Flexible Spending Accounts

The Flexible Spending Accounts program allows tax free reimbursement for your out-of-pocket daycare and healthcare expenses. These FSA contributions are made pre-tax (i.e. reducing your taxable income). BCPS provides you with two Flexible Spending Account (FSA) options: (1) You may enroll for up to $2500 per year in the healthcare account, and/or (2) You may enroll for up to $5,000 per year in the dependent care spending account. Outside of open enrollment, you must have a “qualifying life event” to enroll in or change your FSA election. Please contact the Office of Benefits, Leaves & Retirement via email at benefits@bcps.org or by calling (410) 887-8943 for more information.

FSA Grace Period

Recent IRS rulings permit employers to provide extended time for you to process claims during the plan year, January 1 through December 31, 2013. The deadline for submitting claims for the prior plan year is March 31, 2014. The grace period does not apply to dependent care FSA.

Dependent Care FSA

You can set aside from $500-$5,000 per family, per plan year (January 1 to December) to pay for dependent care expenses as long as you (and your spouse) work or attend school full-time. Eligible expenses, as determined by the IRS, are paid to qualified providers for the care of children under the age of 13 or other dependents not capable of self-care. (These dependents must be claimed on your federal income tax return.) Qualified dependent care providers must identify their federal taxpayer identification number or their social security number on receipts provided for reimbursement through your FSA.

The amounts you pay for dependent care, using FSA funds, cannot be claimed on your federal income tax return under the dependent care tax credit. In most cases, the FSA provides greater tax savings than claiming the tax credit for expenses you paid with after-tax dollars.

Health Care FSA

You may set aside from $125 - $2500 per family, per plan year (January 1 -- December 31) to pay for out-of-pocket health care expenses for yourself and your dependents. (These dependents must be claimed on your federal income tax return). You do not have to participate in a BCPS health plan to establish a Health Care FSA.

You are also offered the convenience of using a debit card to access the funds set aside in your health care FSA. The debit card can be used for allowed expenses only at any medical provider location or retail outlet that accepts MasterCard. When using your FSA debit card, you may be required to provide receipts following your purchase or service. It is important to keep all your receipts, when using the card, in case you are asked to provide documentation for a charge.

All BCPS health plans have office visit and prescription co-pay amounts that can be paid through a Health Care FSA. If you are enrolled in the CareFirst Triple Choice plan, you also have to pay deductible and co-insurance amounts for services other than office visits.

Eligible expenses that can be reimbursed through a Health Care FSA are determined by the IRS (Publication #502). Some examples include: medical and prescription plan copayments, deductibles, balances that remain after your benefit plan has made a payment, orthodontia, and even some services not covered by your benefit plans (e.g. LASIK eye surgery or adult hearing aids).

FSA Administrator is HFS Benefits (HFS)

HFS Benefits is the FSA administrator for BCPS. HFS handles claims incurred during the new plan year. Their website is www.hfsbenefits.com. Their customer service phone number is (410) 771-1331, select option #2. Links to HFS forms and information appear below:

Claim form is available at our forms page
Debit Card Substantiation Form
Direct Deposit Authorization
Debit Card Flyer

Notice of HIPAA Special Enrollment Rights
(Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act)

If you are declining coverage for yourself or your dependents (including your spouse) because of other health insurance coverage, you may in the future be able to enroll yourself or your dependents in this plan, provided that you request enrollment within 30 days after your other coverage ends. In addition, if you have a new dependent as a result of marriage, birth, adoption or placement for adoption, you may be able to enroll yourself and your dependents, provided that you request enrollment within 30 days after the marriage, birth, adoption or placement for adoption.