Health Care and Limited Use FSA
A Flexible Spending Account (FSA) offers tax savings by letting you use pre-tax dollars to pay for eligible medical or dependent care expenses. Contributions are deducted from your paycheck before federal, state, and FICA taxes are applied, which lowers your taxable income and reduces the amount of taxes you owe.
Health Care FSA plan benefits
Reimburses health care expenses, incurred by you and your tax dependents, not eligible to be paid by insurance. Maximum annual election of $3,300 in 2025. Maximum annual election of $3,400 in 2026. Funds are used for eligible health, dental, and vision expenses for those enrolled not enrolled in a high deductible health plan, such as PPO and HMO, and Postdoctoral Health* plans. You do not need to be enrolled in Northwestern’s medical plans to participate in a Health Care FSA plan.
Limited Use FSA plan benefits
Reimburses eligible dental and vision expenses. It may also be used for healthcare and prescription expenses after the annual deductible has been met. Maximum annual election of $3,300 in 2025. Maximum annual election of $3,400 in 2026. Funds used for dental and vision expenses for those covered under a high deductible health plan, such as the HSA Plus or HSA Essential plans. You do not need to be enrolled in Northwestern’s medical plans to participate in a Limited Use FSA plan. A Limited Use FSA may be used for medical expenses after your HDHP's annual deducible is met. The deductible will be considered met on the date the claim for services is processed through insurance; not the date of service. Contact Inspira Financial at (800) 284-4885 (employer ID: 100398) with questions.
Enrollment
Newly eligible employees may enroll online through myHR within 31 days of hire. An individual may change his FSA contributions within 31 days of a qualifying change in family status. During Open Enrollment, an individual must enroll through myHR to continue participation in the FSA the following year.
Create a Inspira Financial account
Activate your FSA with Inspira Financial using your employee ID on your Wildcard, your home zip code, and your Inspira Financial debit card (which is mailed to your home address).
File a claim
For plan year 2025, you can be reimbursed for expenses with service dates from January 1, 2025 through March 15, 2026. For plan year 2026, you can be reimbursed for expenses with service dates from January 1, 2026 through March 15, 2027. The date you pay for an item or service is irrelevant. You may file a claim directly to Inspira Financial using Express Claims.
The IRS sets the rules for eligible expenses and required documentation; so they are outside of Northwestern’s governance. For help with acceptable documentation, please contact Inspira Financial at (800) 284-4885 (employer ID: 100398) with questions.
| Documentation Requirements | |
|---|---|
| Best |
Explanation of Benefits
|
| Accepted |
Receipt that includes ALL the following:
|
| Unaccepted |
Canceled checks
|
All eligible funds for plan year 2025, for claims incurred on or before 3/15/2026, must be claimed by March 31, 2026 otherwise they will be forfeited. If an individual retires or ceases participation in the plan, dates of service must be prior to the active participation end date. Under Internal Revenue Service (IRS) regulations, any monies not claimed from the FSA as of March 31, 2026 are forfeited.
All eligible funds for plan year 2026, for claims incurred on or before 3/15/2027, must be claimed by March 31, 2027 otherwise they will be forfeited. If an individual retires or ceases participation in the plan, dates of service must be prior to the active participation end date. Under Internal Revenue Service (IRS) regulations, any monies not claimed from the FSA as of March 31, 2027 are forfeited.
COBRA
You may only submit claims for expenses incurred through the last day of the month of your last day worked. If you elect to continue the FSA under COBRA, contributions are made on an after-tax basis and must be the same monthly amount made during active employment.