Health Savings Account
Aetna CDHP + HSA
The Aetna Premium and Value CDHPs come with a Health Savings Account (HSA) through Aetna with Inspira Financial (formerly Payflex). The HSA is a tax-advantaged personal financial account. It is like a savings account which lets you build tax-free savings to pay for qualified current and future expenses, even medical expenses during retirement.
Funding Your Health Savings Account
Contributions to the HSA can made through:
- EAB seed money; and
- Employee Pre-Tax Contributions
- Review this guide on making employee pre-tax contributions and changes
HSA Employee Contributions
EAB provides an easy way for you to take advantage of the tax-savings opportunity afforded under the HSA. Through convenient payroll deductions, you can contribute pre-tax up to the maximum allowed under IRS regulations. Your contributions are exempt from federal payroll taxes, and most state taxes (except AL, CA, NJ).
EAB’s Contribution into your HSA
With a Health Savings Account, contributions rollover year after year, may earn interest, and may be invested once a threshold of $1,000 has been met.* Your HSA funds are also portable, so if you leave EAB, you can take your account balance with you. To receive EAB contributions in their HSA, employees must actively enroll in the HSA account at the time of benefit enrollment.
*Note: Inspira Financial’s charges a fee that you will incur if you open and fund an investment account with your HSA funds. Please reference the fee schedule for more details.
| HSA Contributions | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Medical Coverage | EAB Contribution | Your Contribution Premium CDHP Plan | Your Contribution Value CDHP Plan | IRS 2026 Limits |
| Employee | $500 | At least $500* up to $3,900 | Up to $4,400 | $4,400 |
| Employee + Spouse/DP, Children, Family | $1,000 | At least $1,000* up to $7,750 | Up to $8,750 | $8,750 |
| * You are allowed an additional $1,000 in catch-up contributions if you are age 55 or older. | ||||
New Hires and EAB Funding
HSA funding amounts for the Premium CDHP will be prorated for new hires who join the HSA plan after January 1, 2026.
Annual Contribution Limits for the HSA
The IRS annual maximum pre-tax contributions are:
2026 Plan Year
- Employee-Only Coverage: $4,400
- Family Coverage: $8,750
Keep in mind that you alone are responsible for following the contribution rules and limits set by the IRS.
Catch-Up Contributions
Individuals age 55 or older may make an additional $1,000 annual contribution to their HSA.
Note: Employer contributions count toward the IRS maximum. HSA contributions and earnings are not subject to federal taxes and not subject to state taxes in most states. HSA contributions are taxed as income in the states of AL, CA, NJ; and HSA earnings are taxed in the states of NH and TN.
The HSA account and the funds in the account belong to you.
- Access – You can continue accessing it and making contributions on a post-tax basis.
- Account Management – You must adhere to the IRS limits for annual deposits and you may complete IRS form 8889 to report any post-tax contributions with your annual tax filing. You can manage your account via inspirafinancial.com.
Health Savings Accounts administered through Aetna with Inspira Financial (formerly Payflex)
Contact Aetna by calling 844-729-3539 (TTY: 711) or by visiting inspirafinancial.com.
If you are enrolled in an Aetna Consumer Driven Health Plan (CDHP), an HSA account with Aetna through Inspira Financial will be automatically opened for you.
You will be eligible for employer HSA contributions if you enroll in the CDHP medical plan. While an Aetna HSA account will be automatically opened with Inspira Financial (Inspira Financial is Aetna’s partner financial institution) if you enroll in the CDHP plan, you do have the option of opening or keeping an HSA with another vendor, and you may have more than one HSA.
Debit card
You will receive an Inspira Financial Mastercard (debit card) in the mail after enrolling in the CDHP plan. You may use the debit card to pay for qualified medical, dental, and/or vision expenses.
Online Bill Pay & Withdrawals
Regardless of how you access your HSA funds, all balance and transaction activity is available online at inspirafinancial.com
Frequently Asked Questions about Health Savings Accounts
How are Consumer Driven Health Plans and HSAs related?
You must have an HSA–qualified Consumer Driven Health Plan (CDHP) in order to contribute to an HSA; both of our Aetna CDHPs meet the requirement. Once you have an HSA you can continue using it, regardless of whether or not you have an CDHP. The only relation between the CDHP and HSA is that you must have an CDHP to open and contribute to an HSA without penalty.
Who is eligible to open an HSA?
You cannot have a General Purpose Health Care Flexible Spending Account (FSA) or Health Reimbursement Account. Employees who are currently enrolled in a General Purpose Health Care FSA must not have a balance on their account by 12/31/2025. Therefore, you must have incurred and requested reimbursement before 12/31/2025, in order to be eligible for an HSA on January 1, 2026.
What are the tax benefits associated with an HSA?
Who may contribute to your HSA?
What happens if you contribute more than your maximum allowable contribution?
What happens during the year, while covered under either Aetna CDHP Plan, when you change from Employee Only coverage to Family Coverage or vice versa based on a Qualified Life Event?
You will be able to continue contributing to your HSA. The amount you are permitted to contribute will change from the Employee Only to Family contribution or vice versa, prorated appropriately for the year. The EAB contribution to your HSA will also be adjusted according to your coverage level.
Who owns the money in your HSA?
Your HSA is portable and non-forfeitable. The money in your account earns tax-free interest, and any money you don’t spend continues to grow tax free until you use it. When you take money out of your HSA, you will not be taxed as long as you are paying for qualified medical expenses for you, your spouse, or a tax dependent without tax penalty.
What is a qualified medical expense?
The IRS defines qualified medical expenses. See IRS Publication 502 for a list of eligible expenses. Insurance premiums are not qualified expenses, except for long term care insurance premiums, COBRA premiums, premiums while receiving unemployment, or premiums for Medicare Part B, C, D, excluding Medicare Supplement (i.e., Medigap). You are responsible for using your HSA funds for qualified expenses and keeping records and all pertinent receipts in case of an IRS audit.
You can also find information on eligible expenses at inspirafinancial.com.
What if your withdrawals are not considered qualified medical expenses?
How often can you change your HSA contribution amount?
What are the survivor benefits associated with your HSA?
Can I have a Flexible Spending Account (FSA) along with an HSA?
Is minimum balance required to earn interest?
Is your HSA FDIC insured?
Once your cash account reaches $1,000, you may invest your HSA funds. If you do invest any of your HSA funds, those funds would be in an “investment” account. Any funds in an investment account are not FDIC insured.
If you have an HSA with another bank, can you also enroll in an Inspira Financial HSA?
Yes, you can have more than one HSA. The amount that you contribute to all HSAs is still limited to the annual contribution limit set by the IRS for the year.
You may also close your old HSA and transfer the funds to your new HSA. You may be paying fees on your old HSA. If so, you may want to consider that in regards to having more than one HSA.