Reminders That Save You Time and Money

Before you head off to a provider's office or a care facility, consider these important money and time savers:

• Get familiar with your plan. Before you seek care, it's a good idea to understand your plan: what it covers, your annual deductible, and what your portion of care might cost. Log in to your plan's website for details about your coverage.
• Stay in-network. Before you make an appointment, verify that the doctor or facility participates in your medical plan's network to get the best care and value.
• Have your plan ID card and identification. Most providers and facilities require that you provide them with your plan ID card and a photo ID (i.e., your driver's license) to verify coverage and file your claim. Be sure to download your ID card before your visit.
• Pay using your Health Care Funding Account or FSA funds. Don't forget that you can use your HSA, PWA, or FSA debit card to pay for services up-front, so be sure to bring it!

Take the Preventive Approach… It’s 100% Covered!

Being proactive when it comes to your health can help you identify health problems early before they become serious and more costly to treat. All our Whole Foods Market medical plans cover in-network preventive services, including age-recommended screenings and vaccinations, at no cost to you.

Here are some tips to help you take advantage of the preventive benefits our plans offer:

• Establish a relationship with a primary care provider. Building a relationship with a physician is at the heart of preventive care and allows for continuity and consistency in your health care. Your primary doctor coordinates your care if you need to see a specialist or need hospitalization—and can help you stay on top of your recommended screenings.
• Ask questions. Confirm that your provider is in-network, and ask if any out-of-pocket costs will be associated with your visit. Most importantly, use your appointment time to ask your physician any questions you have about your health and medical problems you've been having. (Note: If you're having medical symptoms OR it hasn't been a year since your last annual exam, your visit may not be fully covered as a preventive care expense.)
• Schedule and follow through on preventive screenings. Talk to your primary care doctor about which preventive screenings and immunizations are right for you and your children based on your ages and family history. Age-recommended preventive screenings are covered fully and can be the key to early diagnosis of serious health issues. It could save your life!

Know Where to Go for Care

Sometimes, you or a family member may need care after hours, on a weekend or a holiday—or at a time when your primary care provider (PCP) is not available. It pays to know the best move for seeking care, both in terms of time spent and what you pay for services. This downloadable guide helps you get the care you need when and where you need it.

Benefits 101: Understand the Basics

Understanding health and wellness plans can be confusing. Here are a few basic plan terms to take the guesswork out of learning about your benefits. Click the thumbnails to learn more.

During Benefits Enrollment, you selected which accounts you want to use to save and pay for your healthcare expenses. If you are a new enrollee or if you changed your account type, you should receive a debit card from WEX in January.

You can manage your HSA, PWA, and FSAs online at wexinc.com. The WEX tools allow you to check your balances, request a reimbursement, designate a beneficiary, or update your profile and preferences.

Now’s let’s look at few tips and tricks for using your accounts:

• Health Savings Account (HSA)
• Personal Wellness Account (PWA)
• Flexible Spending Account (FSA)

• Whole Foods Market contribution: To help you pay for your healthcare expenses, Whole Foods Market will contribute $1,000 for an individual or $1,500 for a family each plan year. Half the funds will be deposited in January and the other half in July and you must be actively employed at the time of the deposit.
• Make changes to your contributions: In addition to the Whole Foods Market contribution, you can add up to $3,150 for Team Member Only coverage or $6,800 for Team Member + Dependents coverage. The HSA also allows you to change your per-paycheck contributions to your account anytime during the year to help you meet your savings and budgetary goals. To adjust your per-paycheck contribution amount, visit the Benefits Enrollment Portal via My Apps at innerview.wholefoods.com and select Change Your Current Benefits.
• Easy access to funds: Use your HSA debit card at doctor’s offices, care facilities, or pharmacies to pay for eligible medical, prescription, dental, and vision expenses, up to the balance you have in your account. Click here for a list of eligible expenses. Be sure to bring your card with you and ask your care provider for an HSA-compliant itemized receipt for your tax records.
• Save your receipts: Because an HSA is a tax-advantaged account, IRS regulations require you to save your itemized and dated receipts when you use your HSA. Be sure to save your receipt with your tax records so they will be readily available during an IRS audit.
• No use it or lose it rules: Any funds you have in your HSA at the end of the plan year roll over to the next one. You can carry your HSA funds year over year to pay for future healthcare expenses—and they are yours to keep, even if you retire or leave the company.

• Whole Foods Market contribution:

  Plan	National Choice or WHP	National Select
  Family	$1,500	$1,000
  Individual	$1,000	$500

  To help you pay for your healthcare expenses, Whole Foods Market will contribute funds to your account based on the medical plan you selected. One half of the funds will be deposited in January and the other half in July.
• Easy access to funds: Use your PWA debit card at doctor's offices or pharmacies to pay for eligible medical, prescription, dental, and vision expenses, up to the balance you have in your account. Click here for a list of eligible expenses. Be sure to save your itemized receipts for your tax records.
• Save your receipts. IRS regulations require you to save your itemized and dated receipts when you use your PWA. As part of best practice PWA audits, you may be required to provide a copy of the receipts to WEX or during an IRS audit.
• No use it or lose it rules: Any funds in your PWA at the end of the plan year roll over to the next one as long as you re-enroll in the PWA the following year. Unused funds will be forfeited if you leave the company.

Health Care Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs)

If you enrolled in a Health Care Flexible Spending Account, you've signed on for a way to help you pay for out-of-pocket healthcare expenses with great tax savings. By making pre-tax contributions to your account, you save money because your contributions are deposited to your FSA before any income taxes are deducted.

Here are some quick reminders about how to make the most of your Health Care FSA:

• There’s no wait on available funds. Your full elected goal amount for the year is available immediately, so you can use the FSA to pay for eligible expenses (up to the amount you elected for the year) even if you don't have the money in your account yet.
• Easy access to your account. You have two options for using your account to pay for health care expenses: use the FSA debit card provided by WEX or pay up-front with your own funds and request reimbursement.
• Save your receipts. Because an FSA is a tax-advantaged account, IRS regulations require you to save your itemized and dated receipts when you use your FSA. As part of best practice FSA audits, you may be required to provide a copy of the receipts to WEX or during an IRS audit.
• Use your funds by the end of each plan year. The IRS requires you to use all the funds in your FSA each year or lose them. They cannot be rolled over from one year to the next.

If you're expecting a new bundle of joy, don't forget that Whole Foods Market provides eligible full-time Team Members up to six weeks of paid parental leave. Whether through birth or adoption, new parents (birth and non-birth) can spend time bonding with their new child without worry.

Paid parental leave is coordinated with FMLA, WFM Short-Term Disability if elected, and any state-mandated income replacement, parental leave, and medical leave. For more information, visit the Paid Parental Leave page on Innerview or contact Sedgwick at 844-465-6240.

Food is Medicine

Our fundamental belief at Whole Foods Market is that nutrition is the key to health and wellness—physically, emotionally, and financially. Studies show that chronic medical conditions like type 2 diabetes and heart disease can be managed and, in some cases, reversed by adopting a healthier diet and lifestyle changes.

The organic, fresh foods we sell at Whole Foods Market every day are, in fact, just what the doctor ordered. And with your in-store Team Member discount, it’s easy to eat nutritiously and save money. Learn more about your in-store discounts in the Team Member Discounts section.