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Congressional Research Service Offers Report on HSAs
The report can serve as a primer for those needing more education about HSA rules and benefits.
Reported by Rebecca Moore
The Congressional Research Service has issued a comprehensive report about health savings accounts (HSAs).
Penned by Ryan J. Rosso, and analyst in health care financing, the report starts with explaining what an HSA is. It also discusses what an HSA-eligible high-deductible health plan (HDHP) is.
The report discusses eligibility to establish and contribute to an HSA, including who is disqualified. It also addresses eligibility to withdraw HSA funds.
Rules concerning HSAs, such as contribution limits, allowable contributors, qualified expenses and non-qualified expenses, are covered. In addition, the report explains the triple-tax advantage of HSAs.
The report concludes, “Although it would be beneficial to study the entire HSA population, which is the population that is eligible to establish and contribute to an HSA (i.e., enrolled in an HSA-eligible HDHP) and the population that has an HSA, few available data sources provide a comprehensive understanding of the entire HSA population.”