The Treasury Department and IRS on Tuesday issued a revenue ruling clarifying how people can contribute to Health Savings Accounts (HSA) while also being covered by certain types of employer-provided health reimbursement plans, Dow Jones reported.

The new law doesn't allow people to contribute to Health Savings Accounts while being covered by general purpose health Flexible Spending Arrangements (FSA) and Health Reimbursement Arrangements (HRA), Treasury said. However, the new guidance "provides significant flexibility to employers in structuring health reimbursements for employees," said Greg Jenner, acting Treasury assistant secretary for tax policy.

Eligible individuals, who must be covered by a high-deductible health plan, may continue to contribute to an HSA while also covered by the following types of employer-provided plans that reimburse employee medical expenses:

• Limited purpose FSAs and HRAs that restrict reimbursements to certain permitted benefits, such as vision, dental or preventive care benefits.
  
  
• Suspended HRAs where the employee has elected to forgo health reimbursements for the coverage period.
  
  
• Post-deductible FSAs or HRAs that only provide reimbursements after the minimum annual deductible has been satisfied.
  
  
• Retirement HRAs that only provide reimbursements after an employee retires.

Treasury and the IRS also said combinations of the above-mentioned arrangements also may be provided without disqualifying an individual from contributing to an HSA.