Once you have determined your annual predictable medical expenses for the Plan Year you may elect to defer a portion of your salary into the flexible benefits account maintained on your behalf. You should take into account your health insurance deductibles and copayments, as well as uninsured medical and dental expenses, vision care and hearing care. Generally, the expenses covered, through the flexible benefits, must be “medically necessary” as determined by a doctor. Do not take into account premiums paid for health insurance coverage provided by Missoula County (since this is covered under the Premium Conversion Benefit).

You must make your elections prior to the beginning of the Flexible Spending Benefits plan year and/or your effective date. The Flexible Spending plan year is January 1 through December 31. With an additional 2 ½ month grace period for the health care account only. Eligible expenses must be incurred during this time frame to be eligible for reimbursement. (Incurred refers to the date the service is provided regardless of when you are billed or when you pay for it.)

Health care claims submitted or incurred January 1st through March 15th will be applied to any unused funds from the previous plan year first. Once your previous plan year’s balance has been depleted and assuming you have elected to continue participating in the flex plan, claims with dates of service incurred after January 1st, will be paid from the current plan year account balance. You have until June 15th following the end of the plan year to remit claims.

Dependent care claims do not have a grace period. Only those claims that incurred during the current plan year will be paid in current plan year. Claims for the previous plan year must be submitted by the following March 30th.

It is likely that you might have some medical expenses that you will have to pay for in the coming plan year. For example, you or your family will have medical expenses that are subject to the deductible or copayment limits under the Missoula County Benefits Plan. Or you may incur expenses that are not reimbursed at all. Normally, you would pay for these expenses with after-tax income. And, because taxes reduce the value of a dollar, you would have to earn considerably more than $100 to pay for $100 of expenses.

To receive reimbursement, you must complete a Flexible Benefits claim form and be sure you fill it out completely. You must submit independent, 3rd-party documentation of your expenses with the Flexible Benefits claim form. If any of the expenses were covered by insurance, attach a copy of your ‘explanation of benefits’. For expenses not covered by insurance, send a copy of a bill or invoice identifying the service, service date, total charges and any discounts. If the required documentation is not attached, your reimbursement will be delayed.

You have until June 15 to submit health claims incurred during the plan year and grace period. You have until March 30 to submit dependent care claims incurred during the plan year.

If you leave Missoula County during the year, any money in your account can only be used to reimburse you for eligible expenses incurred through your coverage termination date. You have 90 days following your termination to submit claims. You may also be eligible for COBRA election rights under the health care flexible spending account.

Generally, you may not change or vary your elections during the Plan Year. However, you may change your elections during the annual enrollment period for the coming Plan Year. The enrollment period is November to be effective January 1st.

There is an important exception to this general rule: You may change or revoke your election at any time during the Plan Year if there is one or more of the following, significant changes in your status.

Such changes include:

• Your marriage, divorce, legal separation or annulment
• Birth, adoption or placement for adoption of your child
• Death of your spouse or dependent
• Changes in the employment status of you or your spouse or dependent, including commencement or termination of employment, strike, lockout, unpaid leave of absence, change in work site, or switch from salaried to hourly paid
• Entitlement to COBRA continuation coverage
• Entitlement to Medicare or Medicaid
• Receipt by the plan of a qualified medical child support order pertaining to your dependent child
• Eligibility criteria are satisfied ( or no longer satisfied ) by a dependent, such as age or student status
• Change in residence by you or your spouse or dependent affecting eligibility.
• Change in care giver (dependent day care only)
• Child turns 13 (dependent day care only)

In order to change your current election, the event must relate to your election. You must make your change within 31 days. Changes will be effective from the date of the event.

If you elect to participate in the Plan, your participation will continue until you separate from service with Missoula County or elect to stop making contributions under the Health Plan.

The maximum you may deposit to your Health Care Spending Account is $2,600.

The maximum you may deposit to a Dependent Care Spending Account is $192 per pay period, or $5000 per Plan Year. If you are married and file separately, the maximums are $96 per pay period, or $2,500 per Plan Year.

Claims will be paid each week after you submit them, up to the balance of your account. Portions of your approved but unreimbursed expenses will be paid weekly as your account rebuilds. Claims will not be reimbursed prior to the date they incur.

We encourage all employees to conservatively elect how much to deposit into the Health Care and Dependent Day Care Flexible Spending Accounts because the IRS requires that money in the accounts, not used for eligible expenses incurred in the plan year or during the 2 ½ month grace period (grace period applies to health care only), be forfeited. This is known as the “use it or lose it” rule.