Spending accounts
Get reimbursed for health and wellness expenses not covered by your group plan with our spending accounts.
Check with your plan administrator to see if your plan includes spending accounts.
Health spending account
A health spending account (HSA) gives you credits that you can use to pay for a number of expenses.
An HSA can cover:
- Certain dental and medical expenses not covered by your plan
- Deductibles or co-insurance amounts
- Health and dental expenses not covered by your plan because you've reached the limit
- A portion of your premium contribution
Wellness account
A wellness account (WA) gives you credits that you can use to pay for wellness activities and services. The goal is to help you take care of your overall health and well-being.
With a wellness account, you can:
- Get reimbursed for a wider range of benefits
- Enjoy greater flexibility in terms of eligible expenses
- Take a more active role in managing your health-related expenses
FAQ
To be considered eligible, the care and services received must:
- Be eligible for the Medical Expense Tax Credit under Canada's Income Tax Act
- Not be fully covered by a private or government plan
- Have been prescribed by a healthcare professional (certain exceptions apply)
You can find out more about eligible medical expenses on the Canada Revenue Agency website External link. To learn more about the Medical Expense Tax Credit, see the Income Tax Folio S1-F1-C1 External link.
Your plan may include restrictions. For more details, see your insurance booklet.
There are 15 categories of eligible expenses:
- Fitness and sports activities
- Fitness and sports equipment
- Health-related expenses and programs
- Personal and professional development
- Home office and technology
- Work-life balance
- Professional services
- Insurance premiums (excluding those eligible for a tax credit under the Income Tax Act)
- Transportation expenses
- Leisure and lifestyle
- Eco-friendly solutions
- Indigenous health services
- Alternative medicines
- Parenting, fertility, adoption and surrogacy
- Safety initiatives
Only expenses and services that are not eligible under the Income Tax Act can be paid for with a wellness account. Your employer chooses which expenses are eligible. Expenses are fully reimbursed without a deductible, up to the maximum allocated to the wellness account.
Your plan may include restrictions. For more details, see your insurance booklet.
Unused credits can be managed in different ways, depending on the option selected by your employer for your plan:
- Credit carry-forward: Credits not used during the year are carried forward to the following year. Credits carried forward that have not been used by the end of the second year are lost.
- Expense carry-forward: Expenses that aren't reimbursed in full during the year in which they are incurred can be carried forward and paid with the credits available the following year. Credits not used can't be carried forward and are lost.
- No carry-forward: Credits not used at the end of the year are lost.
For more details, see your insurance booklet.
You can check your balance 3 different ways:
- Secure site: Under My account, select Health spending account or Wellness account.
- Omni app: Select Health spending account or Wellness account in the menu on the left.
- Explanation of benefits: This is posted on the secure site or sent to you by mail each time a claim is processed. It shows your balance.
Your health spending account and wellness account balances are adjusted each time a claim is paid.
Group insurance products are manufactured by Desjardins Financial Security Life Assurance Company.