Health Savings Accounts

Health care in the United States
Government Health Programs
Federal Employees Health Benefits Program Indian Health Service Medicaid / State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) Medicare Prescription Assistance (SPAP) Military Health System / TRICARE State Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) Veterans Health Administration
Private health coverage
Consumer-driven health care Flexible spending account (FSA) Health Reimbursement Account Health savings account (HSA) High-deductible health plan (HDHP) Medical savings account (MSA) Private Fee-For-Service (PFFS) Health insurance in the United States Managed care (CCP) Exclusive provider organization (EPO) Health maintenance organization (HMO) Preferred provider organization (PPO) Medical underwriting
Health care reform law
Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (1986) Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (1996) Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act (2003) Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Act (2005) Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (2009) Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (2010)
State level reform
Dirigo Health (Maine) Massachusetts health care reform Oregon Health Plan SustiNet (Connecticut) Vermont health care reform
Municipal health coverage
Fair Share Health Care Act (Maryland) Healthy Howard (Howard Co., Maryland) Healthy San Francisco Healthy Way LA My Health LA
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A health savings account (HSA) is a tax-advantaged medical savings account available to taxpayers in the United States who are enrolled in a high-deductible health plan (HDHP). The funds contributed to an account are not subject to federal income tax at the time of deposit. Unlike a flexible spending account (FSA), HSA funds roll over and accumulate year to year if they are not spent. HSAs are owned by the individual, which differentiates them from company-owned Health Reimbursement Arrangements (HRA) that are an alternate tax-deductible source of funds paired with either HDHPs or standard health plans.

HSA funds may currently be used to pay for qualified medical expenses at any time without federal tax liability or penalty. Beginning in early 2011 over-the-counter medications cannot be paid with an HSA without a doctor's prescription. Withdrawals for non-medical expenses are treated very similarly to those in an individual retirement account (IRA) in that they may provide tax advantages if taken after retirement age, and they incur penalties if taken earlier. The accounts are a component of consumer-driven health care.

Proponents of HSAs believe that they are an important reform that will help reduce the growth of health care costs and increase the efficiency of the health care system. According to proponents, HSAs encourage saving for future health care expenses, allow the patient to receive needed care without a gatekeeper to determine what benefits are allowed, and make consumers more responsible for their own health care choices through the required High-Deductible Health Plan.

Opponents of HSAs say they may worsen, rather than improve, health care in the United States because people may hold back the healthcare spending that would be covered, or may spend it unnecessarily just because it has accumulated to avoid the penalty taxes for withdrawing it, but people who have health problems that have predictable annual costs will avoid HSAs to have the costs paid by insurance. There is also debate about consumer satisfaction with these plans.

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Wikipedia