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Medical

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Minnesota Life Insurance

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Reimbursement Accounts

The state offers you three Reimbursement Accounts (also called Flexible Spending Accounts or FSAs) that can provide you with a tax break on your predictable out-of-pocket costs. Use the chart below to see how the accounts work; then visit the Choice Toolkit where estimator tools can help you decide if the Reimbursement Accounts have value for you.

	Medical Reimbursement Account*	Limited Purpose Medical Reimbursement Account	Dependent Care Reimbursement Account
Enroll if you have	Standard PPO or HMO No medical coverage Not available with HIHP HMO or PPO	Any Health Investor HMO or Health Investor PPO Not available with Standard HMO or PPO	Eligible expenses for “day care” for an eligible child or adult so you can work
How much you can contribute	From $60 to $5,000 in pre-tax dollars	From $60 to $5,000 in pre-tax dollars	From $60 to $5,000 in pre-tax dollars ($2,500 if you're married filing separate tax returns)
Use the account to pay yourself back for	Out-of-pocket medical, prescription, dental , vision and over-the-counter medication expenses: eligible for deduction under IRS tax rules not paid by insurance or reimbursed from any other source	Out-of-pocket dental, vision and over-the-counter medication expenses: eligible for deduction under IRS tax rules not paid by insurance or reimbursed from any other source Not available for medical expenses	Care for a child, disabled spouse or elderly adult who: is dependent on you needs care so that you (and your spouse if you're married) can work

How FSAs work - Easy as 1 - 2 - 3

Plan Year Grace Period Starting in 2008

FSAs have a "use it or lose it" policy, which means you forfeit any amounts unused and not reimbursed for services received during the Plan year. The state has added a grace period – you may now use what you set aside for the Plan year for services up to March 15 of the following year. See below.

	You set aside pre-tax dollars from your paycheck.
	You submit eligible expenses for reimbursement throughout the year.
	You are reimbursed from your FSA for the eligible expenses you submit.

How much can I save using an FSA?

If you pay federal income tax and Social Security tax, this creates about a 20% savings on most of the health or dependent care services you buy. The savings could be more - depending on your income tax rate. And yet, even when you pay no income taxes, the Social Security tax savings is about 7.5% - or $7.50 for each $100 you spend.

Estimate Carefully

Before enrolling:

Estimate expenses carefully for the plan year – the Reimbursement Account Estimator Tools can help you do that. For medical and dental, think about using the Health Plan and Dental Cost Estimators first, then use what they tell you about out-of-pocket costs for care to start your Medical Reimbursement Account estimates.
Read about some important considerations for making your FSA choices.

Claiming Your Reimbursement Account Benefits

You claim Reimbursement Account benefits by submitting a claim form and appropriate supporting documentation to PeopleFirst.

Starting with the 2008 plan year, the state is adding a grace period to give you more time to use the money you set aside:

For the:	You can use money set aside for expenses for care between:	You must file your claims by:
2008 plan year	January 1, 2008 and March 15, 2009	April 15, 2009
2009 plan year	January 1, 2009 and March 15, 2010	April 15, 2010