In June of 2012 I will be turning 65, becoming eligible for Medicare. I have a high deductible individual insurance policy with a health savings account. What I would like to know is if I can use the money in the health savings account to pay premiums on an Advantage Plan, Prescription Drug Plan or Medigap policy without paying income taxes on the health savings account money used for that purpose?-- Bruce Backman, West Columbia, S.C.

You can use HSA funds to pay premiums for traditional Part B coverage, for Medicare Advantage (also called Part C) and Medicare prescription drug plans (Part D). But not for Medigap.

You can still use funds in your HSA to pay for other expenses Medicare might not cover, such as co-pays and co-insurance. So if you have a large HSA balance and you are looking atMedigap policies, you might want to consider a plan with higher our-of-pocket costs but a lower premium.

-- Jeff Wuorio

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