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Recently married before Wife Surgeory, insurance fraud?

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Preview What is the name of your state? Florida My wife discovered she needed a surgeory in July th

  • Yes

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  • No

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FlyingRon

Senior Member
If her plan is a high deductible plan, she can. If she has any other kind of a plan, she cannot.
Incorrect. As I stated, if you have an HSA, you can withdraw from it for qualified medical expenses (pretty much follows the same rules as for medical tax deductions) of yourself, your spouse, or your dependents. HDHP participation is only required to establish and deposit into the HSA. After you turn 65, you can make taxable withdrawals for non-medical expenses.
 


cbg

I'm a Northern Girl
I'm speaking to this specific individual. I don't see anywhere that it says she's over 65, do you? And please show me where an individual who has a non-high deductible plan is eligible to participate in a spouse's HSA.

However, since it says in the first post (which I overlooked because it was almost 11:00 my time when I posted) that she does have a high deductible plan, so the point has become moot.
 

quincy

Senior Member
His wife had a high-deductible plan but she enrolled in a lower-deductible plan shortly before they were married in September.
 

cbg

I'm a Northern Girl
Thank you. It was definitely late when I posted.

I stand by my statement that a dependent who is enrolled in a non-high-deductible plan is not eligible to participate in a spouse's HSA.
 

quincy

Senior Member
Thank you. It was definitely late when I posted.

I stand by my statement that a dependent who is enrolled in a non-high-deductible plan is not eligible to participate in a spouse's HSA.
Thank you for responding to this thread, cbg. :)

A question: Is the wife able to drop her lower-deductible policy now, due to her marriage, thereby making her eligible to participate in husband's HSA?
 

FlyingRon

Senior Member
I'm speaking to this specific individual. I don't see anywhere that it says she's over 65, do you? And please show me where an individual who has a non-high deductible plan is eligible to participate in a spouse's HSA.
I'm talking about under 65. The over 65 was just additional information.

However, you're still wrong. The law is as I said it. You can only establish an HSA and make contributions to it if you are in a HDHP (exclusively).

HSAs don't go away when you leave the HDHP. There's no requirement that you be in the plan exclusively, to make withdrawals for medical purposes (for self, spouse, or dependents). If you want something easy to digest, read IRS Publication 969 starting where it says "Distributions from an HSA."
 

cbg

I'm a Northern Girl
Thank you for responding to this thread, cbg. :)

A question: Is the wife able to drop her lower-deductible policy now, due to her marriage, thereby making her eligible to participate in husband's HSA?
Assuming that her coverage is through her employer, yes, that possibility exists. If her coverage is not through her employer, then she'll have to ask whoever provides the coverage.
 

cbg

I'm a Northern Girl
You can only establish an HSA and make contributions to it if you are in a HDHP (exclusively).

That's exactly what I've been saying. Where do you think I've said otherwise?

HSAs don't go away when you leave the HDHP.

I didn't say they did. But that's not what's happening here.
 

FlyingRon

Senior Member
As I quoted in #16, as you said it in #12 and again incorrectly stated in #17 with your snide response to my posting the CORRECT information.
 

cbg

I'm a Northern Girl
If the OP's wife was enrolled in an HSA along with the high deductible plan she had before the marriage, she still has access to that. I have never said that she did not. However, we have not established that SHE had an HSA prior to her marriage to the OP.

The OP's question, however, related to her becoming enrolled on HIS plan so that she could access HIS HSA. Which would be perfectly fine if she were still enrolled in a high deductible plan. However, while she CAN access HER OWN HSA after switching to a low deductible plan, she cannot access her SPOUSE'S HSA while she is on a low deductible plan.

https://www.irs.gov/publications/p969#en_US_2017_publink1000204039

Right now, she is enrolled on a low deductible plan. In order to be eligible for her spouse's HSA, which is what the question relates to, she can have no coverage other than a high deductible plan. As Quincy suggested, if she wants to waive her low deductible plan since she has a qualified life event, then she will have no coverage other than the OP's High Deductible plan and she can partake in his HSA. But she cannot use her spouse's HSA while she is enrolled in a low deductible plan. If she has an existing HSA plan that SHE established while SHE was on a high deductible plan, she can utilize that; however, since there is no evidence that she does or did, I did not address that earlier.
 
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Smd09

Member
Incorrect. As I stated, if you have an HSA, you can withdraw from it for qualified medical expenses (pretty much follows the same rules as for medical tax deductions) of yourself, your spouse, or your dependents. HDHP participation is only required to establish and deposit into the HSA. After you turn 65, you can make taxable withdrawals for non-medical expenses.
So we ended up dropping her plan and upgraded from the base plan with my employer, lowering our family deductible/out of pocket expenses. My HR rep explained that the new plan will be effective in November, right in time for her 11/12 surgeory. I was also told the money I have paid towards my current deductible will roll over into our new plan. Is this correct?

Also, a family member was trying to tell me that we would still have to wait until January 2019 to use the new plan regardless of our qualifying life event. However, I was told this is not true, as we qualify for a special enrollment period due to our marriage, which will allow the upgraded plan to kick in one calendar month after enrollment. I am correct, right?
 

Smd09

Member
So we ended up dropping her plan and upgraded from the base plan with my employer, lowering our family deductible/out of pocket expenses. My HR rep explained that the new plan will be effective in November, right in time for her 11/12 surgeory. I was also told the money I have paid towards my current deductible will roll over into our new plan. Is this correct?

Also, a family member was trying to tell me that we would still have to wait until January 2019 to use the new plan regardless of our qualifying life event. However, I was told this is not true, as we qualify for a special enrollment period due to our marriage, which will allow the upgraded plan to kick in one calendar month after enrollment. I am correct, right?

And to answer your question, her plan was with her employer and did not include an HSA
 

cbg

I'm a Northern Girl
So we ended up dropping her plan and upgraded from the base plan with my employer, lowering our family deductible/out of pocket expenses. My HR rep explained that the new plan will be effective in November, right in time for her 11/12 surgeory. I was also told the money I have paid towards my current deductible will roll over into our new plan. Is this correct?

Also, a family member was trying to tell me that we would still have to wait until January 2019 to use the new plan regardless of our qualifying life event. However, I was told this is not true, as we qualify for a special enrollment period due to our marriage, which will allow the upgraded plan to kick in one calendar month after enrollment. I am correct, right?

There is no question that marriage constitutes a qualified life event that allows you to make changes outside of the Open Enrollment period. When the plans go into effect is a matter of your plan document. I see no reason to disbelieve your HR rep.
 

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