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• New Employees
• HealthySolutions --
  Benefits Information & Guidelines
• Benefits - Insurance Plans
  • Health Insurance
  • Prescription Drug Coverage
  • Dental Insurance
  • Vision Insurance
  • Health Care Flexible Spending Account
  • Life Insurance and AD&D
  • Long Term Disability (LTD)
  • Dependent Care Reimbursement Account
  • International Medical Benefits
  • Retiree Medical Benefits
  • Local 95 Insurance Benefits
• Benefits - Work/Life Benefits
• Learning & Development
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Health Care Flexible Spending Account

• Quick Reference Guide for Submitting HCFSA Claims (including Orthodontia)

Carnegie Mellon allows full-time benefits-eligible faculty and staff to put aside money from their pay on a pre-tax basis, to cover anticipated expenses for health care. Expenses may be incurred by you, your spouse, or your eligible children. See the FSA Eligible Expenses Summary (.pdf) to hellp you determine the appropriate contribution amount for your circumstances.

Account	Amount You Can Deposit	Eligible Expenses	How to Enroll / How it Works
Health Care Flexible Spending Account (HCFSA)	Up to $5,000/year. Minimum contribution is $5/month.	Qualified medical and dental expenses not otherwise covered by insurance. For a complete list of eligible health care expenses, see IRS publication #502 (.pdf).	Select your annual contribution amount during Open Enrollment. Throughout the year, you contribute to your account(s) on a pre-tax basis, and reimburse yourself with this money. In some cases, expenses will be submitted to your carrier automatically. In other cases, you will need to file claims. Use it or lose it. Any money remaining in your account after the plan year ends will be forfeited. Flexible Spending Accounts Overview
Health Reimbursement Account (HRA) - in conjunction with the High Deductible PPO with HRA medical plan only.	Nothing. The university will contribute $250 for an individual or $500 for an individual and dependents each year.	Qualified medical and dental expenses not otherwise covered by insurance. For a complete list of eligible health care expenses, see IRS publication #502 (.pdf).	Select the High Deductible PPO with HRA medical plan during Open Enrollment. Throughout the year, you can reimburse yourself for your medical expenses with this money. In some cases, expenses will be submitted to your carrier automatically. In other cases, you will need to file claims. Carry over unused funds. You can accumulate up to three years worth of university contributions.

Eligibility

The Health Care Flexible Spending Accounts are available to full-time, benefits-eligible faculty, staff and CPA. It may be used to pay for expenses incurred by the employee or his/her dependents. However, the law only permits you to reimburse claims incurred by someone who is listed as your dependent for federal tax purposes. Most domestic partners do not meet the IRS dependent definition.

Expenses must be incurred during the plan year. If you initiate a reimbursement account mid-year, or increase the amount of your contributions due to a life change, you can only use the additional contributions to reimburse you for expenses incurred AFTER the event. If you are a new employee, expenses must be incurred from your benefit effective date through the remainder of the plan year.

The amount you elect to contribute will be taken from your pay in equal amounts each pay period. You may elect to contribute to the account on a nine-month basis (January - May and September - December) or on a 12-month basis. If your appointment is for nine-months only, you must make your contributions on a nine-month basis.

Tax Implications

You can save 25% or more on the money you spend on eligible expenses by contributing to the reimbursement accounts on a pre-tax basis, depending on your tax bracket. However, you should be aware that when you reduce your taxable income for Social Security purposes, you may also reduce by a small amount what you may claim in Social Security benefits at retirement. In addition, paying for benefits on a pre-tax basis may put employees who are eligible for the Earned Income Tax Credit at a disadvantage when they file for federal income tax credits.

Participating through COBRA

If you become ineligible for this benefit (either through a change in employment status or because you separate from the university), you may submit for reimbursement of expenses that you incurred while you were employed and contributing to the account. In order to use HCFSA funds for expenses incurred AFTER your eligibility ends, you must continue to participate in the HCFSA through COBRA. However, you will be contributing to the account using post-tax funds after your eligibility ends, and so will lose the tax advantages of the HCFSA from that time on. Speak to our COBRA Administrator or a Benefits Specialist for more information about Reimbursement Accounts should you become ineligible for the benefit.

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For more information:

• Flexible Spending Accounts Overview (.pdf)
• EBDS's Health Care and Dependent Care Account FAQs (.pdf)
• Summary of Eligible Expenses for Flexible Spending Accounts (.pdf)
• List of Eligible Over the Counter Expenses (.pdf)
• HCFSA Contribution Calculator Worksheet (.pdf)
• EBDS Orthodontia Worksheet (.pdf)
• EBDS Documentation Requirements (.pdf)
• Health Care Reimbursement IRS Publication #502 (.pdf)
• Internal Revenue Service website

© Carnegie Mellon Human Resources 2004