Children’s Mercy provides FSAs that allow you to set aside money from your paycheck before taxes to pay for eligible expenses.
You may contribute up to $2,750 in the 2020–2021 plan year to reimburse yourself for eligible health care expenses. Funds can be used to pay for expenses of any of your dependents – even if they are not covered through your medical plan – as long as they are considered eligible dependents.
The Health Care FSA is different from the Health Account (which is a health reimbursement account, or HRA) associated with the medical plans. Review the side-by-side comparison below.
Health Care FSA | Health Account | |
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Who contributes? | You | Children’s Mercy |
What can I use my account for? | Eligible expenses not paid for by your health coverage, including:
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What happens at the end of the plan year? | The plan year ends on June 30. From July 1 through Sept. 15 of the next plan year, you can incur expenses and use any remaining money in your Health Care FSA. This is called the grace period. Any remaining money after the grace period is forfeited. Oct. 31 is the final day to submit claims incurred from July 1 through Sept. 15 |
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How do I use it to pay for care? | Unless you owe a copay for a medical service, do not pay anything at the time of your visit. If you have money in your Health Account, you can use it to pay for your service when your claim is processed, or you can choose to pay out of your pocket and save your Health Account dollars for future eligible medical expenses under your Children’s Mercy medical plan. You should receive an Explanation of Benefits from Cigna, which will clearly state any remaining amount you owe |
You may contribute up to $5,000 in the 2020–2021 plan year to reimburse yourself for eligible dependent day care expenses. Eligible dependents include:
Eligible day care expenses include care provided in your home, a neighbor’s home (with fewer than six children in day care in the home), a relative’s home (if the relative is not your dependent) or a licensed day care facility. Any change in your dependent day care costs allows you to change your Dependent Day Care FSA contribution amount.
Note: Highly Compensated Employees (HCEs) may be limited in the amount they can contribute due to nondiscrimination requirements. Affected HCEs will be notified in the event of a required reduction to dependent care FSA contributions.
With the “use it or lose it” rule, it’s important to estimate how much you’ll spend out of pocket on eligible expenses.
View the list of eligible expenses on Discovery Benefits website
You can also review IRS Publication 502.