• President (remainder of a two-year term ending AGM 2013)
• Vice President Executive (two-year term ending AGM 2014)
• Treasurer (two-year term ending AGM 2014)
• Vice President Communications and Research (two-year term ending AGM 2014)

• What is the deadline for submitting Health Spending Account claim forms (for 2011 expenses) to Alberta Blue Cross?
• What is the deadline for submitting Executive Committee nomination forms to the FA Office?
• What is the deadline for submitting nominations to the FA Office for the ACIFA Award for Innovation in Teaching?

Submit your answers to Celine Miller in the FA Office at millerc@macewan.ca. The draw for the Oilers tickets will be made on Friday, February 10. Good luck!

Faculty who have Health Spending Account claims for 2011 or who would like to claim their health and dental premiums must get their forms filled out and sent to Alberta Blue Cross by Saturday, March 31st in order to get reimbursed.

Alberta Blue Cross administers your HSA. Receipts submitted in March will be reimbursed in April. You can obtain a form for HSA claims in person at Human Resources at the downtown campus (University Service Centre, 10-600) or directly from the Alberta Blue Cross website.

Download the form called Health Spending Account Claims (ABC 30676) and fill it out. Scroll down this page to find out more information about who qualifies for HSA reimbursement. Term faculty will also find information that applies to them.

Expenses Covered Under HSA
The Canada Revenue Agency sets out the expenses that are eligible for coverage under the HSA.  Any medical expense that you can claim on your income tax return is eligible for coverage by your HSA.

You can find the current list of eligible expenses at the Canada Revenue Agency website.

Alberta Blue Cross administers our health and dental plan. Any claims you made under this plan that are not covered by the plan (e.g. basic dental costs above the 80% covered by our plan) are automatically transferred to your HSA for future reimbursement.

Some of the typical medical expenses people claim through their HSA include:

• vision care (including laser eye surgery)
• paramedical practitioners (including acupuncturists, chiropractors and physiotherapists)
• expenses not covered fully by the extended health and dental plans
• employee’s share of health & dental plan premiums

This last item is important as many members may not have many medical expenses that the HSA would cover.  If you don’t have any expenses to claim, you can at least get reimbursed for the $450 in premiums you paid last year for your health and dental plan.

The process of filling out forms can seem daunting, especially if you wish to get your health and dental plan premiums reimbursed. Getting these premiums reimbursed is worth the effort, however, so that you can put money in your pocket.

The following information breaks down what steps you need to take to do this. There are different deadline dates and forms to fill out. It can seem confusing because of all the details to sift through. Please read closely.

Claim Forms for Health & Dental Plan Premiums

You must obtain a separate claim form from Alberta Blue Cross if you wish to claim your health and dental plan premiums. You can find more information about it under a link on the Alberta Blue Cross website called Health/Dental Plan Rate Reimbursement Form.

This means you have TWO forms to fill out and to submit to Alberta Blue Cross:

1. Health Spending Account Claims form AND
2. Health/Dental Plan Rate Reimbursement Form

The image below shows you the Alberta Blue Cross webpage where you will find both forms.

Completing the Health/Dental Plan Rate Reimbursement Form

With this separate form for health and dental premiums, all you have to fill in is your employee information.

Once you’ve done that, you must send this form to MacEwan Human Resources; staff there will fill out the rest of the form.

You must submit this form to MacEwan Human Resources BY MARCH 10TH so that Human Resources staff can complete the form and RETURN IT TO YOU.

After you get this form back, you must submit both it and the Health Spending Account Claims form to Alberta Blue Cross by March 31st.

Who at HR should I contact to get my Health & Dental Premiums Form signed?

There are TWO WAYS to send your Health/Dental Plan Rate Reimbursement Form to MacEwan’s Human Resources:

1. send by internal mail to Payroll, Human Resources, University Service Centre
   10-600, 10930-104 Avenue NW, Edmonton, AB T5J 4S2
2. deliver in person at City Centre Campus at the above address

Be sure to advise payroll how to return the document to you: either Payroll should hold the document for you to pick up at the building address above or Payroll should send the document to you through interoffice email (provide your name, campus and office number information in this case).

Who Has Access to HSA
All continuing, probationary and sessional faculty have access to a personal Health Spending Account (HSA) to cover expenses not otherwise covered under the Health Care and Dental plan at MacEwan.

The rules surrounding the HSA are governed by the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) and include a number of requirements to ensure that your HSA remains non-taxable, thereby allowing you to access all of the HSA funds in your account.

HSA Limits and Carry Forward Rules
Each month, the university deposits $37.50 into your HSA.  This provides $450 per year for eligible medical expenses.  You can also carry forward funds in your HSA for one year.

Under CRA rules, any unused funds will forfeit after that one year carry-forward; for example, any unused funds in your HSA for 2011 will carry over into your 2012 HSA.  However, if you have still not used any of those 2011 funds by the end of 2012, you will forfeit that amount.  Of course, you retain access to all of your 2012 funds until the end of 2013.

