M&P Health Spending Account (HSA)

The UBC M&P Health Spending Account (HSA) is a benefit for staff in the UBC Management & Professional employee group that enhances extended health and dental care coverage presently offered through the UBC Benefits plan. Those who are currently enrolled in the M&P extended health plan will be eligible for the HSA benefit.

The HSA will be available for three years, beginning Jan. 1, 2011, and ending Dec. 31, 2013.  Claims incurred before January 1, 2011 are not eligible for reimbursement under the HSA.

The HSA is like a special benefits account: it provides an annual $125 credit that can be used to pay for a variety of expenses. You may also use your $125 credit to pay for expenses for your dependents who are currently covered by the UBC Extended Health plan or UBC Dental plan, as well as other dependents who are not eligible dependents under UBC Extended Health or Dental but meet the definition of dependent under Canada’s Income Tax Act. Under Canada’s Income Tax Act, these other dependents include children over age 25, grandchildren, parents, grandparents, siblings, aunts, uncles, nieces and nephews and must be financially dependent on you. As long as your expense qualifies as a medical expense and your dependents qualify as dependents under Canada’s Income Tax Act, you can submit a claim against your HSA account.

How the HSA Benefit Works

Effective Jan. 1, 2011, eligible staff in the UBC M&P employee group will receive a credit of $125 per year each Jan. 1 in 2011, 2012 and 2013 (or, if you are a new hire, on the date you are enrolled in the extended health plan).

The benefit year under the HSA is from Jan. 1 to Dec. 31.

Since the UBC M&P HSA is a non-taxable benefit, you must use your HSA credit within a certain timeframe. Unused portions of the credit can be carried forward for one year, but if the amount is not used by the end of the second year, you will lose the carried-forward portion.  In other words, you will have until the end of the next benefit year to claim unused credits under your HSA.  For example, if you have any unused credits from the 2011 benefit year, you will have until the end of Dec. 31, 2012 to claim these ununsed credits under your HSA.  You will not be able to carry forward any unused 2011 credits past Dec. 31, 2012.

There is also a deadline to submit HSA claims.  You have 90 days from the end of the benefit year to submit a HSA claim for expenses incurred during that year.  For example, at the end of Dec. 31, 2011, you will have 90 days (until March 31, 2012) to submit an HSA claim for expenses incurred during 2011 benefit year. After 90 days (March 31, 2012), you will no longer be able to submit claims to your HSA for the expenses from 2011.

Here is an example of how the HSA works:

Year 1 – 2011

Activity	Date	Transaction Amount	HSA Balance
Credit Allocation – Year 1 Starting Balance	Jan. 1, 2011	$125	$125
Claim #1	Feb. 1, 2011	—$25	$100
Claim #2	Nov. 1, 2011	—$30	$70
End of Year 1	Dec. 31, 2011		$70 carry-forward

Year 2 – 2012 – begins with $195

Activity	Date	Transaction Amount	HSA Balance
Credit Allocation – Year 2 Starting Balance	Jan. 1, 2012	$125 for 2012 + $70 carry-forward from 2011 = $195	$195
Claim #1	Oct. 1, 2012	—$120	$75
Claim #2	Nov. 1, 2012	—$25	$50
End of Year 2	Dec. 31, 2012		$50 carry-forward

Year 3 – 2013 – begins with $175

Activity	Date	Transaction Amount	HSA Balance
Credit Allocation – 2012 (Year 3)	Jan. 1, 2013	$125 for 2013 + $50 carry-forward from 2012 = $175	$175
Claim #1	Sept. 1, 2013	—$120	$55
Claim #2	Oct. 1, 2013	—$50	$5
End of HSA	Dec. 31, 2013		$5 forfeited

Eligibility

Staff in the Management and Professional employee group, including Administrative Executives, excluded M&P and Service Unit Directors, are eligible for the HSA benefit. You must also be enrolled in the UBC Extended Health plan to qualify. Note that Paymaster and TRIUMF Management and Professional employees who are enrolled in the UBC Extended Health plan are not eligible for the HSA benefit.

