About These Estimators

The Medical Plan, Health Care Flexible Spending Account and Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account Estimators are designed to give you a general idea of what plan choices might be most valuable to you in the coming year.

Medical Cost Estimator

The Medical Cost Estimator is designed to give you a general idea of what your 2012 costs might be under each of the options based on:

The services you think you and other covered family members will use.
The estimated cost of care, using the in-network rate for care and reasonable and customary (R&C) rate for out-of-network care.

As you use the Medical Cost Estimator and consider the results it provides, keep in mind that it provides an estimate rather than a precise calculation of your costs for the coming year. There are several reasons for that:

Your actual cost will depend on the actual services you receive. Most people cannot predict exactly what medical services they will need in the coming year.
The estimator does not include all possible services you could receive. It includes the services most commonly considered by individuals in selecting a plan, but provides a limited list to help keep the process of using the estimator simple and quick.
Plan limits and allowances are NOT considered. This estimator does not track individual limits on benefits such as the 20-visit annual allowance for chiropractic care, so these limits or allowances are not reflected in the results.

Health Care and Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account Estimators

When you finish estimating your medical costs for the Choice^® POS II HRA option, you also can apply the results to the Health Care Flexible Spending Account Estimator to help you decide whether the Health Care Flexible Spending Account can save you money. The Choice^® POS II HSA option has a Limited Purpose Health Care Flexible Spending Account, which means you can use the account to pay for dental and vision expenses only until you've met your medical plan deductible. Then, it will become a standard Health Care Flexible Spending Account. The Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account Estimator helps you make the same decision about using a flexible spending account to pay your eligible day care expenses with pre-tax dollars.

Both flexible spending account estimators provide estimated federal tax savings; state and local income taxes are not taken into account.

As you consider the Flexible Spending Account Estimator results, keep in mind that you will forfeit or lose any money you do not use or incur expenses for by December 31, 2012. It's important to carefully estimate your likely expenses for 2012 before setting your contributions for the year. You must file claims by March 31, 2013 for eligible 2012 expenses.

Important Legal Information

The decision tool is a financial comparison tool that allows you to estimate relative costs across your medical coverage options. Estimates are based on the southeastern region's average medical cost data and most of the specific provisions of TECO Energy's medical coverage options. Because costs vary by provider and not all option details are included, actual costs will vary from the costs the decision tool provides. Actual costs may also vary based on the order in which they are incurred and by the specific family member using a service (if applicable).

In the event of any contradiction between the information contained in this tool and the Plan Documents, the Plan Documents shall govern in all cases. Use of this tool does not enroll you in a medical plan option or the flexible spending account. To protect your privacy, your entries are not systematically tracked. Please remember to print any scenarios you want to look at later. Your information is deleted when you close this window, click on "Reset" or go to another Web page.



About These Estimators The Medical Plan, Health Care Flexible Spending Account and Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account Estimators are designed to give you a general idea of what plan choices might be most valuable to you in the coming year. Medical Cost Estimator The Medical Cost Estimator is designed to give you a general idea of what your 2012 costs might be under each of the options based on: The services you think you and other covered family members will use. The estimated cost of care, using the in-network rate for care and reasonable and customary (R&C) rate for out-of-network care. As you use the Medical Cost Estimator and consider the results it provides, keep in mind that it provides an estimate rather than a precise calculation of your costs for the coming year. There are several reasons for that: Your actual cost will depend on the actual services you receive. Most people cannot predict exactly what medical services they will need in the coming year. The estimator does not include all possible services you could receive. It includes the services most commonly considered by individuals in selecting a plan, but provides a limited list to help keep the process of using the estimator simple and quick. Plan limits and allowances are NOT considered. This estimator does not track individual limits on benefits such as the 20-visit annual allowance for chiropractic care, so these limits or allowances are not reflected in the results. Health Care and Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account Estimators When you finish estimating your medical costs for the Choice^® POS II HRA option, you also can apply the results to the Health Care Flexible Spending Account Estimator to help you decide whether the Health Care Flexible Spending Account can save you money. The Choice^® POS II HSA option has a Limited Purpose Health Care Flexible Spending Account, which means you can use the account to pay for dental and vision expenses only until you've met your medical plan deductible. Then, it will become a standard Health Care Flexible Spending Account. The Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account Estimator helps you make the same decision about using a flexible spending account to pay your eligible day care expenses with pre-tax dollars. Both flexible spending account estimators provide estimated federal tax savings; state and local income taxes are not taken into account. As you consider the Flexible Spending Account Estimator results, keep in mind that you will forfeit or lose any money you do not use or incur expenses for by December 31, 2012. It's important to carefully estimate your likely expenses for 2012 before setting your contributions for the year. You must file claims by March 31, 2013 for eligible 2012 expenses. Important Legal Information The decision tool is a financial comparison tool that allows you to estimate relative costs across your medical coverage options. Estimates are based on the southeastern region's average medical cost data and most of the specific provisions of TECO Energy's medical coverage options. Because costs vary by provider and not all option details are included, actual costs will vary from the costs the decision tool provides. Actual costs may also vary based on the order in which they are incurred and by the specific family member using a service (if applicable). In the event of any contradiction between the information contained in this tool and the Plan Documents, the Plan Documents shall govern in all cases. Use of this tool does not enroll you in a medical plan option or the flexible spending account. To protect your privacy, your entries are not systematically tracked. Please remember to print any scenarios you want to look at later. Your information is deleted when you close this window, click on "Reset" or go to another Web page.