Although the deadline to use your HCSA entitlement for the 2006-2007 academic year has now passed (as of August 31, 2007), you have until October 31, 2007 to submit the receipts. If you have a new appointment in September 2007 or January 2008, you will have a new entitlement starting then (and if you were enrolled last year, you do NOT have to enrol again).

Reimbursement of heath care expenses for Sessional Lecturers has gone up to $250 per half-course, to a new maximum of $1,250 per year.

And as a result of the new Collective Agreement, hourly-paid employees (Sessional Instructional Assistants, Music Instructors, Writing Instructors) finally have an HCSA entitlement as well: $250 with 160 hours of work. But enrolment in the HCSA is NOT automatic: please remember to enrol yourself by downloading the enrolment form here. A Human Resources guideline to completing the HCSA enrolment form is available below (please scroll down).

Bring or send the completed enrolment form NOT to Greenshield, but to the UofT Benefits Office, at 215 Huron St, 8th floor (Toronto, M5S 1A2).

Eligibility for reimbursement begins on the date of employment, not the date of enrolment. Nevertheless, you are encouraged to enrol as soon as possible.

Once enrolled, you will be sent a Green Shield card to make claims. Eligible expenses are those that qualify as a medical expense tax credit under the Income Tax Act, including prescription eyeglasses, dental expenses, medical devices and supplies, prescription drugs, and services of paramedical practitioners. A list of eligible medical expense tax credits can be found on the
"Canada Revenue Agency website.":http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/E/pub/tp/it519r2-consolid/README.html

Claim forms can be downloaded here.

Reimbursement from your HCSA is not taxable under current Income Tax Act rules. However, once you receive reimbursement for an eligible expense under your HCSA, you cannot also claim this expense as a medical expense tax credit on your tax return.

If you are already enrolled in a University of Toronto benefit plan, you are entitled to continue in that plan. In this case, you are NOT also allowed to participate in the Health Care Spending Account plan. Please check with your Department to ensure that your enrolment in the benefit plan is being continued.

Guideline to Completing the HCSA Enrollment/Change Form

The Green Shield Enrollment/Change form is a standard benefit enrollment form, with some fields pre-filled with the relevant information. This simple guide will help you fill out the relevant parts of the form quickly and easily.

This form is available on-line as a "fillable pdf document.":/forms/hcsaenrform.pdf You can fill in the form on-line but you must still print it and sign it. We can only accept original signed enrollment forms. You can also print a copy of the blank form and enter all the required information in the appropriate fields. Please print all information neatly in ink.

A) For New Subscribers to the CUPE 3902 – Unit 3 HCSA:

Please complete all of the following sections. Incomplete enrollment forms could delay your enrollment in the HCSA.

1)  Employer Section:

The Employer name, client code and billing division information are pre-printed. In the Employee ID # box, please enter your University of Toronto Personnel #. If you don't know your Personnel #, please contact your Department Business Officer.

2) Transaction Type:

All new CUPE 3092 HCSA subscribers should check off the New Subscriber box. Enter your date of appointment to your Sessional Lecturer position in the current academic year (September 1 to August 31).

3) Comments Section – leave this area blank  

4)  Subscriber Information:

Surname – Enter your last name exactly as you have provided to your Department Business Officer
 
Legal First Name – Enter your legal first name. If you have a common first name that may be used in submitting claims, please include this name as well, separated by a comma after your legal first name (example - if your legal name is Robert, and you often use Bob, you should enter Robert, Bob).

Birthdate – Enter your complete birthdate in the form year, month, day (yyyy-mm-dd)

Gender – check off male or female

Employee ID # - you have already entered this in #1, but please re-enter the number here

Employment Date – enter start date of employment as a Sessional Lecturer (yyyy-mm-dd)

Coverage – if you have dependants who will be included, please check off family.

Employment Province – enter Ontario

Employment Status – check off Active

Language – please choose one

Mailing Address – please complete this section carefully and completely. Green Shield will mail your subscriber card to this address and any subsequent reimbursement cheques or correspondence from Green Shield will be sent to this same address.

5) Dependant Information:

If you are adding a spouse/partner for claims from your HCSA, check off the “Add” box, and enter the complete information on the first line. Complete information is needed to ensure claims can be processed properly when submitted. If your dependant is not registered, claims for eligible expenses will be rejected.

If you are adding dependent children, please use lines 2 through 5.

Co-ordination of benefits – you can leave this section blank.
 
6) Signature and Date section:

Green Shield requires this section to be dated and signed by the employee before there can be any coverage under this plan. This section authorizes the University and Green Shield Canada to share eligibility information only, such as the amount to be allocated in your HCSA. Green Shield Canada is governed by privacy legislation and cannot share or provide any information to the University or a third party regarding your medical condition, treatment or detailed claims information without your prior authorization.

Once you have completed the enrollment form, please send it (or drop it off) to:  

HCSA - Benefits Administration, Human Resources Department, University of Toronto, 215 Huron Street – 8th Floor, Toronto, Ontario, M5S 1A2

Do NOT send your enrollment form directly to Green Shield Canada or fax the signed form.

The Benefits Administration office must review each enrollment form and initial the form before sending to Green Shield Canada.

You are done! After you send your completed and signed form to the Benefits Administration Office, you should receive your subscriber card from Green Shield in the mail in about 6 weeks. Once you have received your card, you can start submitting claims to your HCSA.

B) Adding a dependant after initial enrollment
 
Once you have received your subscriber card, you can add a dependant at any time during the academic year by completing another enrollment form as above, except that you should check the “Add Dependant” box in the Transaction Type section.