Visa Healthcare Cards

Take advantage of fast, easy access to funds, as well as attractive tax savings, by choosing a Visa Healthcare card.

Healthcare solutions

Health Savings Account (HSA)
An HSA is a tax-advantaged savings account designed to help individuals with high-deductible health plans (HDHPs) pay for current medical expenses and save for future ones. Contributions to HSA accounts may be arranged by employers or may be established independently by eligible individuals.

Flexible Spending Account (FSA)
An FSA is an employer-sponsored benefit that allows employees to set aside a portion of their salary on a pre-tax basis to pay for qualified medical expenses.

Health Reimbursement Arrangement (HRA)
An HRA is an employer-funded program, usually coupled with high-deductible health coverage, which is established to assist employees in paying for qualified medical expenses.

How healthcare cards work

Visa Health Savings Account (HSA) card
The Visa HSA card makes it easy for you to access HSA funds in order to pay for eligible IRS-qualified medical and dental expenses such as co-payments, deductibles, and medications. Upon enrolling in an HSA plan through your employer or another organization authorized to offer HSAs, you receive an embossed Visa HSA card.

If you have authorized regular salary deductions through your employer’s cafeteria plan, then a predetermined amount (subject to IRS maximums) is deducted from your wages, pre-tax, and deposited to your HSA. Additional contributions by employers, if offered, can also be deposited directly into your HSA, on a pre-tax basis.

When you need to access your HSA funds, you present your Visa HSA card to the merchant, doctor, pharmacy, or other qualified medical service provider, and the funds are deducted directly from your HSA.

Visa Flexible Spending Account (FSA) card
The Visa FSA card makes it easy for you to access pre-tax income to pay for eligible medical care expenses. You receive your Visa FSA card after enrolling in a health FSA plan through your employer at the start of the plan year. Each pay period, a predetermined amount (subject to employer maximums for healthcare) is deducted from your pre-tax wages and credited to your FSA.

You can use your card to pay for out-of-pocket, qualified healthcare expenses, such as co-payments, over-the-counter and prescription medications, and deductibles for medical and dental treatments. When you incur an eligible expense, you present the card to the merchant, doctor, pharmacy, or other qualified service provider, and the funds are deducted automatically from your FSA.

Effective January 1, 2008, the IRS is requiring select retailers—including supermarkets, grocery, discount stores, wholesale clubs, and mail-order merchants—to identify healthcare-related items at the time of purchase through a process called an Inventory Information Approval System (IIAS). To meet these new requirements, many retailers have already changed their point-of-sale systems. However, some may have not; this may include retailers where you have used your card in the past. You’ll find a list of IIAS participating retailers at the SIGIS website.

You will be able to continue to use your Visa FSA cards at IIAS-participating retailers that meet the IRS requirements. In addition, you will not need to submit receipts for your purchases at these participating retailers. However, you will no longer be able to use your Visa FSA cards at non-healthcare retailers (e.g., supermarkets, grocery stores, discount stores, wholesale clubs, and mail-order merchants) if they have not taken steps to comply with IRS requirements. Consult your health FSA administrator for more information.

Note: The new IRS requirements do not apply to healthcare retailers such as stand-alone pharmacies, doctors, dentists, or hospitals. You can continue to use your card at these healthcare retailers just as you do today.

Visa Health Reimbursement Arrangement (HRA) card
The Visa HRA card makes it simple for you to access employer-provided funds to pay for eligible healthcare expenses, such as co-payments, deductibles, and medications. After your employer establishes an HRA, you receive an embossed Visa HRA card. The level and frequency of employer funding contributions are determined by your employer.

When you need to pay for eligible expenses, present your Visa HRA card to the merchant, doctor, pharmacy, or other qualified medical service provider, and the funds are deducted directly from your HRA account.

Effective January 1, 2008, the IRS is requiring select retailers—including supermarkets, grocery, discount stores, wholesale clubs and mail-order merchants—to identify healthcare-related items at the time of purchase through a process called an Inventory Information Approval System (IIAS). To meet these new requirements, many retailers have already changed their point-of-sale systems. However, some may have not; this may include retailers where you have used your card in the past. You’ll find a list of IIAS participating retailers at the SIGIS website.

You will be able to continue to use your Visa HRA card at IIAS-participating retailers that meet the IRS requirements. In addition, you will not need to submit receipts for your purchases at these participating retailers. However, you will no longer be able to use your Visa HRA cards at non-healthcare retailers (e.g., supermarkets, grocery stores, discount stores, wholesale clubs, and mail-order merchants) if they have not taken steps to comply with IRS requirements. Consult your HRA administrator for more information.

Features and benefits of Visa Healthcare cards

• Convenience. Visa Healthcare cards make it easy to pay for qualified medical expenses, such as doctor visits, over the counter medications, and prescriptions. Using a Visa Healthcare card virtually eliminates the time-consuming process of paying with cash or checks and then filing for reimbursement.
• Greater satisfaction. Visa Healthcare cards offer ease of use and fast, convenient access to funds.
• Reduced paperwork. Use of Visa FSA/HRA cards can help reduce paperwork with fewer reimbursement claims, and make it easier to use all of your FSA/HRA funds within the plan year.
• No waiting for FSA reimbursements. Rather than wait days or weeks for expense reimbursement, participants with Visa FSA cards can access funds directly and immediately, thus improving personal cash flow by not being out-of-pocket twice.
• Peace of mind. As with many Visa products, the Visa Healthcare card is backed by Visa’s Zero Liability Policy, which safeguards cardholders from unauthorized purchases; cards can be replaced with the full amount of unauthorized transactions.¹

Get more information

For more information or to learn how you can get a Visa Healthcare card, contact your employer or benefits administrator for your FSA/HRA or your HSA custodian/trustee for information on your HSA. For additional information, you can also access our Frequently Asked Questions.