Health Spending Accounts

Enable employees to manage out-of-pocket healthcare expenses and deliver incentives for participating in health improvement programs.

Carewise Health Spending Accounts allow participants to set aside money, on a pre-tax basis, for healthcare or dependent care expenses. Carewise Health provides employers, government agencies, and other plan sponsors with spending account administration that, when aligned with an overall healthcare strategy, can be used as an incentive for participating in health improvement programs.

Carewise Health Spending Accounts include:

• Flexible spending accounts (FSAs) allow participants to contribute money on a pre-tax basis for common out-of-pocket healthcare and dependent care expenses;
• Health reimbursement arrangements (HRAs) are funded by employers to reimburse employees for qualified healthcare expenses. Unused funds can roll over from year to year;
• Health savings accounts (HSAs) are employee-owned accounts linked to high-deductible health plans that permit unused funds to earn interest; and
• Commuter spending accounts (CSAs) offer employees a tax-advantaged way to pay for transit, vanpool, and parking costs.

Carewise Health Spending Accounts are marketed by SHPS, Inc., a provider of integrated health solutions and the largest independent administrator of spending accounts in the country. SHPS has more than 20 years experience and currently provides spending account administration for almost 200 clients and nearly one million enrolled participants. Carewise Health Spending Accounts include many features:

• Debit card. Debit cards provide participants a convenient way to access funds, making enrollment in a spending account more desirable. One card can be used to access multiple spending accounts and can accommodate new spending accounts as services are added.
• Participant Web site. This site includes a complete spending account history, expense tracking, message center, and full integration with optional health management services, such as lifestyle management programs.
• Participant satisfaction. With rapid processing, daily reimbursement, and direct deposit, Carewise Health ensures a positive experience for participants. It supports the client’s program with pre-enrollment and ongoing communications, as well as online decision tools to help participants manage their accounts.
• Ease of administration. Using a rules-based decision engine, Carewise Health automates reimbursement review, expense adjudication, and purse assignment. It coordinates claims processing from multiple carriers using a roll-over file, permitting automatic reimbursement of co-pays, coinsurance, and eligible health expenses. Plan sponsors have access to standard and ad-hoc reporting capabilities through a client Web portal.
• Customized plan designs. Carewise Health is able to accommodate a wide range of plan design options, including multi-purse accounts, priority of account, non-standard reimbursement schedules, and triggered payments into an HRA.