There are only two people who may have access to any given Health Savings Account one is the actual account holder and the other is the employer. There are companies that make deposits into a High Deductible Health Plan for their employees. All deposits must be considered non-discriminatory. This means that all employees are granted equal deposits with the exception of full time versus part time employees. Also, as of the beginning of 2007, employers can grant more money for "non-highly compensated" employees. There are several ways that the company can go about managing how they will document the tax break associated with giving money to these accounts.
Those who qualify for a Health Savings Account are usually one of two kids of people. The individuals who sign up for High Deductible Health Plans are either young and healthy or unable to pay the premiums of traditional health care.
The first group of qualifiers is usually the ones that are labeled as misusing the system. Young people who are in good health and do not anticipate having to see the doctor save themselves a lot of money by paying very low premiums. Because more and more of this age bracket are choosing HDHPs, the insurance companies have to raise the premiums the rest of the standard policy holders pay. It is the classic example of when the rich stay rich and get richer the poor stay poor and get poorer.
The second group of individuals who qualifies for HDHPs and HSAs are generally in an income bracket that does not allow them to pay the insurance premiums that a lower deductible plan would offer. Although the poor can have a great proportion of their expenses covered in the case of an emergency, standard doctors visits can become very costly. The Health Savings Plan was designed to help individuals in this situation. To provide a helpful means by which the poor can gradually save up the money that they will need for routine care.
No matter your situation or motives for applying for a Health Savings Account you should not view the account as a means by which to make money. If you qualify for an HSA, you will be given a list by your provider of medical services that fall within the limits of your account. Straying from the list of qualified medical expenses can result in weighty fines and penalties. Also, there are limits as to how much money you are allowed to have in your HSA. The IRS has established statutory limits depending on the type of health plan being participated in. As of 2007 the annual account limits are $2,850 for individual plans and $5,650 for family plans. If you begin your participation in the plan after the beginning of the year than your limit is pro-rated depending on the number of months you've been employed.