Health Savings Accounts. What you need to know (Part
2)
4.
You must have an HSA-eligible health insurance plan
in place first before you can open a Health Savings
Account. Otherwise the tax deduction will not be allowed.
5.
It generally takes 4-6 weeks to actually get a HSA
plan in place.
Short term coverage is somehting that you should look
into while waiting for your HSA eligible plan to take effect
if you don't have other coverage in place. Coverage may be
issued within 24 hours but it takes longer to receive ID
cards and a printed policy.
6.
You should not use an HSA plan when the management of
your existing medical expenses is more important to you than
achieving a savings in insurance premiums. Whatever you do,
Do not change health plans in the middle of ongoing medical
treatments, when a major health issue has been diagnosed, or
when any family member is pregnant. These
situations would clearly be determined to be pre-existing
conditions.
7.
There is generally no fee or commission for health savings
accounts although some custodial firms do charge a fee.
8. The
amount that you deposit and withdrawal from your HSA are at
your discretion (up the maximum deduction allowed each
year).
The links below will provide specific resources that will
help you choose health insurance in your state, as well as
multiple carriers offering online health insurance quotes.
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