|  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 family's specific needs and budget.
With an MDSA Program, incorporated self-employed individuals and small business owners / employees may now protect themselves and their families with a
cost-controlled benefits program where you determine the amount you wish to contribute each year, and avoid the traditional compound rate increases being experienced today under "group benefit programs". You'll enjoy greater flexibility to choose the health benefits you want, and get much broader basic health & dental claim reimbursement. Best of all, you can pre-determine, control and fix your annual benefit contribution costs.
Gain control of your benefit coverage and costs:
The Medical & Dental Spending Account (MDSA) provides you with complete control and responsibility for managing your basic personal health and dental expenses, and those of your dependents. Each Plan Year, you determine your
anticipated basic health and dental expenses for the next plan year, and that becomes your company contribution amount. It can be paid annually in advance or monthly along with the required administration fees. You determine the amount of contributions to the MDSA for yourself and any employees, if applicable. The company's selected contribution amount remains fixed for as long as you desire. There is no annual increase as is the case under a group insurance program.
Flexibility lets employees claim expenses not usually covered:
 You 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 (your company) for the benefit of you, the employee.
 Claims are submitted as incurred to the Program Administrator, and are paid up to the amount available in your MDSA account. Any excess amount of claim is held until further monthly contributions are sufficient to pay the balance of the claim. Claim cheques are made out to you personally, not your company, and are tax-free benefits.
 The total benefits, which may be claimed from the Medical & Dental Spending Account in any policy year, are limited to the total amount contributed to that account by your company in that year, plus any balance remaining from unused credits for the immediately prior year. Unused contributions at the end of the second year are forfeited back to the company and could
then be deposited in your RRSP, for example, as your company will have deducted the expense two years earlier and would probably not want to take these amounts into income. Please see the table on the next page for an illustration of how a Menuflex MDSA account works.
Other features & advantages:
- Benefits received by you or your employees from the
Medical & Dental Spending Account are tax-free. Contributions made by your company are a tax-deductible business expense and do not confer a taxable benefit.
- No health evidence is required to participate in the MDSA
- An unusual feature is that in addition to expenses for spouse and dependent
children, expenses for blood relatives resident in the employee's home and dependent on the employee for financial support, may also be claimed under the MDSA.
- Expenses incurred for items such as semi-private hospital accommodation, private duty nursing, and Out-of-Canada emergency medical/hospital expenses would be claimed under the EHC Program. The individual's eligible claims that count towards the deductible under the EHC Program can be claimed from the MDSA.
Needs-related coverage:
Menuflex™ MDSA allows you to tailor your contribution amount (subject to CCRA maximums) to suit your needs and budget, and allows you to claim a much
broader range of medical and dental expenses. Available coverage includes: - Medical & Dental Spending Account (MDSA): (sometimes referred as a Health Spending Account) to which your 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:
You have the option of purchasing additional insurance to round out your overall protection. Choose from Life Insurance, Accidental Death & Dismemberment, Critical Illness Benefits, and Disability Insurance. more info
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