During open enrollment, you can enroll in a FlexElect medical reimbursement account. When you enroll, you specify an amount of money to be deducted from your paychecks in 2004 that you will use to pay for out-of-pocket health-related expenses such as doctor's office and prescription copays, orthodontic treatment, eye glasses, contacts, laser eye surgery, and more.
Check with your personnel office for details and forms. You also can review the FlexElect handbook online.
Your FlexElect deductions are
pretax, which allows you to pay for certain expenses without having to pay
income taxes on that money. The process for using your FlexElect account is
easy: you simply submit a claim for reimbursement after you've incurred an
eligible expense, along with the receipt or other required documentation, then
a reimbursement check is mailed to you.
Before you enroll, be sure to
review the FlexElect materials carefully.
You can only use FlexElect deductions to pay for certain types of
health-related expenses. If you don't claim the full amount of funds in your
FlexElect account by the deadline, you forfeit the remaining money. You can
avoid forfeiture by making sure the monthly deduction amount you authorize is
well within the amount you estimate you'll spend in 2004 on eligible expenses.