Employer Flex Benefit Card » More About Using The Flex Benefit Card

Is it necessary for an employee to save receipts for purchases made with a Flex Benefit card?

YES! — THIS IS AN IRS REQUIREMENT. An employee may be asked to provide receipts to EBS to verify an expense for eligibility, per IRS rules. If an employee does not have the required receipt(s), the amount is deemed ineligible under plan guidelines and they will be required to repay the amount to their FSA account as if used for a non-qualified expense. This also applies to any claim form(s) submitted without a receipt(s); the expense(s) would be ineligible for reimbursement under the plan guidelines.

When will EBS ask for copies of receipts for purchases made with a Flex Benefit card?

The IRS requires that receipts be presented for reimbursement from an FSA account. The Flex Benefit card does not eliminate that requirement.

The TakeCare® Card has built-in technology that, within IRS guidelines, will electronically determine the qualification (or eligibility) of an expense when a Flex Benefit card is used. Part of this is handled through merchant transaction codes. The other part is the gathering of information from your health and dental carriers about co-payments and other plan benefits.

However, the card swipe does not send an electronic list of items purchased. The only information transmitted is the transaction date, amount, and merchant name. Because of this, it is not possible to determine the eligibility of expenses in many cases without additional documentation. Therefore, EBS is required by IRS guidelines to ask for receipts to qualify the expenses.

What types of expenses can the card be used for?

FSA Plans:

A Flex Benefit card can be used for expenses considered eligible under plan guidelines. A list of eligible expenses can be reached in our Member Center.

The list of eligible expenses includes (but is not limited to):

Prescription Co-pays	Co-insurance
Doctor Office Visit Co-pays	Hospital Co-pays
Orthodontics	Eligible Dental expenses
Eligible Vision Care expenses	Glasses and Contact Lenses
Lab expenses

Qualified Transit Plans:

The Flex Benefit card can be used for parking or mass transit expenses incurred for travel to and from work that are considered eligible as defined by program guidelines.

The list of eligible expenses includes (but is not limited to):

• Mass Transit (commute to work expenses): bus, vanpool, train, ferry, etc.
• Parking Reimbursement (if part of your plan): monthly parking expense at mass transit facility, parking lot near work, or vanpool parking expense.

How can someone get OTC items with this card?

“OTC” (over-the-counter) medical items that are normally allowed under FSA eligible expense guidelines are not generally allowed as a Flex Benefit card expense. In most instances, the Flex Benefit card will be denied for these kinds of expenses at the check out stand. To get OTC items, a participant can:

• Purchase OTC items and submit claims with receipts for reimbursement (per our current method of reimbursement), or,
• Use an on-line Flex Card site to purchase OTC items with your Flex Benefit card. These sites provide a qualification for certain expenses as OTC eligible items which will allow items to be purchased using your card in many instances.

Where can an employee view card activity?

Account balances are updated each business day to include all paper claims and Flex card activity. Balance information and account activity can be accessed via the following:

• Account Log-in links throughout the EBS web site, or from the Member Center
• Automated telephone response (IVR) at 800-EBS-FLEX

Note: Employees will not receive a paper statement for their Flex Benefit card.

How does an employee dispute a charge on their Flex Benefit card account?

If at any time there appears to be a charge on the card that was not authorized by the cardholder, there is a dispute form available at www.mybenny.com. Employees should follow the instructions available to dispute any unauthorized expenses.

All disputes must be filed within 60 days of the transaction date of the charge.

Employees may also consider contacting the merchant to verify the origin of the unauthorized expense to make sure that they or a family member did not incur the expense.

For assistance with disputed expenses, employees may contact an EBS Customer Service representative via e-mail at custserv@ebsbenefits.com or by phone during business hours at 888-327-2770.

How does an employee report a lost or stolen card? Is there a fee for replacement?

Call an EBS Customer Service Representative (during business hours) to report a lost or stolen card. EBS will immediately report that status to the vendor.

There is a $10 card replacement fee that will be charged to the FSA account.

Can a card be suspended or terminated by an employer or EBS?

Yes. If an employee fails to respond to requests for receipts for expenses that cannot be electronically substantiated, or per the random sampling required by the IRS, then EBS may suspend the card.

If an employee terminates employment, the card will be immediately terminated and their card balance will be zero. They will need to submit claims with receipts for any eligible expenses incurred prior to your date of termination, not previously reimbursed.

If it appears that an employee is misusing the card, or not using the card per plan guidelines in effect, the card may be suspended by EBS and/or the employer.