Health accounts can help pay eligible expenses but do not themselves insure a person against medical loss. Learn who owns and funds each arrangement, which coverage or plan conditions apply, and how an account interacts with the insurance policy. Tax limits and eligibility rules change, so use current Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and plan materials for individual decisions.
Learning path
- Health Savings and Reimbursement Accounts: Health Savings Accounts (HSAs), Flexible Spending Arrangements (FSAs), and Health Reimbursement Arrangements (HRAs): ownership, funding, eligibility, and common uses.
- Health Account Eligibility and Tax Treatment : Qualifying coverage, employer plan terms, tax treatment, carryover and transfer distinctions, and why current annual limits must be verified.
Apply the unit
An employee has an HSA from a former employer, is newly eligible for an FSA, and asks whether both can be used.
- Identify the exact account type and coverage, the employer’s plan terms, and the current eligibility rules before giving a conclusion.
Study checkpoint
- Can you compare HSA, FSA, and HRA ownership and funding?
- Can you explain why an HSA has coverage-based eligibility requirements?
- Can you identify which answers depend on current IRS limits or plan documents?