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The Flex Spending Account (FSA) is a valuable employee benefit that puts money in your pocket by helping you save on health care costs and the dependent care expenses you incur to be employed. The FSA benefit includes two programs to help you keep more of your paycheck.
For 15 years, the Dependent Care Advantage Account (DCAAccount) has been consistently saving State employee participants hundreds of dollars on their dependent care expenses. The Employer Contribution returned in 2005 as a result of the recent collective bargaining agreements and participation in the DCAAccount soared. In 2006, the Employer Contribution will provide up to $700 for employees in eligible bargaining units who enroll in the DCAAccount. We expect another surge in participation as more working parents learn that the Employer Contribution could significantly help cover summer day camp, nursery school, child care center, or adult day care costs.
The program also consists of the Health Care Spending Account (HCSAccount), established in 2001, which helps you save money spent on health care services for your family that are not reimbursed by your health insurance plan. The Health Care Spending Account, like the Dependent Care Advantage Account, is an easy-to-use program that lets you contribute pre-tax dollars through automatic payroll deductions into your reimbursement account. A special feature of this benefit even allows you to be reimbursed for eligible health care expenses without waiting for the cash to accumulate in your account -- just like an interest-free loan! Over 10,600 State employees have taken advantage of the HCSAccount's benefits in 2005 alone.
Enrolling in the Flex Spending Account is easy. You can apply for enrollment in either the DCAAccount or the HCSAccount or both through a completely paperless process. Submit your application online, or call 1-800-358-7202 and a Customer Service Representative will take your application. The process is quick, easy, and secure.
The Flex Spending Account offers other customer-friendly services such as direct deposit of authorized reimbursements into your bank account. You can reduce claims processing time by faxing reimbursement request forms to the FSA Administrator. More than one-half of the current FSA participants use these program features, which give them prompt access to their funds by eliminating mail time. You can check your account balances at any time online or by using a voice-response system.
The Flex Spending Account, administered jointly by staff of the Governor's Office of Employee Relations and the Family Benefits Program, is an economy-minded and family-oriented program that has emerged in part through the collective bargaining process. We are very pleased to be able to offer you this program at no cost, thus enabling you to better afford rising health care costs and the high cost of quality child and adult day care services.
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