Section 304 of the Health Opportunity Patient Empowerment Act of 2006 amends the rules for calculating annual cost-of-living adjustments for HSAs.  Under the Act, the Treasury Department is required to publish such adjustments prior to June 1st of every year for the upcoming calendar year.

Friday, May 11th, the Treasury Department released its HSA (health savings account) changes for 2008.

• Annual contribution limitation. For calendar year 2008, the limitation on deductions for an individual with self-only coverage under a qualified high deductible health plan is $2,900.  The limitation on deductions for an individual with family coverage under a high deductible health plan is $5,800.
• High deductible health plan. For calendar year 2008, a “high deductible health plan” is defined as a health plan with an annual deductible that is not less than $1,100 for self-only coverage or $2,200 for family coverage, and the annual out-of-pocket expenses (deductibles, co-payments, and other amounts, but not premiums) do not exceed $5,600 for self-only coverage or $11,200 for family coverage.

Further, for individuals who are 55 years of age or older, the catch-up contribution in 2008 will be $900.  Given this, the maximum contribution that one may make to his / her account in 2008, inclusive of the catch-up contribution, is $3,800 for individuals with self-only coverage and $6,700 for those with family coverage.

For more details be sure to visit http://www.treas.gov/offices/public-affairs/hsa/pdf/rp-2007-36.pdf.