HSA accounts in France

I was thinking about opening an HSA account, but I wondered how the U.S. government would treat it in France. Would I be able to use my HSA balance in France? If not, why would I even make contributions to the account?

My question was answered by a customer service representative from Citibank. He told me that, as long as you can find a way to use your funds from your bank (i.e. if you can use your debit card), you will be able to use your HSA funds for "qualified medical expenses" in France. No extra fees, no hassle, just as if you were in the U.S.

That brought up the question, "what are qualified medical expenses?" Boy, was I in for a ride on answering that question! It didn't take long to find out where to look for what's covered, which is here, the IRS web article about what qualified medical expenses are for an HSA. The problem is the page is extremely long, just as is any other government web page. However, after skimming the article, it's pretty basic. Most medical expenses do qualify, and what is covered is the same in France as it is in the U.S.

There you go, a crazy little article on HSA in France.