nbBenefits FAQ
Who can qualify under the nbBenefits HSA (Health Spending Account) plan?
The employer has complete control over which employees are covered under the plan. They can be added or deleted from the plan at any time.
How often do I have to contribute to the plan?
PAY AS YOU GO! Our system is designed to only withdraw for the Employer bank account when claims are made. Company money should stay in company bank accounts, not ours.
Do I have to prefund?
No, we only withdraw money from the company when their employees make claims.
How much does it cost?
Initial Set-up $350 + $40 per employee
There are NO monthly Fees
There is a $40 fee for adding or deleting employees
There is an Administration Fee of 10% per claim.
Can we have a Co-Insurance or deductible amount?
You can design a plan with different co-insurance amounts for each type of claim. For example, you can reimburse 80% on dental claims, 90% on Vision claims and 100% on medical claims.
Can the company set limits on the claims?
Yes, plans are set up in the following ways:
- The company establishes a pre-determined annual maximum amount for medical claims, dental claims, and vision claims and/or Health Spending Account (includes ALL types of claims).
- These pre-determined annual maximums are 'credited' to the employee's plan limit. The employee can only submit claims up to the amount that is shown available at the time of claim.
What happens when an employee leaves the company?
There might be unused funds in the employee's plan, but remember that we do not require pre-funding so there is technically NO money that has been exchanged. The terminated employee could only makes claims that had service dates prior to their termination date. Any claims after the termination date cannot be put through.
Can unused contributions be carried over?
Yes, at the end of an 'nbBenefits HSA plan year' if the employee has not used all of their available contributions, they may be carried over for one additional year. At the end of the second year, contributions made in the first year and carried over are no longer available to the employee.
Can employees make a claim online?
Yes, with nbBenefits HSA this is the only way to make a claim. By simply adding in a few details about the claim and uploading a copy of the receipt employees can make a claim and get reimbursed in a matter of days!
What types of expenses are covered?
The employee may claim for any medical expenses that are allowable under the income tax act. This is a very wide range of uses and will include many items that are not typically allowed under a normal group benefits plan.
nbBenefitsHSA has made this very simple. When making an online claim your only options for claim types are CRA ELIGIBLE EXPENSES, so you cannot submit something that is not an Allowable Expense. It may NOT be used for life insurance or disability insurance premiums, nor may it be used for business or educational expenses. Only medical-related expenses may be claimed. Use of funds for any other reason may invalidate the deductibility of even medical expenses.
Can we get additional benefits?
Yes, you can, your broker can provide complete Emergency Travel Medical protection which will protect the employee for all out-of country trips. In addition, this coverage includes Catastrophic Claim protection. Please refer to your broker to get information on these coverage's.
How are claims reimbursed?
As mentioned before all claims are made online. An employee makes a claim and it sits at pending until it gets the final adjudication. Adjudication will run every Tuesday and Thursday. After approval the reimbursed amount is directly deposited into the employee’s account.
How does an employee find out their 'account balance'?
Every employee is given a login. There is 1 page to keep it simple. On the page you can:
See your balance
- Change contact information
- Change banking information
- Change dependent information
- MAKE CLAIMS
- See what claims are pending and approved
- Chat live with nbBenefits HSA employees who can answer any questions about the system or plans
Can we claim medical expenses from before we started the plan?
Yes, CCRA rules allow you to claim medical expenses incurred before the plan was established. You may go back to January 1st in the previous calendar year or the beginning of the previous benefit year, whichever is later. This is something that you would normally restrict to owners or key management personnel. However, it may be offered to any employee.
nbBenefitsHSA can be set up by the broker to have a start date 1 year prior to the date they set up the plan initially. This would mean that the employee could make claims for any services after the start date.
What about Wellness plans?
These plans can be set up and in conjunction with a Health Spending Account, or on a stand- alone basis. They are completely customizable within the software so feel free to have your client add or delete Wellness items.
How it works?
Wellness accounts are set up exactly how you would set up your Health Spending Account. The difference being is that a Health Spending Account is subject to allowable categories under CRA whereas wellness are subject to whatever the employer wants their employees to spend this money on. With nbBenefits HSA this is completely customized and governed by the employer.
How is it different from a Health Spending Account?
Wellness items are a Taxable benefit for an employee. Our reports functions will easily allow the employer to properly account for this expense.
Who governs Wellness items?
The employer! With our simple software the employee can only submit claims that fall within the guidelines specified by the employer.
Why would an employer providea Wellness Account?
Most probably do already. They just don't now formally track it. Most employers will pay for a gym membership, daycare, transportation cost etc. for employees. All wellness items aregreatly appreciated by employees and help with employee attraction and retention.
How does the system account for proper Wellness items?
The employee inputs the proper information into the nbBenefits HSA system exactly like they do with their Health Spending Account.
Why wouldn't you just give employees the cash and they can spend it on what they want?
If you’re trying to create wellness this will not work… If somebody gave you $1000 would the first thing you thought about spending it really be a treadmill, or work boots??
Who makes sure that the items inputted are allowable under the Wellness items allowable by the employer?
This is the service that the broker provides. Managing and adjudication of these claims exactly like they do with the company’s Health Spending Account.
What if the employee does not spend the allowable money on the employer’s allowable Wellness items?
The software does not allow pre-funding. If an employee chooses not to spend the money on the allowable items, the employer’s money stays in the corporation’s account.
Why would you want to provide your clients with a Wellness Plan?
Wellness is the only true pro-active benefit solution which will help with their benefit plans performance long term. It is also an incredible tool in attraction of new employees.
What do we need to start with nbBenefits HSA?
Contact We need to set this up??