An HRA involves you in your health care spending

If you're looking for a way to manage the costs of your health care in a way that you control, using the Health Reimbursement Account (HRA) your employer has established with your medical plan is a great place to start. Since your employer sets up and funds the HRA entirely, most of the work is done for you.

Your HRA is important, because your health plan may have a high deductible -- meaning the amount of money you must spend out of your own pocket before your benefits for covered services begin to be paid. An HRA helps offset that deductible, giving you access to additional funds in a way that also saves money on taxes.

How HRAs work…and help you manage health care costs

Using an HRA is simple.

1. Your employer establishes a health fund that you can use to help pay for any pre-approved health care expenses during the plan year such as deductibles, coinsurance and/or copays, as long as there are funds available in your account.
2. After you spend all the funds in your HRA, you pay for any additional health care costs up to the amount of your annual deductible
3. After you meet your deductible, your medical plan covers eligible services. Depending on your plan, this means you pay coinsurance for covered services and your plan covers the rest.

4. You get to think and act more like a consumer when it comes to health care – comparing cost, quality and value
5. Remember to take advantage of our pre-negotiated discounts, and be sure to choose providers who participate in your plan’s specific Blue Network (P, S, or K).

Accessing your HRA funds

If you have automatic reimbursement, which is determined by your employer, and use a network provider, your provider will submit a claim to BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee. We will process the claim in accordance with your health plan design and pay the provider (on your behalf) any HRA amount that applies. You will receive an Explanation of Benefits form showing how payment was applied.

Or, if your HRA plan provides you a debit card and you use a network provider, your provider will submit a claim to BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee. Then you have additional choices. You can either pay with your HRA debit card and receive an Explanation of Benefits form showing how payment was applied, or you can wait until the claim is processed and you receive an Explanation of Benefits form to pay the provider with your HRA debit card.

If you have questions about how an HRA from BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee works, our Consumer Coaches are ready to help.  Just call 1-800-527-9206 or e-mail ConsumerCoach@BCBST.com  for assistance.