Health Reimbursement Arrangement FAQs

A HRA is an employer funded account used to reimburse a portion of your out-of-pocket health care, dental or vision expenses. HRAs are designed to help make your health care more affordable and to lessen your out-of-pocket expenses.

HRAs are funded by your employer only, so there is no cost to you. Your employer will determine the amount available for reimbursement under the plan and what expenses qualify for reimbursement.

No, HRA reimbursements are not considered to be income and are not taxable to you.

Your employer determines eligibility and participation requirements for the HRA and provides plan details during your open enrollment period.

There are a wide variety of HRA plan design options and details of your plan are determined by your employer. Plan information is provided by your employer during the open enrollment period.

Claims and supporting documentation can be submitted by the following methods:

• Online
• Mobile phone app
• Fax
• Mail
• Get claims filing instructions and forms. >

The design of your plan determines how payments and reimbursements will be issued. Your employer will provide you with information during open enrollment. Your plan will be set up in one of the following ways:

• Manual Claims Submission—this means that you incur the expense and pay the provider. You will then submit a claim to DBS and we will reimburse you either by check or direct deposit.
• Claims Data Feed—this means that your insurance carrier will send DBS a data file showing all of your eligible expenses. You will pay the provider of service, but you will not need to submit a claim because your insurance carrier has submitted the claim information for you. DBS will automatically issue you a reimbursement either by check or direct deposit.
• Pay the Provider Feature—this means that you incur an expense and your insurance carrier will send DBS a data file showing what the expense was as well as the provider of the service. DBS will pay the provider directly for the service and provide you with claim and payment details. This means that you do not have to pay the provider or submit a claim as DBS will handle it for you.

Please only submit copies of documentation and keep the originals for your records.
Most plans require that an Explanation of Benefits (EOBs) be submitted with your claim. EOB's can usually be obtained from your insurance carrier or your insurance carrier's website. They contain all of the information needed to process your claim. If your plan does not require an EOB, documentation must include the following:

• Date of service (this is different from the statement or transaction date)
• Patient Name
• Provider of Service
• Type of service or explanation of service
• Your out of pocket expense (after insurance has paid, if applicable)

The run-out period is the period of time that you have after the end of the plan year to submit claims for expenses incurred during the plan year.

HRAs are an employer owned arrangement, so money remaining in the account does not go with you if you leave employment. You do have a termination run-out period which is a period of time to submit claims for expenses incurred prior to your termination date.
Your HRA may be subject to COBRA, so if you elect COBRA you can continue to participate in the HRA during your COBRA continuation coverage period. Please check with your Human Resources department to see if your plan is subject to COBRA.

Yes, you are allowed to be in both plans, but you cannot be reimbursed from both plans for the same expense. The HRA can reimburse your out-of-pocket expenses that are not covered by another plan.

Once you are enrolled in the HRA, you have access to your account information through the DBS online account viewing system known as A.S.A.P.^®, which allows you to securely view your claim, balance and reimbursement information.