Health Savings Accounts (HSA)

A Health Savings Account (HSA) is a bank account that you can use to pay for qualified medical expenses or save for retirement. HSAs are considered triple-tax-advantaged accounts -- the money is deposited and grows tax-free, and disbursements from the account are tax-free when used to pay for qualified medical expenses!

Why choose an HSA?

They offer tax savings.
If you chose to participate in your employer’s HSA, funds are deposited from your paycheck before taxes, meaning you save on every dollar you contribute!
You can invest your money.
Like a 401(k) or other retirement account, funds in your HSA are investable and grow tax-free.
Your money is your money. 
Money you or your employer contributes to your HSA is truly your  money – you can even take it with you if you change jobs.

How does it work?

• You can set up an HSA through a bank or financial institution. BlueCross has teamed up with financial partners to help you set up your account. Your employer may also have financial partners that can help.  Once set up, you and/or your employer can contribute funds up to the maximum allowable contribution allowed by the IRS each year.
• Your HSA debit card makes it easy to pay for services when you visit the doctor, dentist or pharmacist. You can pair the HSA with your insurance to help pay for items, such as copays, deductible, coinsurance or even non-covered medical expenses*.
• Best of all, the money in your HSA is your money. It’s portable; therefore, it stays with you even if you change jobs. Balances in the account carry over from year to year, and the money earns interest tax free.

*Just because a service is not covered by insurance doesn’t mean it’s not a qualified medical expense. Money in your HSA account can be used to pay for these services (refer to IRS 213d list for a list of eligible expenses). If the HSA funds are not used for qualified medical expenses, it must be reported as income on your taxes.

Download the HSA Member Brochure