A Health Care Spending Account, also known as an (HSA), is an individual employee account that provides reimbursement for eligible health care expenses or other benefits that are not covered under provincial health insurance plans. A Health Spending Account can be implemented on a stand-alone basis or in concert with a traditional benefits plan.
Spending accounts can sometimes be the answer to situations where an employer wants to give employees increased involvement and more choice in their benefits while also controlling their financial responsibility. A health care spending account is a simple, tax-effective way to provide health and dental benefits flexibly. Through a Health Care Spending Account, employees can use pre-tax dollars to pay for expenses that would normally be an out-of-pocket expense.
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Claims Administration is done In-House!
- Fast, efficient claims service. Claims are paid weekly using direct deposit and direct billing is available with many professionals.
Control of Plan Design
- The employer has complete flexibility in determining the appropriate plan design to meet the needs of the employer and employees. The employer can redesign its plan anytime that complies with CRA guidelines.
Health Care Spending Accounts that are provided on a stand-alone basis are funded entirely by the employer. Each member of a class receives an equal allocation of funds from the employer.
Health Care Spending Accounts which form part of a flexible benefits plan can be funded by both employer and employee contributions. (50/50) Employee contributions are collected through payroll and that portion can be submitted as an expense on their income tax. The employer paid portion is a tax- free benefit to the employee, so that portion cannot be claimed on income tax.
The employee and their covered dependents use the HSA to reimburse eligible medical expenses.
The HSA balance is reduced by the amount of each claim reimbursement. Claims payments continue to be made until the account balance is zero.
At the end of the year, any unused balance in the account can be carried forward, but any unused funds in the account that are more than double the yearly allotment, that overage is forfeited to the employer. Alternatively, unclaimed expenses for a given year can be carried forward for a year and submitted in the new year, so long as they have not been claimed on personal income tax.
