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Understanding HSA-eligible plans

What are HSA-eligible plans?

One way to manage your health care expenses is to enroll in a 
-eligible plan (also called a High Deductible Health Plan (HDHP)) and open an HSA, a type of savings account that lets you set aside money on a pre-tax basis to pay for qualified medical expenses (like some dental, drug, and vision expenses).

How HSA-eligible plans can lower your costs

  • If you enroll in an HSA-eligible plan, you may pay a lower monthly premium but have a higher
    (meaning you pay for more of your health care items and services before the insurance plan pays).
  • If you combine your HSA-eligible plan with an HSA, you can pay that deductible, plus other qualified medical expenses, like
    , coinsurance, and more, using money you set aside in your tax-free HSA.
    • So, if you have an HSA-eligible plan, and don’t need many health care items and services, you may benefit from the lower monthly premium.
    • If you need more care, you’ll save by using the tax-free money in your HSA to pay for it.
  • Your HSA balance rolls over year to year, so you can build up reserves to pay for health care items and services you need later.

What's considered an HSA-eligible plan?

Under the tax law, HSA-eligible plans must set a minimum deductible and a limit, or maximum, on out-of-pocket costs for both individuals and families.
  • The minimum deductible is the amount you pay for health care items and services per year before your plan starts to pay.
  • The maximum out-of-pocket costs are the most you’d have to pay per year if you need more health care items and services.
Notice:
HSA-eligible plan deductibles are often significantly higher than the minimums and can be as high as the maximum out-of-pocket costs.