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To end up with more money in your wallet, consider a Health Savings Account (HSA) plan or a Health Reimbursement Account (HRA) plan. Health care and dependent care Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA) also help you save and can be paired with any of the six medical plans.

HSAs and HRAs are like bank accounts ear-marked for health-related expenses. They provide tax savings because money put into HSAs and HRAs are excluded from your gross income and not subject to federal income tax. And the money isn’t taxed when you take it out of the account to pay for eligible expenses.

Click below for more information on the accounts.

  • HSA Plans

    Biggest Advantage

    An analysis of all health care expenses for HealthFlex participants in a calendar year reveals that a Health Savings Account (HSA) plan is the cheapest option for over 75% of households. While it is hard to deny that HSA plans offer great value, cost is just one of many factors to consider when electing your benefits.

    Additional Advantage

    The money in your HSA is your money. Always. No exceptions. Retire? Change jobs? In each scenario the money in your account is still yours and you can use it on eligible health care expenses in the future.

    Where Does the Money Come From?

    The H1500 and H2000 (the number represents the individual in-network deductible) are HSA plans that are, in essence, partnerships: Your employer contributes money to your account, and you can too. There is no employer contribution in the H3000 HSA plan, but you can put money in your account. If you have excess premium credit, it will be deposited into your HSA. The federal limit for total HSA contributions (employer contribution + your contribution + excess premium credit) is $3,850 for an individual and $7,750 for families in 2023.

    Deductible

    There is no individual deductible when multiple people are covered by an HSA plan. Instead, you must meet the family deductible.

    Prescription Drugs & Behavioral Health

    You must meet the deductible before the co-insurance or co-pay begins in most cases. Certain prescription drugs are preventive and there is no deductible to meet for them. You’ll pay a portion of the cost (co-insurance) or there’s a co-pay for these preventive medications. The OptumRx Drug Pricing Tool estimates the cost of your prescription drugs with each plan, which can help you decide if an HSA plan is right for you and help determine how much money to put in an HSA.

    You Can Invest Your HSA Money

    An HSA is a great way to save for future medical expenses and retirement because you can invest the money in your account and your earnings are not taxed if you use them to pay for eligible health care expenses.

    Additional Resources

  • HRA Plans

    Biggest Advantage

    With HRA plans, your employer contributes money to the account that you can use to pay for eligible health care expenses. The HRA paired with the C2000 plan has the largest employer contribution among the HealthFlex plans. You could think of an employer-funded HRA like a perk employers use to attract new hires. And it might just be as helpful as a fancy coffee bar.

    Additional Advantage

    You don’t need to meet your deductible with either prescription drugs or behavioral health. An HRA plan helps pay the first time you go to the pharmacy or to a counseling appointment.

    Where Does the Money Come From?

    Only your employer can contribute to the HRA. If you have excess premium credit, it will be deposited into your HRA.

    Deductible

    When you cover more than one person with an HRA plan, there are both individual and family deductibles. (The family deductible is double the plan’s individual deductible.). If only one of the people covered by the plan incurs sizeable expenses, an individual deductible can save you money.

    Prescription Drugs & Behavioral Health

    HealthFlex always pays either a portion of the cost (co-insurance) or there’s a co-pay. There is no deductible to meet so if you have costly medications, you don’t need to worry about paying a large bill in January when you haven’t met your deductible.

    The Money in Your HRA Can Rollover Year After Year

    There is no limit to the amount that can accumulate in your HRA and there is no deadline to spend the funds, as long as you do not terminate or waive coverage. If you terminate or waive HealthFlex, you have 90 days to spend your funds before they are forfeited.

    Additional Resources

  • Dependent Care FSA

    With a dependent care FSA, money is taken out of your paycheck before taxes and deposited into an account for use on daycare, before- or after-school programs, summer day camp, preschool and more for your dependent children (age 12 and younger). A dependent care FSA also can be used for adult daycare. Any money in your dependent care FSA that you don’t use by the end of the year is forfeited.

    The maximum contribution is $5,000 ($2,500 for taxpayers who are married filing separately). Unlike the health care FSA, only the funds that have actually been deducted from your compensation to date are available to reimburse expenses.

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