Q Would the ACPL contribution appear somehow on my W2?
A Yes. All employer contributions to an HSA that are excludable from income (pre-tax payroll deductions) are reported in box 12 of the W2.
Q If you return to the traditional plan after trying the new plan, will there be any
restrictions on coverage – such as for “pre-existing conditions”?
A. No, the individual will have no restrictions of this nature returning to the traditional PHP coverage.
Peter
Allen County Public Library!
"Great Hall"
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Saturday, September 20, 2008
More HSA Q & A's...Sept 20, 2008
Q1 Where can we get a list of the expenses that are eligible to be paid for with our HSA account?
A1 Cut and paste this IRS address: http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p502.pdf – and scroll down to page 5.
Q2 Can I use the HSA money for eligible medical expenses of my family members in addition to myself without the funds becoming taxable?
A2 Yes.
Q3 After I leave ACPL, can I use my HSA to pay for health insurance premiums?
A3 Yes, but only under limited circumstances. Only if you are collecting unemployment compensation or to pay for COBRA insurance continuation coverage. HSA money can also be used to pay for Medicare premiums, deductibles, copays, and coinsurance under any part of Medicare. However, contrary to what was stated in many employees meetings, you CANNOT use HSA money to pay for SUPPLEMENTARY Medicare insurance (also known as Medigap insurance). My apologies for this error.
Q4 If I have money in my HSA when I’m older than age 65, do I have to pay taxes on the money if I spend it on non-health care expenses?
A4 You’d still have to pay regular taxes on the money used for non-medical things, BUT, contrary to what was stated in some employee meetings, the 10% tax penalty does NOT apply once you turn age 65. Neither does the tax penalty apply if you become disabled (at any age). My apologies for this error.
Q5 Can I use my HSA funds to pay for eligible medical expenses of other family members – without making the funds taxable?
A5 Yes!
Q6 I heard there’s a good Q and A section for HSAs at the US Treasury’s website. Can you provide the address?
A6 Sure. Here it is: http://www.ustreas.gov/offices/public-affairs/hsa/faq_using.shtml#hsa13
Peter
A1 Cut and paste this IRS address: http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p502.pdf – and scroll down to page 5.
Q2 Can I use the HSA money for eligible medical expenses of my family members in addition to myself without the funds becoming taxable?
A2 Yes.
Q3 After I leave ACPL, can I use my HSA to pay for health insurance premiums?
A3 Yes, but only under limited circumstances. Only if you are collecting unemployment compensation or to pay for COBRA insurance continuation coverage. HSA money can also be used to pay for Medicare premiums, deductibles, copays, and coinsurance under any part of Medicare. However, contrary to what was stated in many employees meetings, you CANNOT use HSA money to pay for SUPPLEMENTARY Medicare insurance (also known as Medigap insurance). My apologies for this error.
Q4 If I have money in my HSA when I’m older than age 65, do I have to pay taxes on the money if I spend it on non-health care expenses?
A4 You’d still have to pay regular taxes on the money used for non-medical things, BUT, contrary to what was stated in some employee meetings, the 10% tax penalty does NOT apply once you turn age 65. Neither does the tax penalty apply if you become disabled (at any age). My apologies for this error.
Q5 Can I use my HSA funds to pay for eligible medical expenses of other family members – without making the funds taxable?
A5 Yes!
Q6 I heard there’s a good Q and A section for HSAs at the US Treasury’s website. Can you provide the address?
A6 Sure. Here it is: http://www.ustreas.gov/offices/public-affairs/hsa/faq_using.shtml#hsa13
Peter
Thursday, September 18, 2008
More HSA Q & A's...Sept 18, 2008
Here are more Health Savings Account Q & A's. More coming very soon!
Q1 Will we be able to have direct deposit of our employee contribution to the HSA via payroll deduction?
A1 Yes.
Q2 Let me get this right, you’ve said we’ll probably have a nice convenient HSA debit card to just “swipe” at the doctor’s office to pay. But you’ve also suggested we should try to not pay when the doctor’s office asks for payment at the time of service. That we should wait and let PHP advise us of what we need to pay. Which is it?
A2 My apologies for not being clear on this point in some of the early meetings. When paying for something that is not a covered service (something that is not paid by the plan even after you’ve met the Out of Pocket Maximum), it is fine to just use the debit card – and save the receipts in case you ever have to prove you used your HSA on only health related expenses.
