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How Do Aetna Health Savings Accounts Work?

Health savings accounts are designed to put consumers in charge of their health care spending. The idea behind health savings accounts is that consumers will make wiser health care spending decisions when they are working with their own money. Aetna offers health savings accounts to members who choose the flexibility and lower premium costs of a high-deductible health plan.

  1. HDHP

    • Before you open a health savings account with Aetna, you must first enroll in a high-deductible health plan, also known as an HDHP. As the name implies, the most obvious feature of the HDHP is its higher-than-average deductible. Not all Aetna health care plans qualify as HDHPs, so ask your insurance broker or human resources department before you enroll.

    Employer-Based

    • If your employer uses Aetna as one of its health insurance providers, you might have access to an HDHP and a linked HSA through the company you work for. If you do have access to an HDHP by Aetna, the company might choose to make that plan more attractive by offering to fund some or all of the health savings account. If your employer does not fund your entire HSA, you can make your own contributions with pre-tax dollars through payroll deduction.

    Individual Plans

    • If you are self-employed or work for a company that does not provide health insurance coverage, you can choose to purchase an HDHP and fund an HSA directly through Aetna. When you fund your Aetna HSA on your own, you can deduct the amount you contribute when you do your taxes. This reduces your tax liability and increases the value of the money you put into your HSA.

    HSA Debit Card

    • When you open an HSA with Aetna, you will receive a special debit card that you can use to purchase prescription medications, pay the cost of your co-pays and buy eyeglasses and contact lenses. It is important to keep this debit card separate from any other debit and credit cards you hold, since the HSA card can be used only for health care purchases. If you use your HSA debit care for non-qualified expenses, you could be subjected to a tax penalty from the IRS.

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