If you are M&P staff on a specific unpaid leave (i.e. disability claim, maternity/paternity/adoptive leave or Employment Standards Act (ESA) job-protected leave), you are eligible to continue using your HSA credits.

If you are M&P staff and maintain the full cost of the UBC Extended Health plan while on a personal unpaid leave, you remain eligible to continue using your HSA credits. If you choose not to maintain the cost of the extended health plan during the personal unpaid leave, any expenses incurred during that period are not eligible to be claimed against your HSA balance.  Upon your return to work date, any balance of your HSA will be available to claim for expenses incurred following your return to work date.

What the HSA Covers

Your HSA benefit can be used for many expenses that are either not covered or partially covered by the UBC Benefits plan:

• Deductibles, such as the $25 deductible for Extended Health
• Outstanding percentages (e.g. if your dental plan only covers 80%, you can claim the remaining 20%)
• Amounts over plan maximums (e.g. if you’ve reached the annual maximum on your dental plan, you can claim your extra expenses against the credit available in your HSA)
• Unpaid portions of prescription drugs, dental (including orthodontics) and paramedical services
• Unpaid amounts from your spouse’s plan (if you are covered under your spouse’s plan)
• Unpaid amounts for out-of-country claims
• Eye exams
• Laser eye surgery
• Physician fees for completing forms/reports
• Insurance premiums for private health or dental care coverage

What the HSA Does Not Cover

• Non-prescription medication
• Fitness club fees
• Home gym equipment
• Books about health and wellness

Important note: This is only a brief overview of expenses the UBC M&P HSA benefit covers. For a more complete list, refer to the Sun Life HSA List of Eligible Expenses or visit the Sun Life Members website. This list is subject to any changes that are made to the list of items qualifying as medical expenses under the Income Tax Act (Canada). For more information on eligible and ineligible expenses, refer to the Canada Revenue List of Eligible Expenses and the Canada Revenue List of Ineligible Expenses.

HSA Claims for Dependents

The $125 HSA credit per eligible staff can be used towards dependent claims as well.

For example, if you only use $25 to be reimbursed from your $125 HSA credit allotment in a particular benefit year, you can apply the balance of $100 toward a dependent claim.  If your dependent spouse had a $95 claim for an optometry appointment, this expense can be claimed for reimbursement from the HSA balance of $100 leaving a balance of $5 in the HSA.

Eligible dependent (s) include:

• Spouse or partner
• Dependent children (age 18 or younger, or age 19 to 24 if in full-time attendance at a school or university)
• Disabled children of any age who are financially dependent on you

The following dependents are also eligible, provided that they are financially dependent on you, per the Canadian Income Tax Act and reside in Canada:

• Dependent children age 25 and over
• Grandchildren
• Parents
• Grandparents
• Brother
• Sister
• Aunt
• Uncle
• Niece
• Nephew

Submitting your claim online or signing your paper claim form is acknowledgement that the dependent you are claiming for is financially dependent on you.

How to Maximize Your HSA

To take advantage of the flexibility the UBC M&P HSA benefit offers, submit a claim under your UBC Benefits plan first; then submit a claim against your HSA for any amounts not covered by the UBC Benefits plan.

If you are covered under more than one plan (e.g. your spouse’s plan), send the balance of your claim to the other plan before claiming any amount from your HSA.

How to Submit Your HSA Claim

As with most UBC Extended Health and UBC Dental expenses, you can submit HSA claims by mail or online.

Paper claims submission:

Use the combined Sun Life Extended Health + HSA claim form or Sun Life Dental + HSA claim form.  These forms are also available on the Sun Life Plan Member website.  For instructions on submitting paper claims,visit our Claims page.

When submitting claims, please indicate in the HSA section the claim form (Part 3) how you would like your claim processed by Sun Life. Your three options are:

1.  You don’t want to use your HSA for this claim.

• Select this option if you would like to save your HSA credits for future claims.
• If you are coordinating benefits:  select this option if you are covered under another group benefits plan (second plan) that is not with Sun Life; in order to maximize your HSA credits you should ensure that you receive reimbursement from the second plan before submitting any unpaid balances against your HSA.

