Does your health care provider have to designate a plan as a HDHP for it to be one?

Can you have a HDHP by IRS definition but it not recoginized as one by your insurance company?

I have had ppo insurance plan since 1995 and my insurance company says they do not offer it anymore and are always wanting me to change it. I like some of the benefits and do not want to change. Blue Shield does not call it a HDHP. It is a $2000 deductable and a maximum out of pocket $4000. Does that make it a HDHP? According to what I found on IRS website it does and therefore I would be elible for a HSA, right? Anyone?

Great question! There are a lot of people out there that have established and funded an HSA account without being covered by an HSA qualified health insurance plan. Unfortunately some licensed health insurance agents aren't familiar with these requirements.

Just because the deductible satisfied the HDHP requirement doesn't mean the rest of the plan does. For example, if your Blue Shield plan covers your prescription drugs or Doctor office visits with copays before you've satisfied your deductible then it is not a qualified plan. HDHP plans were first introduced in 1997 as part of the Kennedy Kassebaum bill. Since you've had your plan since 1995 I feel very confident it would not qualify.

Our local Blue Cross has 3 plans available with a $2500 deductible and only one of them is HSA qualified.

Rarely does a plan satisfy the federal guidelines of a HDHP accidentally. I would discourage establishing a HSA without receiving confirmation from the insurance company that you are covered by a qualified plan.

P.S. As an "HSA Expert" I consider these type of questions job security!

Thanks for the answer, Who has the final decision as to what is and isn’t a HDHP, is it made by the insurance company? My plan does not have any co-pay and only covers doctor visits and prescription drugs after the $2000 deductable is met. Then I pay 20% and they pay 80% until my maximum out of pocket expense $4000 is met. Then they pay 100%. The Insurance company has for years tried to get me to change plans saying they do not offer my plan anymore. I fell like they want to get me into something that they have to pay less than the 80%. Every plan they have pays 70% after certain milestones have been met. When I ask them if my plan was a HDHP a low level phone rep told me it was not one of their HDHP plans. I ask him if it met the criteria of one he could not answer that question and would not provide me with anyone who could. Everything I have found at the IRS and other online sources indicate that my plan meets the criteria of a HDHP. Who or where can the complete definition of a HDHP be found? Does the insurance company have the final say?

Thanks for the answer, Who has the final decision as to what is and isn’t a HDHP, is it made by the insurance company? My plan does not have any co-pay and only covers doctor visits and prescription drugs after the $2000 deductable is met. Then I pay 20% and they pay 80% until my maximum out of pocket expense $4000 is met. Then they pay 100%. The Insurance company has for years tried to get me to change plans saying they do not offer my plan anymore. I fell like they want to get me into something that they have to pay less than the 80%. Every plan they have pays 70% after certain milestones have been met. When I ask them if my plan was a HDHP a low level phone rep told me it was not one of their HDHP plans. I ask him if it met the criteria of one he could not answer that question and would not provide me with anyone who could. Everything I have found at the IRS and other online sources indicate that my plan meets the criteria of a HDHP. Who or where can the complete definition of a HDHP be found? Does the insurance company have the final say?