HSA/HDHCP vs Medicare

[ScalaGuy]

I am in a private insurance plan, employer-provided. It is a HDHCP (or whatever that is this year). I contribute the maximum to my HSA including employer contributions. I am Medicare eligible - I presume if I enroll in Part A I would lose the deductibility of the HSA contributions, true? The bad news is i enrolled anyway, but yesterday, un-enrolled. Am I still screwed?

[SwapnaM]

You’re correct that enrolling in Medicare Part A generally disqualifies you from making further contributions to your Health Savings Account (HSA).

1. HSA Contributions and Medicare: Once you enroll in any part of Medicare, including Part A, you can no longer contribute to your HSA. This is because Medicare is not considered a high-deductible health plan (HDHP), which is a requirement for HSA contributions.
2. Retroactive Coverage: Medicare Part A enrollment can be retroactive for up to six months, but not earlier than your initial eligibility date. This means if you enrolled in Part A and then unenrolled, you need to ensure that there were no contributions made to your HSA during any period you were considered covered by Medicare.
3. Unenrolling from Part A: If you successfully unenrolled from Medicare Part A, you should be able to resume HSA contributions, provided you are still covered by an HDHP and meet other eligibility criteria. However, it’s crucial to verify that your unenrollment was processed correctly and that there are no retroactive coverage issues.

Tax Implications: If you made any HSA contributions while you were enrolled in Medicare Part A, you might need to withdraw those contributions and any earnings on them to avoid tax penalties (before the due date of filing returns including extensions)

@ScalaGuy Thanks for the question!!

[Mike9241]

please see the following. late enrollment in Medicare can result in higher PART A premiums and have other consequences when you do enroll. 

https://medicarehope.com/the-consequences-of-delaying-medicare-enrollment-understanding-penalties-an... 

[dmertz]

The reply made by SwapnaM is slightly inaccurate.  Being enrolled in Medicare makes you HSA-ineligible for the months that you are covered by Medicare.  However, if at the time you became covered by Medicare you had not yet contributed the maximum for the months that you were HSA-eligible, you still have until the regular due date of your tax return to complete the contribution for the months that you were HSA-eligible.