Faculty on the Family Plan
If you are on the family plan for health and dental, your 20% share of the premium costs is $49.24 per month, or $590.88 per year.  Through the HSA, you can be reimbursed for $450 of this cost each year.

Term Faculty and Health Benefits Stipend
Term faculty members are not eligible for the HSA; however, those who qualify for the health and dental plan (those who teach 270 instructional hours or the equivalent hours in other faculty positions) will receive the Health Benefits Stipend each year.

This stipend, in the amount of $300 per member, will be paid in January of each year.  Because this is not a CRA-approved HSA, this stipend will be subject to income tax.  However, this also means there are no restrictions on what you may spend your stipend on.  You should have  received this stipend on your second paycheck in January.

Need Help? Contact Information

If you have any other questions, please contact:

• Joe Childs (780-633-3594, childsj2@macewan.ca) OR
• Alberta Blue Cross directly at 780-498-8000 or 1-800-661-6995.

MacEwan Faculty Association and MacEwan Staff Association are pleased to once again co-host the MacEwan Children’s Christmas Party taking place:

Saturday, December 3, 2011
10:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. (Entertainment starts at 11:30 a.m. sharp)
Multi-Purpose Room (Cafeteria), City Centre Campus

Each $5.00 ticket includes lunch, activities, a magic show, and a visit with Santa. Donations will be collected for the MacEwan Students’ Association Food Bank. To see the flyer with full details, please click here: Family Christmas Party 2011 – Flyer

Other agenda items sure to generate discussion at the assembly include the governance structure of the FA and negotiations. See the complete agenda package here: General Assembly Agenda Package – November 24, 2011

So, remember to RSVP to Celine (millerc@macewan.ca), and don’t forget that all members in attendance at the General Assembly, which is taking place November 24 at 5:00 p.m. in Room 6-212 at City Centre Campus, are eligible to enter a draw for a FREE pair of tickets to the November 28 Oilers game against the Predators.

As you all may know, the second AUCC visit will take place on November 29th. This is our second chance and it is very important for the University that we represent ourselves properly. If we do not get AUCC membership after this visit, we will be shut off for another five years and it will have negative consequences for the University. One of the issues for the last AUCC visit was that they had seen the same people several times. To avoid that, you need to come out and speak up positively this time at the AUCC meetings. AUCC will meet the faculty from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. on November 29th in Room 9-115 (Paul Byrne Hall) at City Centre Campus. Below are two documents and two links that will help you get prepared.

* AUCC Visiting Committee Backgrounds
* David Atkinson Presentation re: AUCC
* General information on AUCC can be found on the AUCC website (http://www.aucc.ca/)
* Specific information on membership information can be found at (AUCC Membership Eligibility)

The application materials for AUCC are available for consultation by contacting the AGC Secretariat.

Thanks for reading this message, and I hope you will show up for the AUCC site visit.

Dr. Rafat Alam
Assistant Professor, Economics Program
Vice Chair, AGC

Mark your calendar now for the FA’s fall General Assembly taking place:

Thursday, November 24, 2011
4:30 p.m. – Dinner available
5:00 p.m. – Meeting starts
Room 6-212, City Centre Campus

Those in attendance will be eligible to enter a draw for a pair of tickets, courtesy of David Atkinson’s Office, for the November 28th Oilers game against the Predators.

RSVP for the meeting to Celine at millerc@macewan.ca or 780-497-5068.

The Faculty Association has a pair of Oilers tickets for the game against the Canucks on Saturday, Oct. 15th to give to a lucky member.

All you have to do is answer the following skill-testing question: What THREE outstanding non-monetary proposals in current negotiations are mentioned in the September 20th Negotiations update posted on the FA’s site under Forum?

Deadline to Enter
To submit your answer, please reply by email to Celine Miller (millerc@macewan.ca) by noon Wednesday, Oct. 5th. You must answer correctly in order to enter your name in the random draw for the Oilers tickets.

The winner will be announced on Thursday, Oct. 6th in the FA bulletin sent out to all members via email.

Hey, How do I get to see the Forum?

This is a friendly reminder that you must be REGISTERED on the FA site in order to have access to the Forum, which is a private area for members only.

If you need to register, go to the Register link in the upper right-hand corner of the screen under Log In/Register. You will be prompted by a window to provide information to begin the process of registration.

Celine checks registration requests daily; please register as soon as possible so you can enter this contest.

Best wishes to all!

Friday, September 9, 2011
6:00 p.m. – Doors open, 7:00 p.m. – Dinner
Pub trivia contest to follow dinner (prizes for 1st, 2nd, & 3rd place)
Woodvale Facility (4540 – 50 Street, Edmonton)
Special Guest: Heather MacEwan-Foran

Remember that all faculty members who RSVP will be entered into a draw for a Kindle e-Reader, courtesy of TD Insurance Meloche Monnex. Other door prizes will be up for grabs as well.

For further details on the BBQ, please click on this link: FA BBQ Flyer