But if the payment is for something that PHP has negotiated a price discount for (virtually all physician office and hospital services, for example), we suggest asking the provider of the service if you can wait to pay until after the claim has been submitted by the provider to PHP – and PHP has processed the claim. PHP will inform both you and the provider how much you are to pay the provider (factoring in the negotiated discount as well as if you have reached the Out of Pocket maximum). Even if the provider insists upon you paying the bill at the time the service is provided, you should send a receipt to PHP so they can accurately keep track of how much you’re paying toward your Out of Pocket Maximum.
If you pay for a service that is a “covered” benefit but without a PHP discount, the record of the expense must still get to PHP by either the provider submitting, or you providing documentation to PHP so the records can be maintained.
I hope this is now more clear.
Q3 When will the HSA “work sheets” you described to help us analyze this be available?
A3 By September 30at the latest.
Q4 Would we receive both a PHP card and a HSA card?
A4 Yes
Q5 Would we get a monthly statement from the bank? On-line?
A5 Yes. It also looks like you will be able to get a checkbook and debit card – or just one or the other if you prefer.
Q6 If we worked out a payment plan with a provider, could the monthly payment be automatically subtracted from my account – and placed in provider’s account?
A6 That would be up to the individual bank. But we know most banks already make regular withdrawals out of account holder’s checking accounts and electronically transfer the funds to the account of the company to which the account holder has directed the money to go to.
Q7 Would our HSA money be protected by FDIC?
A7 Yes. It is a bank account like any other bank checking or savings account. However, if you elect to invest your funds in things like mutual funds, FDIC does not insure that money.
Q8 Today’s presentation had estimates for IND and FAM. Can we have estimates for Employee plus Children and Employee plus Spouse?
A8 The next set of estimates distributed will include all four categories of coverage available to ACPL employees – and will be available in early October.
Peter
Q1 Will we be able to have direct deposit of our employee contribution to the HSA via payroll deduction?
A1 Yes.
Q2 Let me get this right, you’ve said we’ll probably have a nice convenient HSA debit card to just “swipe” at the doctor’s office to pay. But you’ve also suggested we should try to not pay when the doctor’s office asks for payment at the time of service. That we should wait and let PHP advise us of what we need to pay. Which is it?
A2 My apologies for not being clear on this point in some of the early meetings. When paying for something that is not a covered service (something that is not paid by the plan even after you’ve met the Out of Pocket Maximum), it is fine to just use the debit card – and save the receipts in case you ever have to prove you used your HSA on only health related expenses.
But if the payment is for something that PHP has negotiated a price discount for (virtually all physician office and hospital services, for example), we suggest asking the provider of the service if you can wait to pay until after the claim has been submitted by the provider to PHP – and PHP has processed the claim. PHP will inform both you and the provider how much you are to pay the provider (factoring in the negotiated discount as well as if you have reached the Out of Pocket maximum). Even if the provider insists upon you paying the bill at the time the service is provided, you should send a receipt to PHP so they can accurately keep track of how much you’re paying toward your Out of Pocket Maximum.
If you pay for a service that is a “covered” benefit but without a PHP discount, the record of the expense must still get to PHP by either the provider submitting, or you providing documentation to PHP so the records can be maintained.
I hope this is now more clear.
Q3 When will the HSA “work sheets” you described to help us analyze this be available?
A3 By September 30at the latest.
Q4 Would we receive both a PHP card and a HSA card?
A4 Yes
Q5 Would we get a monthly statement from the bank? On-line?
A5 Yes. It also looks like you will be able to get a checkbook and debit card – or just one or the other if you prefer.
Q6 If we worked out a payment plan with a provider, could the monthly payment be automatically subtracted from my account – and placed in provider’s account?
A6 That would be up to the individual bank. But we know most banks already make regular withdrawals out of account holder’s checking accounts and electronically transfer the funds to the account of the company to which the account holder has directed the money to go to.
Q7 Would our HSA money be protected by FDIC?
A7 Yes. It is a bank account like any other bank checking or savings account. However, if you elect to invest your funds in things like mutual funds, FDIC does not insure that money.
Q8 Today’s presentation had estimates for IND and FAM. Can we have estimates for Employee plus Children and Employee plus Spouse?
A8 The next set of estimates distributed will include all four categories of coverage available to ACPL employees – and will be available in early October.
Peter
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