- CSI Benefits Home
- Contact Us
- Canada Insurance
- Canada Pension
- US Insurance
- US Pension
- Flexible Benefits
- Group Payroll Plans
3350 East Paris Ave. SE
Grand Rapids, MI 49512
p. 877.274.8796
f. 616.301.2149
HCSA Credits and Uses for Flex 4 and Flex 5
Effective September 1, 2011, the Trustees approved a design that provides Health Care Spending Accounts (HCSA). The HCSA is available to all participants who choose the Safety Net Option (Flex 4) with HCSA or Spousal Option (Flex 5) with HCSA. Additionally, schools may choose to offer an HCSA along with any of the three stand-alone options (Flex 1, 2, or 3) at their own discretion.
The HCSA annual credit amounts for Flex 4 are $600 per individual and $1,200 per family; and for Flex 5 are $1,000 per individual and $2,000 per family. These amounts are not additional costs to the school, but instead are included in the monthly premium.
This pre-tax benefit can be used to cover a wide variety of health-related expenses. An HCSA credit can be used to:
- Pay for services that aren’t covered under the CSI Insurance Plan (e.g. the portion of Vision Care or Dental expenses that may not be covered).
- Pay for premiums, deductibles and coinsurance for employees and their dependents
- Pay for services above benefit plan limits participants or their spouses may have (vision care and dental benefits over the participant’s or participant’s spouses annual maximum; benefits not covered under government plans)
This is not an exhaustive list. Please refer to the Income Tax Act (Canada) for a complete list of items allowed as a medical tax credit by the Canada Revenue Agency. You can claim any item or service allowed under the Income Tax Act of Canada as a medical expense.
The CSI web site contains a link to the Revenue Canada Agency’s list of eligible expenses. Go to http://www.CSIonline.org/benefits and select Links under Canada Insurance on the left side of the website page.
Leftover credits in the HCSA will be carried forward for one year. HCSA credits will be lost if they are not used by the end of the following year.