Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA) Program

Eligible State employees may set aside tax-free monies each year to MCAP and/or DCAP for the plan year from July 1^st through June 30^th.  When enrolling in an FSA, employees designate the amount they wish to have deducted on a pre-tax basis throughout the plan year. 

Visit the "Account Savings Calculators" at Flexible Spending Account (FSA) Savings Calculator (optum.com) to determine your potential savings.

Employee Eligibility

• In order to be eligible to participate in an FSA, employees must:
  • Work full-time or part-time not less than 50%
  • Be eligible to participate in one of the State’s health plans
• In addition, a DCAP participant and their spouse must:
  • Be unavailable to care for the qualifying individual (child or adult) due to being:
    • Gainfully employed
    • A full-time student
    • Disabled and incapable of self-care
    • Seeking employment and have income for the year
    • Temporary, intermittent, and contractual employees, as well as retirees, are not eligible to participate in the FSA Program.

Eligibility Service Dates and Claims Reimbursement

• MCAP accounts – the entire amount of your annual enrollment election is eligible for reimbursement on your first day of eligibility.
• DCAP accounts – reimbursement is limited to the amount of funds in your account on the day the reimbursement request is received.

Enrollment

• Employees have the following opportunities to enroll in an FSA:
  • Benefit Choice Period:
    • Employees MUST enroll each year during the Benefit Choice period (held during the month of May). Annual re-enrollment in the Flexible Spending Account (FSA) Program is NOT automatic. The effective date of Benefit Choice enrollment is July 1^st.
  • Initial Hire: New employees have 30 days from the date of employment to enroll.
  • Qualifying Change in Status: Employees who experience a qualifying change in status have 60 days from the date of the qualifying change in status event to enroll. Eligibility for qualifying events can be found in the Employee Handbook. You must report a qualifying change in status and provide the required documentation to MyBenefits.illinois.gov within 60 days of the event.

Newly hired employees who enroll in MCAP and/or DCAP have an effective date of the actual date of hire. The effective date of coverage for a qualifying change in status event is the date of the qualifying event. Payroll deductions begin the first full payroll period following the effective date.

Termination

• Participation in the program will terminate on the last day of employment, or the end of the pay period in which a deduction was taken.  If on a leave of absence and you would like to continue MCAP coverage, please see the below section with info on the MCAP Continuation form. Participants will not be permitted to file claims during the period of ineligibility. 

Claims

• Employees may begin submitting eligible expense and/or service claims for reimbursement beginning on the effective date through the end of the plan year or termination date, whichever is sooner. After June 30^th, the participant has a three-month run-out period, ending September 30^th, to submit claims for reimbursement for services rendered during the previous July 1^st through June 30^th.

Flexible Spending Account (FSA- MCAP/DCAP) Forms and Publications

• DCAP Claim Form
• MCAP Claim Form
• MCAP Continuation Election Form
• Optum Financial FSA Reference Guide

Two types of FSAs are:

• The Medical Care Assistance Program (MCAP) is used for medical expenses for you and your family.
• The Dependent Care Assistance Program (DCAP) is used for dependent care expenses, such as child or adult daycare or after-school care.