Home < Human
Resources and Benefits Briefing < February
2007
Here is some important information for those who enrolled in the Health Care Reimbursement Account (HCRA) program for 2007 during November Open Enrollment.
- Spending account cards – You should have received
your card in late December or early January. Please read the information
that accompanied the card carefully. You can also find detailed information
about the card and HCRA online at the At
Your Service HCRA site.
The SHPS customer service number and website address (the company UC has hired to administer the program) are listed on the back of your card. - Save all your receipts – Remember that the IRS requires you to retain all receipts for purchases that you make with your HCRA account. In certain instances, SHPS will ask you to send them your receipts for purchases made with your card that require verification as eligible expenses.
- Good news: you can use your card at grocery & discount stores this year – During Open Enrollment, we communicated an IRS regulation then in effect that would have prohibited use of your spending account card in 2007 at grocery stores and discount merchants, such as Safeway, WalMart, and Costco. HOWEVER, in mid-December, the IRS announced a change for its 2007 rules that will allow use of your card at grocery and discount stores this year. Remember to keep your receipts for all purchases.
- Using up your remaining 2006 HCRA funds – As you should know, if you had any HCRA funds from your 2006 account remaining at the end of 2006, you may use those funds to pay for eligible expenses incurred through March 15, 2007. But, there are some important things to know now that 2007 HCRA participants have been issued spending account cards.
The card is set up to deduct 2007 year expenses– it cannot be used to draw on unused 2006 funds. You therefore have two options for using up 2006 funds:
- You can file reimbursement claim forms, as you did last year, until your 2006 funds are used up, and then begin using the card to draw against your 2007 account. You have until June 15, 2007, to file claims for expenses paid with 2006 funds.
- You may begin using your card immediately. Expenses will be processed against your 2007 account – but, after June 15, 2007, SHPS will check to see if there are any monies left over from your 2006 account. If so, they will apply the claims for services incurred to reduce or eliminate forfeitures. SHPS will then credit that same amount back into your 2007 account. If you select this option, be sure that you will have enough 2007 funds to cover your expenses until mid-year. If you run out of 2007 funds before the reconciliation process, you will have to wait until the 2006 funds have been credited to your 2007 account to resume using the card.
Register with SHPS – If you’ve not already done so, go to www.myshps.com and register so you can view your account activity online. Be sure to enter your email address so you can receive convenient monthly HCRA account statement via email.
Your online account information – Please note when you go online to the SHPS website to see your account activity that it may take a few business days for a card transaction to be posted to your account. However, the available balance showing in your account updates every business day and will show the actual balance you have remaining, reflecting transactions that have not yet been posted.
Summary Plan Descriptions – The new 2007 HCRA Summary Plan Description (SPD) is now available online; the 2006 HCRA SPD is also posted online – provisions in the 2006 SPD will apply to 2006 HCRA monies that are used to pay for expenses incurred through March 15, 2007. Both SPDs are available at the At Your Service “Summary Plan Descriptions” page.
