To participate in a Health Savings Account, you must enroll for coverage in the UHC Basic HSA medical plan or UHC Premium HSA medical plan. Please see the Participating in healthcare benefits section for the enrollment rules for these plans.

You must elect the amount that you would like to contribute to your Health Savings Account each plan year. You may change your election at any time.

In order to open a Health Saving Account, you must be eligible for a U.S. bank account and have a physical mailing address (not a P.O. Box). If Optum Bank needs any additional information to verify your eligibility for the account, they will reach out to you directly via U.S. mail.

In the event that Optum Bank is unable to open your Health Savings Account within 60 days of the date that you initially elected to open it, Stryker's contributions made on your behalf and your contributions will be returned to Stryker. If this occurs, you will not be eligible to receive the Stryker employer funding and your employee contributions will be returned to you via your paycheck and taxed appropriately. You may elect to open the account again but only payroll contributions that are elected after the account has been opened will be deposited and you will not be eligible to receive the Stryker employer contribution.

Once your Health Savings Account is opened, any monthly maintenance fee charged by Optum Bank will automatically be paid by Stryker while you are an active participant in one of the Stryker HSA medical plans. Once you are no longer enrolled in a Stryker HSA medical plan, the monthly maintenance fee will become your responsibility and will be deducted from your account. Any questions regarding this fee should be directed to Optum Bank.

If you qualify for an approved leave of absence under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), your HSA participation will continue while you are away from work. If you are receiving any pay from Stryker while on FMLA leave, your contributions will continue to be deducted from your paycheck—just as though you were actively at work. If your leave is unpaid, your per-paycheck contributions will resume when you return to work. In addition, any missed deductions may be taken from your paycheck when you return to work if you return in the same calendar year.