pay for qualified expenses. You may be penalized or taxed if you use your HSA funds to pay for ineligible expenses. A full list of qualified expenses can be found on the IRS website at www.irs.gov (section 213(d)).
Eligibility
You are enrolled in the High Deductible Health Plan (HDHP); and are not covered under another medical plan such as Medicare, Tricare or a spouse’s medical plan (not an HDHP) which provides similar coverage; and, cannot be claimed as a dependent on another person’s insurance policy or tax return.