VSP Claim Reimbursement Will Get Easier Starting November 1
Do your employees participate in an NRECA VSP vision plan? Starting November 1, it will be easier for many of them to get reimbursed for eligible vision expenses from their health flexible spending account (FSA), limited-use health FSA or health reimbursement arrangement (HRA) plan.1
The claims process will be simplified for employees who:
- Already get reimbursed automatically from one of these accounts for eligible out-of-pocket medical, prescription drug and/or dental expenses. Starting next month, these employees will also be reimbursed automatically for VSP claims if their plan allows vision expenses. Please note that only services submitted to VSP by the provider will be automatically reimbursed.
- Use the debit card for out-of-pocket eligible vision expenses. When an employee’s debit-card swipe for eligible services matches the amount the provider submits to VSP, the employee no longer needs to substantiate the transaction; it will be automatically substantiated. (Employees are still encouraged to keep their receipts.)
Employees should be aware that auto-reimbursed VSP claims will list “VSP” as the provider, not the medical professional who provided the services.
VSP claims will not be automatically reimbursed if:
- The employee wasn’t eligible to select, or didn’t select, the claim interface during plan enrollment/election, and he or she has not been issued a debit card
- Charges for products or services are not run through VSP by the provider
In these cases, employees will still need to submit claims for FSA or HRA reimbursement—either online or through paper claims. This guide explains how to submit both types of claims.
In October, NRECA will mail a letter about this change to all VSP-participating employees with a CBA-administered FSA or HRA. If you or your employees have questions about this category of claims, contact the FSA/HRA team at 866.673.2299 (choose option 1, then 4) or email cba.fsa.hra@nreca.coop.
1This refers to accounts held under a CBA-administered HRA plan or the 125 Plan.