Health Care Spending Account (HCSA)
The Health Care Spending Account (HCSA) program offered at UMass Chan Medical School is sponsored by the Group Insurance Commission (GIC) and administered by TASC.
You may contribute from $250 - $3,050 per plan year on a pre-tax basis. The HCSA can be used to pay for co-pays, deductibles and other non-covered, eligible expenses.
- When to enroll - You must enroll as a new hire during your first 10 days of employment, otherwise, you may enroll during the open enrollment period held annually every April/May for a July 1 effective
TASC will be your new administrator of HCSA benefits beginning with our upcoming plan year, and the grace and runout period for the current plan year (ending 6/30/23) will also be administered by TASC. TASC will work closely with Benefit Strategies to transfer any balances you have remaining as of 6/30/23 from Benefit Strategies, your current HCSA administrator, to TASC.
There will be a Black Out Period after the current plan year ends when your funds will not be available. This blackout period will start at midnight on 6/30/2023 and will last until approximately 7/18/23 and is necessary to allow your HCSA plan to be finalized by Benefit Strategies and your balance information to be sent to TASC for upload into your new TASC account.
This does not mean that you cannot incur expenses during this time. For any expenses incurred during this time, please pay for the expenses personally then submit your claim to TASC via the online participant portal, the mobile app, or fax, once your grace/runout plan is active. We apologize for any inconvenience caused during this time.
The last day the Benefit Strategies claim card will be functioning for HCSA is 6/30/23.
All eligible manual claims received at Benefit Strategies on 6/30/23 will be processed and paid. Please plan accordingly as claims received after this time will not be accepted by Benefit Strategies and you will be required to resubmit them to TASC.
Your new TASC Card® will be mailed out and is expected to be functioning beginning 7/1/23 for the start of the upcoming plan year, but any balances from your current plan year will not be available until approximately 7/18/23.
Grace Period for FY 2023: The grace period for FY 2023 will be 2.5 months, with an additional month allowed for claim submissions. This means that you will have until September 15 to incur claims (based on date of service) for a plan year that ended on June 30. You will then have until October 15 to submit those claims for reimbursement. For additional key FSA Dates for 2023 Plan Year please see the GIC Benefits Decision Guide.
Enrollment Information
Enrollment in the flexible spending accounts is done online. If you wish to enroll in one or both flexible spending accounts, go to https://www.tasclargemarkets.com/commonwealthofma.
You must enroll within 10 calendar days of hire; otherwise, you may enroll during Open Enrollment period that occurs each April/May. Note: Certain family status changes may enable you to enroll other than as a new hire or during open enrollment. Please refer to the Life Events tab in the top navigation bar for more information.
Eligibility
Coverage begins on the first of the month following 60 calendar days of employment.
You must re-enroll online each plan year at Open Enrollment in order to continue participation in the HCSA.
Note: The IRS requires that any unused funds at plan year end be forfeited. You should estimate your contributions carefully.
To access HCSA benefit information, click the Benefit Summaries button below (or on the top navigation bar):