It took me quite a while to figure out how to establish one of these, so figured I’d pass along the info in case anyone is in the same situation. For those unfamiliar, an HSA lets you put money aside, on a pre-tax basis, that can be used to pay for many health care expenses. If you don’t use the money, you can withdraw it later in life, much like a 401k.

Essentially, there are two things you need…. a high deductible insurance plan AND the actual ‘bank account’ that acts as your HSA, from which you write checks, etc. The problem I was having, as I looked around, was that it seemed like I would need to establish both at the same time. This isn’t what I wanted to do, since I already had the qualifying high deductible plan with Blue Cross.

In fact, you don’t need to do both at the same time.

I’m guessing most websites steer you to do both simultaneously since they get paid for referring an insurance plan, not for establishing the HSA account. (Full Disclosure: We also have an HSA plan page as well, from where you can sign up for qualifying plans (and an Administrator) if you need health insurance or want to shop for a higher deductible plan.)

However, if you already have a qualifying plan, and just want to find an Administrator for your account, check to see if your bank offers these accounts yet (some do, many don’t). If not, here’s a couple that seem to have decent programs with low fees: