Health Savings Account Benefit Characteristics

	Individual & Family Health Insurance
	Small Business Health Insurance

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Mandated Benefit Features

Before you can establish a Health Savings Account (HSA) and make tax-advantaged HSA contributions, you must be enrolled in a HSA-compatible high deductible health insurance plan.  These plans have certain required characteristics.

Perhaps the most distinctive feature of HSA-compatible health plans is a lack of co-pay benefits (such as office visit co-pays and prescription co-pays) that have characterized popular health insurance plans of the last 25 years.  Under HSA-compatible plana, office visit charges and prescription charges accumulate against the high deductible.

With HSA-compatible health insurance, most if not all insured expense is subject to the annual deductible.  Though some plans make an exception for "preventive care."

Single Person Coverage

For single person coverage in 2008, the plan must have an annual deductible of at least $1100 and annual out-of-pocket expenses (deductibles, coinsurance and other amounts, but not premiums) cannot exceed $5600.

Family Coverage

For family coverage in 2008, the plan must have at least a $2200 deductible and annual out-of-pocket expenses (deductibles, coinsurance and other amounts, but not premiums) cannot exceed $11,200.  The family coverage deductible is a cumulative deductible for all combined family members.

Favorable Exception for Preventive Care

An HSA-compatible plan may apply a smaller deductible or no deductible for "preventive care" services.  "Preventive care" can include routine pre-natal and well-child care, child and adult immunizations, annual physicals, mammograms, pap smears, etc.

Benefit Requirements Apply to PPOs

An HSA-compatible plan using a PPO network (Virtually all HSA-compatible plans are PPO-based.) may apply higher deductibles and out-of-pocket expenses to covered health care services provided by non-PPO providers.