Health savings account

An HSA is a tax-advantaged savings account that you can use to pay for qualified medical expenses. The money in your HSA rolls over from year to year (it's not a "use it or lose it" account). You can keep your HSA even if you change employers, end employment, or retire.

To open an HSA, you must be enrolled in a high-deductible health plan such as UMP High Deductible and not be enrolled in other healthcare coverage that could disqualify you.

To learn more about eligibility requirements visit HealthEquity.

For School Employees Benefits Board (SEBB) employees, the State of Washington contributes $375 for an individual, and $750 for a family into an HSA account each calendar year. If you have at least one other family member on your plan, then you qualify for the family contribution. Employer contributions are made only during the months you are enrolled in UMP High Deductible.

You may also contribute money into your HSA. These contributions are made on a pre-tax basis, which means they are not counted as part of your gross earnings. You may also make post-tax contributions to your savings account.

Visit HealthEquity to see the IRS established annual contribution limits. The State of Washington’s contributions count toward the limit, as does the wellness incentive.

Many employers will deduct pretax funds from your paycheck and contribute them directly to your HSA upon your request. Here's the employee authorization for payroll deduction to Health Savings Account form you must submit.

Once enrolled with HealthEquity, you will receive a member welcome kit including an HSA debit card.*

You can use your HSA debit card* to pay for qualified medical expenses including prescription drugs at the time of service. You can also log in to your HealthEquity account to set up an online payment that is sent directly to the provider or to you if you need to be reimbursed for services you paid out of pocket. You must authorize Regence to release your medical claims to HealthEquity by logging in to your Regence account and requesting it. Your HSA balance will always appear on your Regence account. For prescription drugs, if you pay for the prescription without using your HSA debit card, you can request reimbursement to HealthEquity by submitting a claim and attaching a prescription. Access your prescription claims online or call Washington State Rx Services (WSRxS) at 1-888-361-1611 (TRS: 711).

You can use your HSA to pay for qualified medical expenses such as doctor’s visits, prescription drugs, prescribed over-the-counter medications, dental services, and eye care. You can also use HSA funds to pay for qualified expenses for your spouse or tax dependents, even if they aren’t covered by your plan. See the full list of qualified medical expenses on HealthEquity.

If you spend your HSA funds only on qualified medical expenses, you won't pay income tax on that money.

The subscriber is the only member eligible to earn the SmartHealth wellness incentive. A federal law requires a minimum deductible for high-deductible health plans. Therefore, the SEBB Program is not allowed to reduce the UMP High Deductible deductible. Instead, when you earn your wellness incentive, it will be deposited into your HSA account by the end of January in the year following when the incentive was earned. The incentive counts toward your annual maximum contribution. You may need to adjust your payroll contributions to make sure you don’t exceed the maximum contribution allowed for the year.

A Health Savings Account (HSA) is a tax-advantaged spending and savings account that may be used to pay for qualified medical expenses when you enroll in UMP High Deductible. The HSA is funded with pre-tax contributions from you, your employer, or both. You can also make deposits on a post-tax basis. You do not have to spend your money by a certain date, and you may take your savings account with you if you change health plans or leave employment.

A flexible spending arrangement (FSA) is a tax-advantaged savings account that may be used to pay for qualified health care expenses. The FSA is funded with pre-tax contributions from you. FSAs are administered by Navia Benefit Solutions.

Note: You are not allowed to enroll in a Medical Flexible Spending Arrangement (FSA) while you're enrolled in a high-deductible health plan with a Health Savings Account (HSA). You may, however, enroll in a Limited Purpose FSA. A Limited Purpose FSA can only be used on qualified vision and dental expenses.

If you have not spent all your 2023 funds in your Medical FSA or Limited Purpose FSA by December 31, 2023 — and you are still employed and didn't lose eligibility— you may be able to take advantage of the carryover feature. That means certain unspent funds may carry over into the following year without affecting annual maximum contribution limits.

To receive carryover, you must enroll in either the Limited Purpose FSA or Medical FSA for the following year or have at least $120 left in your 2023 balance. Unused funds up to $550 will roll over to 2024. Any funds above $550 will be forfeited. Carryover will occur in January 2024.

Compare Medical FSAs and Limited Purpose FSAs on the Navia website.

If you have questions or need help with your HSA, contact HealthEquity at 1-844-351-6853 (TRS: 711) or visit their website.