Health Spending Accounts (HSA)

An HSA is a Private Health Services Plan set up by the employer and administered by MediDirect®. It provides reimbursement to the employee or business owner for all health, dental and wellness expenses for themselves and their families, without health pre-qualification, limitations or restrictions. Medical expenses are a 100% business deduction and the employee receives a tax free benefit.

An HSA is a self-insured, or self-funded plan, in which the employer is responsible for providing health care benefits to its employees up to a pre-determined dollar value. There is no insurance involved in the self-funded portion.

We encourage each employee to have their own individual, non-group health insurance. In most cases, the amount claimed through this insurance for prescription drug coverage exceeds the dollars paid in premiums. The remaining uninsured portions (ie., deductibles or coverage limitations) can be reimbursed through your HSA, and the premiums are an eligible expense. Please contact us for help in selecting the plan that best suits your needs.

The MediDirect Plan is available with low cost Catastrophic Medical Insurance for protection from unforeseen serious accidents and medical emergencies while at home or when travelling either outside your home province or internationally.

The Claims Process for Employees:

Step 1: Employee

• Personally pays for their medical, dental and wellness expenses
• Completes a MediDirect® Claim Form
• Attaches the original receipts
• Forwards claim directly to MediDirect®

Step 2: MediDirect® and Employer

• Upon receipt of the claim, MediDirect® invoices the Employer
  OR
• The Employer has a Prefunded Account which is debited as claims arise
• The total claim amount includes the claim expenses to be reimbursed, plus a 10% administration fee plus applicable taxes

Step 3: MediDirect®

• Issues the reimbursement to the Employee within 5 business days upon receipt of the claim and payment by their Employer. This is a non-taxable benefit for the full amount of their expense claim.
• Sends the Employer a receipt which is used as a tax deduction

The Claims Process for Self Employed Persons or Sole Proprietors:

The process in itself is the same as described above, but many self employed persons question why they are paying the claim twice – once personally, and once from their business account, which they perceive as being their own funds. The answer lies in the separation of the business funds and the personal funds. The business must reimburse the owner as if he/she were an employee. Then the expense is a tax deduction for the business and a non-taxable benefit to the business owner as if he/she were an employee. The medical expense is paid in pre-tax business dollars instead of after-tax personal dollars.