Health Savings Account
On this page:
- What is an HSA?
- Eligibility
- How It Works
- Accessing Your HSA Funds
- Contributions to Your HSA
- New Enrollees
- Forms
What is an HSA?
The Health Savings Account (HSA), is a tax-advantaged account that can be used to pay for IRS-qualified health expenses for you, your spouse, and your tax dependents. You can use funds to pay for medical, dental, and vision plan deductibles and coinsurance, office visits, prescriptions, and much more.
The three main tax advantages of an HSA are:
- Contributions are deducted from your pay on a pre-tax basis.
- No taxes are withheld when funds are used for IRS-qualified health expenses.
- No taxes are withheld on the account interest or investment earnings.
HSAs can also be used as long-term savings vehicles. Funds in the account roll over annually and accrue interest tax-free. Additionally, funds exceeding $500 in your account can be invested.
Eligibility
To be eligible for tax-free HSA contributions, you must be enrolled in a High Deductible Health Plan (HDHP) and meet all the following requirements:
- Another non-high deductible medical plan cannot cover you.
- Cannot be covered by a health care Flexible Spending Account.
- Cannot be enrolled for Medicare benefits.
- Enrollment in any part of Medicare makes you ineligible to make or receive tax-free contributions to an HSA.
- Any eligible funds in your account will continue to roll over each year until used for qualified health expenses.
- Cannot be claimed as a dependent on another person's tax return.
- Cannot be enrolled in any other non-qualified medical plan.
- Cannot be covered by TRICARE or be eligible to receive VA medical benefits.
- Cannot be on a J1 Visa.
How It Works
The HSA can be used tax-free for health care expenses incurred by you, your spouse, or your IRS-qualified tax dependents, even if they are not covered on your HDHP.
Examples of eligible expenses include:
- Medical, dental, and vision deductibles and coinsurance
- Prescriptions
- Medical equipment and supplies
- Acupuncture
- Disability aids and hearing aids
- Nursing home and home health care
- Dental and orthodontia services
- Eyeglasses or contacts
- COBRA premiums
- Medicare insurance
- Long-term care insurance
For a listing of eligible expenses, please visit Qualified Medical Expenses (QME) | HealthEquity and www.irs.gov.
Accessing Your HSA Funds
Once HSA contributions are made, funds can be accessed in several different ways.
HSA Card
All HSA participants automatically receive a Health Equity HSA Card. This is a debit-type Visa card that allows you to pay for purchases and services from your HSA.
Online
Log in to your HealthEquity account and select View Claims from the Claims & Payments tab to pay a health care provider online or click the Reimburse Me link to reimburse yourself for eligible expenses you pay out-of-pocket.
Contributions to Your HSA
Wright State University Contributions
The university makes an annual contribution to your HSA of $500 or $1,000 depending on your level of coverage. Fifty percent of the annual contribution is deposited semi-annually in January and July.
| Coverage Level | Wright State's Annual Contribution Amount |
|---|---|
| Employee | $500 |
| Employee + Child(ren) | $1,000 |
| Employee + Spouse | $1,000 |
| Employee + Family | $1,000 |
Your Contributions
Although not required, you can make contributions to your HSA up to the IRS limit. Contributions made via payroll deduction are pre-tax and your annual election is spread evenly over each of your paychecks and can be changed at any time. Remember that the maximum amount you can contribute may be impacted by your spouse's HSA contributions.
IRS Annual Limits
The IRS annual contribution limits for 2024 have increased. The annual contribution amount (both Wright State’s and your contributions) deposited into your account cannot exceed:
- Employee: $4,150
- Employee + Child(ren): $8,300
- Employee + Spouse: $8,300
- Employee + Family: $8,300
- $1,000 additional for HSA ‘catch-up’ contributions (age 55 or older by the end of the 2024 tax year)
Coordinating Your HSA Contributions with Your Spouse
If you and your spouse are each enrolled separately in employee-only HDHP coverage, each of you is subject to the employee-only HSA limit ($4,150 each).
If you or your spouse has family HDHP coverage (employee with children, spouse, or family coverage), then you will be subject to the family contribution limit ($8,300) as a couple. In other words, if you or your spouse cover family members on your HDHP, your combined HSA contributions cannot exceed $8,300.
New Enrollees
HR will establish your Health Savings Account (HSA) with HealthEquity. Your HealthEquity Welcome Kit, Custodial Agreement, and HealthEquity Visa Health Account Card will be sent to your home mailing address.
If you have questions regarding your account at HealthEquity, please call HealthEquity at 866-346-5800. Their representatives are available to assist you 24 hours a day, 7 days per week.
Forms
Disclaimer: The benefits information contained in this site provides a summary for employees of Wright State. This information does not list all the provisions and does not supersede the individual provisions of our group insurance contracts, benefit plans, and university policies that it describes. Similarly, the information presented does not guarantee that the university, the state of Ohio, and/or others responsible for these contracts, plans, programs, and policies will not make future changes in the provisions applicable to each.
