Frequently Asked Questions for Health Care Spending Account (HCSA) & Professional Expense Reimbursement (PER)

Can I purchase equipment and seek reimbursement from the Professional Expense Reimbursement Account within 12 months of my retirement or the end of my employment contract?
Equipment is not eligible for reimbursement within 12 months of retirement or the end of a Member’s contract.

Who administers reimbursement from the Professional Expense Reimbursement for eligible expenses?
Financial Services administers the Professional Expense Reimbursement.

What type of expenses may I claim under the Professional Expense Reimbursement?
Eligible expenses include professional expenses such as, but not limited to: membership fees for professional associations; subscriptions to professional, learned or industry-related periodicals; registration fees for attending professional or scholarly conferences, meetings, seminars or workshops, etc.

How do I find out more information about the Professional Expense Reimbursement?
Please review the claim form itself since all details and information has been listed on the form. If you have a specific question, you should contact Financial Services at 519-661-2111 ext. 85499 or email reimburse@uwo.ca.

How do I submit claims under the Professional Expense Reimbursement?
 The quickest way to obtain reimbursement for your PER claim is to submit a claim online. The following links provide step-by-step instructions on how to submit a PER claim online:

You can also continue to submit a paper claim for your PER. The applicable form can be downloaded from the Financial Services Forms page, under the heading Professional Expense Reimbursement.

Print the completed PER form and forward it, along with your original receipts to your Chair, Director, Dean, or Vice-President. Once the Chair, Director, Dean or Vice-President approves the claim online, forward the PER cover page, along with original receipts to Financial Services, Room 6100, Support Services Building. Alternatively, you can submit the relevant documents via email to reimburse@uwo.ca.

When the cover page and receipts are received by Financial Services, your claim will be processed and funds will be directly deposited to your bank account. You will receive an e-mail notification to your @uwo email address when this transaction has occurred.

What type of health-related expenses may I claim under the HCSA?
 The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) defines which expenses can be reimbursed using your HCSA. These would include any 15% co-insurance you pay, medical practitioner expenses over the per visit limit, excess vision care costs, medical/dental expenses not covered by your regular Extended Health and Dental Plan (such as orthodontics). A list of eligible expenses can be found on the CRA website. Note that if you receive HCSA reimbursement for an expense, you cannot also claim the CRA medical expense tax credit for the same expense.

Who administers reimbursement from the HCSA for eligible medical expenses?
Manulife Financial, the University's health and dental insurance carrier, administers the Health Care Spending Account.

How do I find out more information about the HCSA?
You may contact Manulife Financial directly at 1-866-896-8515.

How do I know my HCSA balance?
To see the current balance in your Health Care Spending Account, visit the Manulife Financial website and sign in. You will need information from your Manulife card (plan contract number and employee number) as well as your Manulife password. Once logged in, select "My Benefits", then the link that says HCSA Balance. You may also call Manulife at 1-866-896- 8515 to request the balance.

Can I submit HCSA claims online?
Yes, when submitting online claims there is an option to use your Health Care Spending Account to reimburse any unpaid portion of your claim. If you have any coverage under a different plan it is recommended that you coordinate with that plan prior to submitting against your HCSA to maximize your potential reimbursement.

How do I submit claims under my HCSA?
The best way to make many claims is to log onto the Manulife secure website. Manulife is the administrator of the HCSA. You’ll have to register online, if you haven’t yet done so. You can also make a claim using the Group Benefits Extended Health Care Claim Form, also available on the Manulife self-service website, and in hard copy from Human Resource Services in Room 4159, Support Services Building.

May I carry forward unspent HCSA funds to the next year?
Unused credits will be carried forward and added to any credits for the following calendar year. At the end of the second calendar year, tax laws require that any credits remaining from the previous year’s allocation be forfeited. No cash-outs of HCSA funds are permitted.

How important is the effective date of a medical or dental expense in relation to the year in which the claim is made?
This is very important. You may not use this year’s funds to pay last year’s expenses. For example, in January 2025, you cannot claim reimbursement for 2024 expenses from your 2025 allotment. Those 2024 expenses however, can be claimed from any 2023 carryover that was brought into 2024.

Will Manulife automatically reimburse me from my HCSA for medical and dental expenses not fully covered under my Extended Health and Dental coverage with Manulife, such as the 15% co-insurance and vision care claim amounts in excess of the two year maximum?
If you have checked off the appropriate box on the Extended Health Care Claim Form and have single coverage or family coverage with no secondary coverage from your spouse, then Manulife will process any unpaid balance of your claim from your HCSA. Note that if your claims are paid automatically (such as when your pharmacist or dentist bills Manulife directly) and only charges you for the 15% coinsurance portion, you will have to make a separate claim to seek reimbursement from your HCSA.

Is there a time limit to submit claims under the HCSA?
 All claims should be submitted during the same plan year in which you paid the expense. However, your HCSA has a 90-day grace period, which allows up to 90 days after December 31 for Manulife to receive expenses incurred during the previous year.

If my spouse is a member of a HCSA eligible employee group, do we each have a HCSA?
Yes.

May I carry forward my unspent Professional Expense Reimbursement balance to the next year?
Carry forward provisions of the Professional Expense Reimbursement differ between employee groups. Please refer to your collective agreement.

How can I access my Professional Expense Reimbursement information?
To see your current balance in your PER, go to the Financial Services login page. Use your Western user ID and password to log on. Click on the tile “Professional Expense (PER)”. You will see any carry forward from the previous year, your entitlement this year, any claims you have made in the current year, as well as the current balance in the account.

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