Health & Wellness

Health Savings Accounts (HSA) 

The University of Alaska partners with Bank of America to provide eligible UA employees access to a HSA.

 

HSA Plan Enrollment

  • Benefit-eligible employees working a minimum of 20 hours per week
  • Temporary Employees are not eligible (visit the temporary employee webpage for eligible benefits)
  • Must be enrolled in the HDHP or other qualifying plan 

Employees are responsible for understanding their own HSA eligibility. UA Benefits cannot assist employees in these cases as eligibility depends on coverages that exist for an individual outside the UA system. 

New Benefit-eligible Employees 

  • Review the new employee webpage
  • If no new employee form submitted, the employee will not be enrolled in an HSA (they will be defaulted into the Basic Health Plan which is incompatible)

Current Benefit-eligible Employees - Anytime

Please note - if there are additional changes to benefit coverage outside of the HSA, these must be made in conjunction with the life event. Please review the qualifying life events page to understand life events and their deadlines. Late forms will not be accepted. The HSA is provided on the  Life Event Changes Form so employees who are experiencing a life event can complete the life event form to update all coverages - including the HSA. 

Coverage Begin Dates

New Enrollment

  • First of the following month

Updated Enrollment

  • First of the next available pay period

Coverage End Dates

Contributions will End at the End of the Pay Period

  • Coverage will end at the end of the pay period in which an employee (1) requests to stop contributions, (2) leaves the university, or (3) becomes ineligible (i.e. by enrolling in a non-HDHP during a life event or Open Enrollment)

HSA Funds Can be Used Later

  • HSA funds can be used when on a non-qualified plan
  • The IRS stipulates when an employee can contribute to the account, not when they can use funds already contributed to the account
The HSA has no arrears.


HSA Plan Basics

Health Savings Account (HSA)

Maximum Contributions

$4.300 Individual
$8,550 Family

Use

Plan Compatibility

Compatible

  • HDHP
  • Premium & Basic Dental
  • Vision
  • Limited Purpose FSA
  • Dependent Care FSA

Incompatible 

  • Premium & Basic Medical
  • Health Care FSA
  • Medicare
  • Tricare
  • Retiree Health Coverage
  • Any health plan that is not qualified as HSA compatible by the IRS

 

Biweekly rates are based on the employee's election.

Bank of America

Call the number on the back of debit card | HSA Application Questions Only - 1-800-992-3200

  • Having issues logging into the Bank of America portal?
  • Wanting to understand what is considered a qualified expense?

TouchCare

1-866-486-8242 | assist@touchcare.com

  • Comparing UA medical plans for the best option medically/financially
  • Price comparisons for services (like an x-ray)
  • Assistance with medical billing - general questions on bills, advocacy with Premera on incorrect bills, etc.

UA Benefits Team


HSA Plan Details

Identities Must be Verified - IRS Required Step

  • Bank of America will mail a welcome packet
  • Welcome pack includes instructions on how to confirm identity
  • If an employee's identity is not confirmed, Bank of America will automatically close the account and return funds

Please reach out to ua-benefits@alaska.edu or (907) 450-8242 if there are issues completing the identity verification or if the account has been closed.

Automatically Generated Once Identity Verified

  • Mailed out automatically
  • Must verify identity first

Debit Card or Online Reimbursement Request

  • Can use the debit card for charges against the HSA
  • Can request reimbursement against any HSA online

Funds Available as Payroll Deposits

  • Funds only available after each payroll deduction
  • Employee can only use the funds they have deposited up to that point in time

Must be able to Substantiate Each Charge

Funds in the HSA Belong to the Employee

  • Keep funds until retirement
  • Keep funds when separating from the University or moving to a non-qualified plan
  • Invest funds for market growth
  • Funds do not expire

Cannot Use Funds on FIPs

  • Funds can be use for tax-qualified dependents
  • Funds cannot be used for non-tax-qualified dependents (i.e. FIPs and children of FIPs who have not been officially adopted)

Deposits Made Biweekly

  • UA pays 2 weeks in arrears
  • Contributions are deposited with each biweekly paycheck
  • It is common to expect a small delay for the initial deposit before Bank of America receives an employee's first deposit (up to 4 weeks since UA pays 2 weeks in arrears and new HSAs must have contributions start on the first of the month)


FORMS 

 


RESOURCES

COBRA

External Resources