UH offers two health care flexible spending accounts – Consumer Select Health Care FSA and the Traditional Health Care FSA. Availability is based on your medical plan election. You can also participate in a Dependent Care FSA.

You can take advantage of tax savings available from a health care flexible spending account and a dependent care flexible spending account.

• Estimate how much you will need to set aside in an FSA to cover your health care or dependent care expenses. Generally, you can set aside between $130 and $5,000 a year in an FSA. Lower limits may apply to some highly compensated employees. You will be notified if this affects you.
  
• The amount you choose is deducted from each pay. For example, if you decide to set aside $650 for the entire calendar year and you are paid bi-weekly, $25 will be deducted from each paycheck on a pre-tax basis.
  
• You use your account toward eligible expenses you have during the plan year.

  For a health care FSA in 2010, you have a choice of automatic reimbursement – the current process – or a debit card to pay expenses. You make this choice when you enroll in the account. For a dependent care FSA, you file claims for reimbursement of eligible expenses.

• To be eligible for reimbursement, the expense must be incurred on or before December 31.
• Carefully estimate the amount you will set aside in an FSA. According to IRS guidelines, any money left in an FSA on December 31 will be forfeited.
• You must submit claims for reimbursement no later than March 31 of the following year.

Retain all itemized receipts and documentation. Anthem or UH may request that you submit your receipts to prove expenses are eligible. If you do not submit documentation when requested, the expense may be designated as ineligible and you will have to repay the amount to the plan.