What is a Healthcare Spending Account (HSA)?
The HSA provides you with a tax-effective way to pay for eligible expenses. The HSA can be used to pay for healthcare and dental expenses in excess of your existing benefit maximums, or to pay for medical expenses which meet the guidelines for the Medical Expense Tax Credit as defined by Canada Revenue Agency, with some exceptions. Please refer to the Eligible Expenses section for exceptions. You can also claim eligible expenses for anyone that you claim a tax deduction for, in accordance with the Income Tax Act (Canada).
Coverage Details
The HSA pays healthcare and dental expenses for you, your eligible spouse/common-law partner, your eligible dependant children, or anyone that you can claim as a tax deduction for, in accordance with the Income Tax Act (Canada), provided the expenses are eligible under Canada Revenue Agency’s Medical Expense Tax Credit guidelines, with some exceptions. Please refer to the Eligible Expenses section for exceptions.
Please refer to the General Provisions section for eligibility criteria.
Maximum HSA Benefit Amounts
Effective April 1, 2010, and limited to services performed on or after that date, the HSA benefit amount will be $250 for full-time employees and $125 for part-time employees. As noted in the Eligibility section, your benefit amount, whether full-time or part-time, will be based on the number of months you participated in the HEB Manitoba Healthcare Plan and your regular paid hours of work (excluding overtime) in the previous calendar year.
Effective April 1, 2011, the HSA benefit amount will increase from $250 to $500 for full-time employees, and from $125 to $250 for part-time employees. As noted in the Eligibility section, your benefit amount, whether full-time or part-time, will be based on the number of months you participated in the HEB Manitoba Healthcare Plan and your regular paid hours of work (excluding overtime) in the previous calendar year.