Medical savings accounts in MD are available only to people with high-deductible health insurance plans (HDHPs). You can save your company a good chunk of money by offering these plans to your employees: HDHPs have lower premiums for you to pay.

If your company has a Section 125 plan, contributions to the accounts can be done pre-tax by your benefit administrator. This makes contributions simple for your employees and efficient for you. A Maryland health insurance savings account (HSA) may sound like a good idea for every company, but there are a few things to think about before proceeding.

1. Realize that your employees own the entire balance of their health insurance savings accounts in MD. They're entitled to all of it if their employment with your company is terminated for any reason.

2. Note the contribution limits. As an employer, you can contribute as much or as little as you want to Maryland health savings accounts, so long as the maximum is not exceeded between the contributions you and your employee make.

3. Find a good benefit administrator. Health savings accounts in Maryland are not hard to set up, but you need to make sure they're maintained properly.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Find brokers that offer Maryland health insurance savings accounts

Health insurance brokers are authorized to sell HSAs as well as regular insurance. If you can find a good broker to set you up with both plans, you'll save yourself some time and possibly some money.

I recommend: Discover the benefits of an HSA at Baxter & Company, a brokerage licensed to sell insurance to Maryland customers. eHealthInsurance Services offers plans from four different carriers.

Consider insurance carriers that offer health insurance savings accounts in Maryland

Many high deductible plans are now bundled with HSAs to give subscribers better control over their health care. Explore the possibilities to see if this is the best route to take.

I recommend: Check out the small business HDHP/HSA plans at CareFirst of Maryland, a Blue Cross Blue Shield subsidiary. Check out the small business HDHP/HSA plans at Aetna, then fill out an information request.

Get the resources you need to get Maryland health saving accounts started

Because HSAs are a bit more complicated than regular insurance plans, you'll want to download and print out your application so you can sit down and fill it out correctly. Just fill out the forms and then send them to the carrier you chose.

I recommend: Find all the necessary paperwork to initiate a low-cost HSA plan for small businesses through Provident Bank. Download a group set-up form from Bank of America.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  The U.S. Department of the Treasury must approve all medical savings accounts in Maryland to ensure that they're qualified as tax-deductible. The HDHP must be approved as well.
• •  If you're having trouble finding someone you trust to open your HSA, look for bankers who are approved as custodians or trustees of Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs). These folks are automatically approved by the Treasury to service HSAs.