The Health Savings Account (HSA) is a pre-tax savings account exclusively available to employees enrolled in the Consumer Driven Health Plan (CDHP) medical plan. It offers a range of benefits that can significantly enhance healthcare savings. Unlike Health Care FSA, where you have a use it or lose it rule, the HSA funds will roll over year after year. Please visit the Health Benefits page for more details on the CDHP plan.
To contribute to a Health Savings Account (HSA), you must be enrolled in the CDHP medical plan and not be covered by another health plan that is not a high-deductible plan, such as your spouse's medical plan, a full-purpose FSA, or Medicare.
Additionally, you may not be claimed as a dependent on someone else's tax return. To determine if you are eligible to have an HSA, you are advised to talk to your tax advisor and review the following documents:
Be aware of restrictions:
If covered by Medicare. Once you enroll in Medicare, you are no longer eligible to make contributions to your account, but you can continue to pay for qualified medical expenses with your HSA. If you are currently contributing to your HSA, you will need to make a mid-year change event to stop coverage. Please see below for more information
If covered by a Health Care Flexible Spending Account (FSA) Plan. Coverage under your or your spouse's FSA will cause you to be ineligible for an HSA since the FSA is considered a health plan without a high deductible. However, if you or your spouse are covered under a Limited Purpose FSA (LP FSA), you will still be eligible for an HSA. An LP FSA reimburses only dental and vision services (see the Flexible Spending Account Summary Plan Description for more information).
Caution: If you are covered under a Full Purpose Healthcare FSA (not an LP FSA) that has a “Grace Period," such as the DePaul FSA, and have a balance in that account as of December 31st, you will not be able to have contributions made to your HSA until April 1st of the following calendar year.
A “Grace Period" is an FSA feature that allows you to obtain services through March 15th and receive reimbursement from amounts you contributed to the FSA in the previous year.
Suppose you or your spouse has established a medical Full-Purpose FSA with a grace period. In that case, you must have a zero (0) balance in the plan by December 31st to begin contributions and receive the employer contribution in January of the following year.
Contributing to Your HSA
Once you enroll in the CDHP and open an HSA, DePaul will make an annual contribution, and you can make tax-free contributions to your HSA each year you are enrolled. Note: Contributions are prorated when enrollment in the CDHP occurs after January. Employee contributions through salary reduction will only be allowed prospectively.
Maximum HSA Contributions are announced each year during Open Enrollment. For information on the most recent year's benefits, click here.
Maximum Contribution Restrictions: Employees not HSA eligible for the entire plan year in which they are making contributions must be HSA eligible in December of the plan year and remain eligible for the next 12 months to make the maximum contribution. Suppose an employee is not eligible for the requisite period. In that case, the employee will become subject to the approximate tax rules, and excess contributions will be subject to regular taxes and an excise tax. You may want to review the IRS Resource Center and/or consult your tax advisor before you increase your contributions.
Establish a Health Savings Account with Health Equity
In most cases, your account will be automatically established. However, HealthEquity will sometimes require additional documentation to establish your account. HealthEquity will contact you directly via email and mail if further information is needed within a few weeks of enrolling in the CDHP medical plan. Once your HSA is established, you will receive a debit card in the mail for use with your account.
IMPORTANT: If you do not establish a bank account, DePaul University will not be able to make the employer contribution to your HSA, and you will not be able to elect pre-tax HSA salary reductions from your pay. Additionally, you may forfeit your right to receive an employer contribution for the year.
Viewing your account
You can see your current balance and request reimbursement by clicking the HealthEquity title in BlueSky. You will also be able to set up beneficiaries and explore investing options.
Making Mid-year Changes to Your Health Saving Account Contributions
You may change the amount of your Health Savings Account pre-tax deduction anytime.
To change your annual election or stop deduction, follow this link for a walk-through.
To make a one-time deduction, complete the DePaul University Health Saving Account Contribution Election Change form and submit it to Human Resources.