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Health Savings Account

Health Savings Account

Once you’re enrolled in the Health Savings Plan, you will open a Health Savings Account (HSA) with Optum Bank. You’ll receive an HSA debit card to pay for your eligible health care expenses, along with detailed information about your account. You must accept the terms of an HSA through Optum Bank.

Contributions

The University's Contributions

The University will contribute up to $500 (for individual coverage) or up to $1,000 (for family coverage) to your HSA. Half of The University’s contributions will be deposited into your HSA in Spring 2022. Starting July 2022, you'll receive monthly University contributions to your HSA. If you’re hired during the year, The University’s contributions will be pro-rated based on your benefits start date. These contributions are tax-free!

The University's Contributions

The University will contribute up to $500 (for individual coverage) or up to $1,000 (for family coverage) to your HSA.

University contributions to your account are made monthly. If you’re hired during the year, The University’s contributions will be pro-rated based on your benefits start date. These contributions are tax-free!

Your Contributions

You can have pre-tax contributions deducted from your paycheck and deposited directly into your HSA. However, your contributions plus University contributions cannot exceed the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) annual contribution maximum.

2021 Contribution Maximums

HSA annual contribution maximum (University contributions + your pre-tax contributions):

Individual: $3,600 (deducted from your pay with pre-tax dollars)
Family: $7,200 (deducted from your pay with pre-tax dollars)

$1,000 additional catch-up contribution allowed by you if you will be age 55 or older by December 31, 2021.

Eligible Expenses

You can use your HSA to pay eligible medical, prescription drug, dental, vision and hearing expenses. HSA payments for qualified health care services are tax-free. For a full list of qualified expenses, visit IRS.gov.

It's Your Money

Money in your HSA is always yours—if you don’t use your entire account balance by year’s end, it will roll over to the next year. If you leave The University or retire, you can take the account with you.

Account Growth

Your HSA grows through:

Contributions made by The University,
Optional pre-tax (payroll deducted) and post-tax contributions made by you,
Transfers from any existing HSAs you have, and
Interest and investment earnings once your account reaches $2,000.

Attend an HSA Webinar with Optum Bank

Register for a Health Savings Account webinar with Optum Bank to learn more about the features of your HSA, including saving for the future, eligible expenses, reimbursements, maximizing benefits, and more!

Using Optum Bank

If you have another account with Optum, you can use your same HealthSafe ID to log in to all your Optum accounts.

To register with Optum Bank:

Visit optumbank.com.
Follow the prompts to create your unique HealthSafe ID. You’ll provide your full legal name, birthdate, primary ZIP code, email, phone number, and Social Security Number or Employee ID.
Confirm your email and phone number, as prompted.

Not sure if you have a HealthSafe ID? Use the “Recover my Username” feature to check.

Optum Bank Mobile App

Get Health Savings Account information on-the-go with the Optum Bank mobile app. Through the app you can upload receipts, check your balance, make a payment and deposit a check. The app is available on the App Store or Google Play.

Important HSA Rules

The IRS requires the following for you to enroll in an HSA:

You must be enrolled in a high-deductible health plan—in our case, the Health Savings Plan.
You can’t have other health coverage that pays for out-of-pocket health care expenses before you meet your plan deductible.
You can’t be eligible for AND enrolled in Medicare, covered by TRICARE (a health care program of the U.S. Department of Defense Military Health System), or have received Veterans Administration (VA) health benefits in the previous three months.
You can’t be claimed as a dependent by someone else.
You or your spouse can’t have a Healthcare Flexible Spending Account (FSA) or Health Reimbursement Account in the same year that you have an HSA. If you are currently enrolled in the University's Healthcare FSA, you must use the money in your Healthcare FSA by December 31, 2021. You will have the option of waiving the automatic rollover of any remaining FSA funds so that you can still have an HSA in 2022.

You may want to consult a tax adviser to discuss your unique circumstances.

What’s Right for You—FSA versus HSA

IRS rules say that you can't participate in a general purpose Healthcare FSA and an HSA at the same time. The HSA has many attractive features compared to a Healthcare FSA. However, an HSA is only available if you elect the Health Savings Plan.

Healthcare Flexible Spending Account

2021 Contribution Maximum: $2,750 pre-tax; elect contribution amount for the year at Open Enrollment; no changes allowed during the year, except for a qualifying event
Plan Year Rollover: Any amount over $50 and up to $550
Account Ownership: Account is owned by The University; if you leave, you can continue to use it through COBRA; once COBRA ends, any remaining account balance is forfeited
Account Growth: Your contributions
Access to Funds: Full yearly contribution at the beginning of the Plan Year
Reimbursement: File eligible claims for the Plan Year by March 31 of the following year
Eligible Expenses: Copays and deductibles, and eligible out-of-pocket expenses for medical, Rx, dental, vision and hearing care

Health Savings Account

2021 Contribution Maximum: $3,600 individual pre-tax/$7,200 family pre-tax (both include University contributions); $1,000 additional catch-up contribution allowed by you if you will be age 55 or older by December 31, 2021
Plan Year Rollover: Your entire HSA balance rolls over to the next year
Account Ownership: You own the account; you can take it with you if you leave The University or retire
Account Growth: Your contributions; contributions from The University; transfers from other HSAs; interest; investment income
Access to Funds: Only the funds already deposited in the account
Reimbursement: Access available HSA funds to pay for services incurred on January 1, 2021 or later
Eligible Expenses: Copays and deductibles, and eligible out-of-pocket expenses for medical, Rx, dental, vision and hearing care

Important Documents

UAMS HSA Election Change Form 2022