Medical Spending Account        [Back to Previous Page]
A Medical Spending Account allows employees to pay for certain unreimbursed medical expenses, such as deductibles and co-pays, from pre-tax dollars.* 

Employees who have worked for a full year by the beginning of the new Flex plan year (calendar year) are eligible to participate.

Employees may contribute a maximum of $5,000 per year to their Medical Spending Account.**  The total dollar amount an employee opts to contribute is divided by 12, and that amount is deducted from the employee's pay every month before taxes and put in that employee's medical spending account.  Then, as the employee incurs medical expenses that are not paid for by insurance, s/he requests reimbursement from her/his Medical Spending Account.***

Please be aware: Medical Spending Accounts are "use it or lose it": any unused balance in an employee's Medical Spending Account the end of the plan year is forfeited.

Also, please be aware that medical expenses for which an employee is reimbursed from her/his Medical Spending Account may not be "deducted from taxes" when the employee "does" her/his taxes.

* Some examples of unreimbursed medical-care expenses are: deductibles, co-insurance, hearing aids and batteries, orthopedic shoes, dental care, and glasses and contact lenses.  For more information on eligible expenses, contact DAKOTACARE FLEX at 800-628-3778.

**Please note that employees who set up a Medical Spending Account may not discontinue or change contributions to that Account during that calendar year.

*** Employees may opt to have DAKOTACARE bills automatically processed through their FLEX plan; FLEX will then automatically reimburse the employee from her/his FLEX plan.  For bills other than DAKOTACARE, the employee must pay the bill, then send the receipt/invoice to FLEX for reimbursement; "vouchers" to aid in this process are available in the forms bin outside the Human Resources Office.