Spending, Savings, & Reimbursement Accounts

FSAs enable you to put aside money for important expenses and help you reduce your income taxes at the same time. Tulane offers two types of FSAs: a Health Care FSA and a Dependent Care FSA. These accounts allow you to set aside pre-tax dollars to pay for certain out-of-pocket health care or dependent care expenses.

• A Healthcare Flexible Spending Account (HCFSA) reimburses you for eligible, out-of-pocket medical, dental, and vision expenses for you and your qualified dependents up to the amount of your annual contribution. Expenses are not claimed on your income tax return. HRA and POS medical plan members are eligible to participate in FSAs. Please note that the Healthcare FSA cannot be elected if enrolled in the High Deductible Health Plan. You must re-enroll in this plan each year.
   
• A Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account (DCFSA) reimburses you for qualified child care and elder day care or custodial elder care expenses incurred so that you (and if married, your spouse) can work. Expenses are not claimed on your income tax return and cannot be used for medical expenses. The DCFSA can be paired with any medical plan or no medical plan at all, as this type of account has no relationship to medical plans. You must re-enroll in this plan each year.
   

How FSAs Work:

1. Each year during the Open Enrollment period, you decide how much to set aside for health care and/or dependent care expenses.
    
2. Your contributions are deducted from your paycheck on a before-tax basis in equal installments throughout the calendar year.
    
3. As you incur health care or dependent care expenses throughout the year, submit a claim form for reimbursement. Your claim will be processed, and you will be reimbursed from your account. Or, for the Healthcare Flexible Spending Account (HCFSA), use your FSA debit card to pay for eligible expenses at the point of sale. You will not be paying out-of-pocket, so there’s no need to fill out a claim form and wait for reimbursement. Please note that the FSA debit card is only available for the Healthcare FSA. If you become ineligible or are terminated, your card will be deactivated, and you will need to file for reimbursement manually.

Please note that these accounts are separate; you may choose to participate in one, both, or neither. You cannot use money from the Health Care FSA to cover expenses eligible under the Dependent Care FSA or vice versa. FSAs are administered by HealthEquity.

You must enroll in either FSA Plan each year. You ARE NOT automatically re-enrolled.

IMPORTANT: USE OR LOSE IT!

The Health Care FSA offers a grace period to ensure you get the maximum benefit from the account. If you have not spent all the money in your Health Care FSA or Dependent Care FSA by the end of the plan year, you may continue to incur claims for expenses during the grace period (January 1 through March 15). Deadline to submit expenses is April 30.

If you enroll in the High Deductible Health Plan (HDHP), you will also be enrolled in a Health Savings Account (HSA). You can think of your HSA as a personal savings account for your health care expenses, with some impressive tax advantages.

A Health Savings Account (HSA) is an actual bank account that allows you to save and pay for medical, dental, and vision expenses on a tax-free basis. Employees can only contribute to this plan if they are enrolled in the High Deductible Health Plan (HDHP). You can earn incentive dollars by participating in the TU Wellness Annual Health Incentive. Earned incentive dollars are deposited into your HSA. Click here to view a list of eligible HSA Expenses. 

Take advantage of the dollars in your Health Savings Account by:

• Using available Health Savings Account funds to cover the cost of health care services.
• Cover the Deductible 100% of health care service costs paid by you (dollars out of your
  pocket) until the deductible of the plan is satisfied.
• Cover the Coinsurance — A percentage of health care expenses paid by you after the
  plan’s deductible is met, and until the maximum out-of-pocket of the plan is satisfied.
• You can access your funds through a debit card when the contributions are deposited each payroll or submitted for reimbursements.

Save dollars and plan for the future:

• Let your Health Savings Account balance accumulate.
• Invest your Health Savings Account balance after reaching an account balance of $1,000.
• Use for future, eligible health care expenses, including while in retirement.
• Unused balances roll over from year to year, and if you leave the university, the account is yours to keep.
• Click here to learn more about HSA rollover and transfer. 

Partnership with TIAA

If you are a TIAA participant and enroll in the Health Savings Account administered by HealthEquity, you will have access to an integrated digital experience that will allow you to view and manage your TIAA accounts alongside your HSA accounts.

• Easily switch between your online accounts at TIAA and HealthEquity on www.tiaa.org.
• See your HSA balance and other information, along with your other TIAA accounts.
• View investment options for your HSA funds with TIAA. 
• The HealthEquity member portal supports your ability to actively manage your HSA.

Learn more about Health Savings Accounts: 

A Health Reimbursement Account (HRA) reimburses you with incentive dollars earned from participating in the TU Wellness Annual Health Incentive for eligible medical expenses This account is only paired with the HRA medical plan.  While all Tulane medical plan participants can participate in the annual wellness incentive, HRA plan members earnings will be made available via their Health Reimbursement Account (HRA) provided by HealthEquity. 

How HRAs Work

• If you participate on the Health Reimbursement Plan, you are “reimbursed” for participating in the annual health incentive program and supporting activities, including completing a wellness exam as well as a health risk assessment survey.
• Earned incentives can only be used for Medical Expenses Only for employees on the HRA and HDHP Medical Plans. Employees on the POS plan earn points that are redeemed for gift cards.
• A full-time employee scheduled to work with the university for no less than 7 months
• A part-time employee working at least 50% of a full-time schedule and expected to work no less than 7 months

HRA Incentive Funds: Eligible Items

• Medical Copays
• Medical Prescriptions
• Medical Deductibles
• Medical Out-of-Pocket Max
• Over-the-Counter Medical Items*
• FSA Store Items*

*Over-the-Counter Items and the FSA Store will decline when using the Benefits Debit Card due to coding. The workaround is paying out-of-pocket, then uploading the receipts to your HealthEquity account under the Reimburse Me section, and it will reimburse you for those purchases.

Individual plan members can earn rewards up to $500, while employees covering dependents can earn up to $1,000. For HRA/HSA plan participants, money will be deposited directly into your account. For POS plan participants, gift cards will be available after activities have been completed.