|  Each of us is an individual with unique personal needs and desires. Historically, employee benefit plans have been provided on a "one size fits all" basis, designed to meet the perceived needs of the assumed "typical employee and family".
The new Menuflex™ Medical & Dental Spending Account offers a better approach, providing a unique combination of flexible benefit and insurance coverage that can be tailored to meet you and your employee's specific needs and budget.
With an MDSA Program you'll have the edge you need to attract and retain good
employees. You'll be able to offer them greater flexibility to choose the health benefits they want, and provide them with much broader basic health & dental care. Best of all, you can pre-determine, control and fix your annual benefit contribution costs.
Future costs not impacted by claims experience:
No longer will you be subject to significant annual rate increases due to "inflationary trend factors" imposed by the insurers in the annual renewal. Under the MDSA Program, a fixed monthly employer contribution is provided to every employee regardless of marital or dependency status, and they can apply this amount to their desired benefit options. This approach fixes the employer cost while providing
internal equity to all staff. There's no deductible, no co-insurance (limited only by employer contribution amount), and future MDSA costs are not impacted by health & dental claims experience.
Prior to the end of each year, the employer determines the amount of contributions to the MDSA for each employee for the next plan year, and the employer's selected contribution amount remains fixed for as long as the employer desires;
there is no annual increase in contribution amounts, as there is under an insured group benefits program. Employer contributions, plus the administration fee to cover the cost of administering the Program, may be made on a monthly or annual basis.
Flexibility lets employees claim expenses not usually covered:
 The Medical & Dental Spending Account (MDSA) provides employees / participants with complete control and responsibility for managing their basic personal health and dental expenses, and those of their dependents. Employees / participants can choose to
claim regular medical and/or dental expenses, as well as expenses not normally covered by a traditional group health or dental plan (for example, prescription sun glasses, cosmetic dentistry or laser eye surgery). It is, in effect, a health and dental fund administered on behalf of the employer for the benefit of the employee / participant.
 An employer wishing to provide employees with greater flexibility
may agree to contribute more to the employee's MDSA account in lieu of a portion of the employee's salary in a given year. For example, if an employee anticipates an expense for laser eye surgery of $3,000, and the employer is already contributing $1,000 to the MDSA, the employee and the employer can agree to a salary reduction of $2,000 (plus admin. fee) for one year, which would be contributed to the MDSA by the employer, providing the net total of $3,000 required.
 The total benefits which may be claimed from the Medical & Dental Spending Account in any plan year are limited to the total amount contributed to the account by the employer in that year, plus any balance remaining from unused credits for the immediately prior year. The benefits which may be claimed are
limited to the amount accrued in the account. Please see the table on the next page for an illustration of how a Menuflex MDSA account works.
Tax and other advantages:
- Benefits received by employees from the Medical & Dental Spending Account are tax-free. Contributions made by an employer are a tax-deductible business expense
and do not confer a taxable benefit for the employee.
- Unused balance is carried forward one year, then returned to employer if still unused after two years. (Claim expenses not reimbursed in a plan year cannot be carried forward to the next year)
- No employer involvement in claims (in accordance with Privacy Act)
- An unusual feature is that in addition to expenses for spouse and dependent children, expenses for blood relatives dependent on the employee for financial support, may also be claimed under the MDSA.
Needs-related coverage:
Menuflex™ MDSA offers comprehensive, real-world protection and allows employees to claim a much broader range of health and dental expenses. Available coverage includes:
- Medical & Dental Spending Account (MDSA): (sometimes referred as a Health Spending Account) to which the company may contribute a pre-determined annual amount that can be spent on basic health and dental needs; more info
- Optional SELECT Extended Health Care (EHC) and/or Dental Programs: provides protection over and above the expenses claimed under the MDSA
. This Program is normally purchased in conjunction with the MDSA, but can be purchased separately if desired; includes Pay-Direct Card; more info
- Optional Insurance Benefits:
Employees have the option of purchasing additional insurance to round out their overall protection. The employer is not required to contribute. Choose from Life Insurance, Accidental Death & Dismemberment, Critical Illness Benefits, and Disability Insurance. more info
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