HRA BENNY CARD

Using Your Benny Card

Your Benny Card accesses your HRA Account Balance. According to IRS 213(d) and Welfare Trust Fund Plan rules, the Benny Card can only be used to pay for HRA-eligible expenses. Per the same rules, the Welfare Trust Fund needs to be able to substantiate each claim with supporting documentation that demonstrates that these rules are followed.

 

When you swipe your Benny Card, the Plan receives the following information:

  • The date that the Benny Card is swiped
  • The merchant (provider) name
  • The amount paid

What we don't see is:

  • Who the service was for
  • What the service was
  • The date of service (we only see the date the card was swiped)
  • Proof that this claim has already been submitted to and processed by all insurances (this means both primary and secondary, if applicable)

By submitting an Explanation of Benefits (EOB) or a detailed bill from the provider that includes the information above, the Welfare Trust Fund can substantiate your Benny Card payment.

 

How to File Claims - 4 Options

Option 1

 Access the HRA Participant Portal at https://necaibew.lh1ondemand.com and select 'File a Claim'. You can immediately upload supporting documentation if you have access to a scanner or saved document files on your computer.

Option 2

Access the HRA Participant Portal on the mobile app; go to the iPhone Store or GooglePlay and search for NECA-IBEW Benefits. Download the app, select 'File a Claim', enter the information, and take a photo of the documentation to immediately upload it.

Option 3

Use your Benny card to pay a bill; either at the place of service, online, or over the phone.

For an HRA-eligible expense

After the charge has been processed by all applicable insurance carriers

This claim will automatically be created (no need to 'File a Claim'!) within 1-3 days. Soon after you should receive the first reminder letter.

Go to https://necaibew.lh1ondemand.com/, access the claim, and scan/upload the documentation. 

Or, go to the mobile app, access the claim, and take a photo of the documentation.

Option 4

Mail or fax in a claim form and the supporting documentation to the NECA-IBEW Fund Office.

 

Letters / Reminders

The new HRA system is set up to remind you to provide supporting documentation. However, before we even send you a letter requesting documentation, we will first try to match the dollar amount of your Benny Card transaction to the dollar amount of the patient liability of one of your claims in our claims system. If we can do that, you will not get a letter because we essentially have found the EOB for you and we don't need you to send it in as well. We will try to match your claims for 30 days after your debit card transaction. If we cannot match it, then a first documentation request will be sent to you 30 days after your debit card transaction.

At this time, you can simply upload the supporting documentation directly to the claim. We will see that you have uploaded receipts, and your claim will be reviewed to ensure that it is an eligible HRA expense. If we need more information, the claim will be denied and a denial letter or a request for more information will be mailed to you.

After 30 days from the first documentation request letter, if supporting documentation has not been received, an overdue notice will be sent. After another 30 days, if supporting documentation has not been received, an ineligible letter will be sent and your card will be temporarily suspended until we receive the documentation and substantiate it.

 

Please Note

We ask for your patience as we implement this new service. We have a backlog of HRA claims to process, and we have allocated additional resources to allow us to process your claims as quickly as possible. Also, since this new service was implemented in December, we have made adjustments to the system to improve the service. For example, we have adjusted the timing of the letters/reminders to give you more time to send in supporting documentation. Also, when you use your Benny Card to pay for a prescription that is validated by CVS Caremark at the pharmacy, it is not necessary to send in supporting documentation; these claims are automatically substantiated. If your purchase is not covered by the prescription plan, then you required to send in supporting documentation.

 

Repayment

If it is determined that your Benny Card has been used for an ineligible HRA expense, you will be notified to make a repayment to your HRA account. Your Benny Card will remain suspended until this repayment is received. You can prevent this by ensuring that you use your Benny Card to pay for only expenses that have already been processed by all applicable insurance providers, and that the expense is eligible for HRA reimbursement.

Please see page 59 in the Summary Plan Description 2013 for a list HRA Eligible Expenses.