2.  You want us (Sun Life) to assess this claim under your Extended Health Care benefit first, then assess any unpaid balance under your HSA.

• Select this option if you would like claim any balance not paid by the Extended Health Care benefit against your HSA account. If the unpaid balance exceeds the amount of credits in your HSA account, you will be reimbursed up to your maximum number of credits. If Sun Life determines that the claim is not eligible for coverage under the HSA, your claim will not be paid under the HSA account.
• Select this option if you are claiming any unpaid balances after using your drug card or after your dentist has submitted your claim electronically.
• If you are coordinating benefits:  select this option if you are covered under another group benefits plan (second plan) that is with Sun Life; be sure to indicate information on the second plan in Part 2 of the form.  Sun Life will coordinate reimbursement between both plans, and will assess any unpaid balances against your HSA.

3.  You want us (Sun Life) to assess this claim under your HSA only.

• Select this option if the claim is not covered under your Extended Health Care benefit and you would like to claim the entire amount against your HSA account. Examples include the $25 annual deductible under the Extended Health Care plan, a claim for an eye exam or laser eye surgery and claims for a dependent who is not covered under the Extended Health Care benefit, but meets the Canada Income Tax Act definition of an eligible dependent for the HSA.
• If you are coordinating benefits:  select this option if you have already been reimbursed by both the UBC plan and your second plan that is not with Sun Life.  Sun Life will assess any unpaid balances against your HSA.

If you are submitting claims by paper, send Sun Life the original receipt and any supporting documentation for your records.  Supporting documentation may include the Sun Life Claimant statement or statement from your second plan showing how much you were reimbursed, if you are coordinating claims.

Online Claims Submission:

Submitting online is a greener, more efficient way to process claims, and in most cases, you will receive payment sooner.  For step-by-step instructions on submitting an online claim and receiving reimbursement by direct deposit, visit our Claims page.

Extended Health claims for paramedical pratitioners and vision care as well as most Dental Care claims under $1,000 may be submitted online.  If your extended health or dental expense is not eligible for online submission (e.g. semi-private or private hospital room, prescription drugs, medical supplies, expenses greater than $1,000, or claims for a dependent who is  not covered under the Extended Health Care benefit, but meets the Canada Income Tax Act definition of an eligible dependent for the HSA),  you must submit your claim by paper using a Sun Life Extended Health + HSA claim form or Sun Life Dental + HSA claim form.

When submitting an online claim, you have an option to submit an Extended Health e-claim or Dental e-claim.  If you are not coordinating with another group plan and you would like to submit a claim towards your HSA for any unpaid balances, you can do so by submitting a Health Spending Account (HSA) e-claim.

If you are coordinating with another group plan (even if it is with Sun Life), you are unable to do so online.   You are able to submit an Extended Health e-claim to the UBC plan, however a paper form is required when submitting to the second plan.  Once you have been reimbursed by the second plan, you can go online and submit a Health Spending Account (HSA) e-claim for any unpaid balances.  Health Spending Account (HSA) e-claims are not limited to paramedical practitioners, vision care or dental expenses; most HSA claims can be submitted online.

If you are submitting your claims online, remember to keep your receipts and any supporting documentation for your records and for auditing purposes for a 12-month period.  Supporting documentation may include the Sun Life Claimant statement or statement from your second plan showing how much you were reimbursed, if you are coordinating claims.  In the event your claim is randomly audited by Sun Life, you are required to send them supporting documentation of your claim before it will be reimbursed.

Coordinating Benefits? If you are coordinating benefits with another group plan (second Plan) and unsure of which plan to submit to first, please review page 6 of the Sun Life Benefits Booklet.

Looking for information online? Login anytime to the Sun Life Members website to find out your HSA balance and see which of your HSA claims have been processed and paid.

Need Help?

If you have questions about your UBC M&P Health Spending Account, contact UBC Benefits or Sun Life at 1-800-361-6212.

For comprehensive information about your UBC M&P HSA, including a complete list of covered expenses, visit the Sun Life Members website.

If you were unable to attend a HSA information session, you may view the presentation here.