UAB Benefits

Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA's)

IMPORTANT NOTICE

Beginning January 1, 2013, PayFlex will administer the FSA program for UAB employees.  Claims incurred beginning January 1, 2013 should be submitted to PayFlex.

Any eligible claims incurred in 2012 will continue to be submitted to Blue Cross/Blue Shield.  Employees have until 3/31/13 to submit 2012 claims to Blue Cross.

UAB employees can take advantage of flexible spending accounts (FSAs), which are pretax reimbursement accounts administered by PayFlex for eligible medical and dependent care expenses. Employees must re-enroll in the FSA program during annual open enrollment for the upcoming calendar year.  With an FSA, you can set aside pretax money via payroll deductions to pay for health care and dependent care expenses not covered by your benefit plan. Money set aside in these accounts will reduce your taxable income, providing you with more value for the dollar.  You can use the Tax Savings Calculator  in order to help estimate your expenses. Please note that over-the-counter medications are no longer eligible for reimbursement for health care flexible spending accounts unless prescribed by a physician.  This change was part of the Federal Health Care Reform Bill.

You can set aside up to $2,500 per year in a health care account.  (The annual maximum limit reduced to $2,500 due to the Federal Health Care Reform Bill.)
For dependent care accounts, you can set aside $5,000 or $2,500 for married taxpayers filing separate returns.

UAB will again offer – at no cost to employees – the popular preferred health care FSA debit card which is now know n as the PayFlex Card.  The card provides employees direct access to the funds available in their health care FSA. Employees will still need to keep their receipts and Explanation of Benefits from their insurance provider because the IRS requires substantiation of all reimbursements, including PayFlex Card transactions.
You may receive requests from PayFlex during the plan year. Failure to submit the required documentation can result in your card being suspended. If documentation is needed, employees will receive notification from PayFlex. You will have the option of submitting documentation or repaying the amount to the plan.

Quick Reimbursement
If you do not use the PayFlex Card, you can submit claims online through PayFlex’s claim submission tool and receive quick reimbursement. You can even submit claims through the PayFlex Mobile app simply by taking a picture of your documentation!

Please refer to the documents below for more information on this important program.

PayFlex –  (800) 284-4885

PayFlex Card (Requires Adobe Reader)

Mobile App – (Requires Adobe Reader)

Eligible Expenses – (Requires Adobe Reader)

PayFlex Web site Instructions (Requires Adobe Reader)