Health Savings Accounts

A Health Savings Account (HSA) is an individually-owned, tax-advantaged savings account. You may use HSA funds to pay for medical, dental, prescription and vision expenses. When contributing money to your HSA via payroll, your contributions are tax-free at time of deposit.

CMU's HSA program is administered by Health Equity

HSA key features

HSAs offer a triple tax advantage by making the following tax-free:

• Contributions
• Distributions
• Investment Earnings

You decide how much you want to contribute and the money in your account rolls over from year to year. The HSA money is yours to keep, you can take it with you if you leave the university and/or use it during retirement.

IRS eligibility rules

• You must be covered by a qualifying High Deductible Health Plan (HDHP) - like the HSA-Advantage HDHP, HSA-Advantage Plus or MESSA ABC Saver.
• You can't also be covered by any other non-HDHP plan, even if the coverage is secondary. Examples:
  • You can't have other coverage on your spouse's traditional PPO or HMO plan.
  • You can't be enrolled in any Medicare or TRICARE.
  • You can't be eligible for VA benefits and have received health benefits from the VA within the last 3 months unless for a service-connected disability.
• You can't be claimed as  a dependent on someone else's tax return (other than your spouse).
• You or your spouse can't be enrolled in a general purpose (or traditional) Health Flexible Spending Account (FSA) or Health Reimbursement Account (HRA).

Important Reminder:  If you are already enrolled in Medicare, you are not eligible to enroll in an HSA, per the IRS.  Medicare eligibility usually begins at age 65 and you can be retroactively enrolled in Medicare Part A, unless you can postpone your Medicare enrollment.  Medicare Part A is mandatory for those who receive Social Security income.  Check with the Social Security office to determine your eligibility to postpone Medicare enrollment.

A summary of HSA rules is contained in IRS Publication 969 "Health Savings Accounts and Other Tax-Favored Health Plans".  If you have an HSA, you should carefully review the IRS Publication.  If you have legal, tax or financial questions about HSAs, consults your tax advisor.