I’ve done this once in the past and ended up not using it at all…
The account is funded by pre-tax $$ and through out the year as you buy medical things that qualify, you submit the purchase to the adminstrator of the accounts and they refund your $$. I’m wondering if any of you who have a job use your FSA from work?
We do…I have it through work…this year I put $5.00 a week into it…my company also put in a $100.00 because we filled out a medical questionaire. everytime we go to the Dr and pay the co-pay we get it back until the total amount is used.
We have been told if you don’t use it you lose it…so it’s a trial for us this year.
Yes I use a FSA. I contribute $4000.00 yearly
that’s absolutely true that if you don’t use it you lose it. I lost almost $500 the one time I did it.
My husband has it through his employer. We take out 2300 a year for medical. Our prescriptions automatically go to the flex account and we are reembursed in just days. We keep the money in a separate account to draw on for any medical. We always use all of it. Also use it for dental.
I use one. My wife uses one. It’s a great system but since it’s use it or lose it you need to be cautious at first and have a good estimate of what your out of pocket medical expenses will be.
The accounts are also available to cover childcare expenses.
Terry
I think if darling hubby gets a job in the near future… we’ll be getting one again. I just wondered if it’s something people overlook… use or never use.
FSA first then the HRA then Insurance covers 100%
Sounds sweet doesn’t it?
Well Kinda
I pay (save 1200.00) into the FSA taken from my paycheck plus the 15.00 a week they suck out for having the insurance… Once thats used up my employer pays the 1200.00 HRA and once that is used up.
Insurance pays 100%
I have no Co-Pay
Insuline and cholesterol meds suck up the FSA right away
Started it January and am well into the HRA.
By july I will be into the insurance payin 100% till end of year.
It’s nice my employer “fronts” the FSA cash and just deducts from paycheck every week
Otherwise by March I would be pulling 1200.00 out from somewhere I don’t have!
Just started the plan this year… Seems ok to me.
Would be better to get all my scripts at walmart for 4 dollars DOH!
But sure dont make Generic Humalog or Lantus…
Although Metformine is only 4 dollars a perscription at Walmart
Tell the Dr. you want a 90 Supply and double the dose and just cut them in half!
6 mos supply for 4 dollars!
But I degress :o)
yes I use the account for copays and deductables. great way to save money becauss it’s pre tax. In order for me to deduct med expenses, the yearly expenses would have to be very high and now I can deduct ALL of them. my account has $3k this year.
cheers!
Absolutely! You have to take every advantage they offer you now. I put $3500 pre-tax dollars away this year for my wife and I for meds and pump supplies, co-pays for visits, and misc. I kept track of last year and that $ figure is pretty close. The tax savings is almost $1000. Not too shabby. Besides, i never miss it from my check, and when i get it back as a credit, it’s like free money. Of course you have to pay it out to get it back, but it seems free!
I loved it when I had one. Now I’m underinsured and paying as much for my 'slin as I would if I had no insurance. Sigh
Hi Craig.
I just read about the 90 day double strength doses…and cutting the pills in half today. That is a great way to save provided that the cut pills don’t administer the meds too quickly.
So now I wonder how many of us are using the FSA because we are NOT fully insured. I’m not insured at all but I’m pretty savvy and thank Goodness I don’t have to be on insulin.
I use an FSA to cover out-of-pocket expenses (e.g. deductables, co-payments) not covered by my insurance. You can save quite a bit of money (depending on your tax bracket), just be prepared for a lot of FSA paperwork you’ll have to do to justify reinbursements - which is a big pain!
I know that Glucotrol XL is time released and that is what I used to take along with metformin before the insulin. The Metformin is not time released, they are very dry on the outside and have even choked on one because it would not go down or come up(geese my throat was killing on way to work that morning hehe )
But I do know what you mean about administering meds too quickly… Some Dr.'s might not even do that for you but I know some do this practice all the time.Some even suggest it before you ask.But I am sure if they know that you are going to cut the pills they would not let you if they knew they were time released. In these economic times it sure would not hurt to ask.Specially knowing how really inexpensive these drugs really are and how much the upcharge is because an insurance company is going to pay for it. Do you think Walmart could afford to have 4 dollar perscriptions if they were as much as the insurance companies charge? With this FSA and HRA I learned a new thing… Insurance companies barter with the price… The Dr. says it costs this much and the insurance company says ok but , well …we are only going to give you this much and the DR. says ok , Fair enough… Negotiation… Look at your FSA /HRA statement sometime!
GEEEESSSEE wish I could do that with my bills!!
One thing I noticed with Walmart is that they don’t always cover all the strengths of meds on their generic plan. ie: my hubby uses lisinopril for HBP… but his is not on the list for $4 script… the lower dosage is… but not his 40mg ones.
I hate Walmart anyway. Too often they have priced one thing in the paper… but the shelve price and scanned price differ from the advertised price. Also they are great ones for putting up “Roll Back” signs on stuff they have just marked up!! I’ve seen this a few times… personally I don’t trust them.
We do it through hubby’s work. I just wish his company would use the debit card system where you can a Visa type card to pay for FSA stuff and don’t have to mess around with reimbursement forms.
We don’t put a whole lot in though. I think this year is uner $1000. We don’t have co-pays. In the years when I think I’m going to get new eyeglasses we put in a few hundred more. I suppose when DS gets braces we’ll be upping it even more.
I have used one in the past and it was awesome!
Copays, meds and some over the counter stuff qualify. Glasses etc.
Ours was easy we were issued a debit card and signed up for the amount we wanted withheld for the year. We could use the money before we actually had it in the account. Occasionally the administrators would ask us to verify with the receipts what we purchased. This always happened when change was involved since most co-pays are even dollar amounts.
Wish I had one now. Saved income since it was pre-tax!
Considering I take $4000.00 a year out of my paycheck for the FSA, you can tell my insurance is not great.
My company has the debit card but then sends in snail mail that they want verification, so then I have to fax to them every receipt.
I do some sort of D related paperwork(bill) almost every day.
It is a pain in the a$$
You can also use one of these accounts to pay for health insurance premiums. Most employers will pay all health insurance premium costs from the section 125 plan. That makes those premiums pre tax. if your employer does not do this you should ask them to start. It is an employer option, but as the the employee cost of health insurance raises, this benefit makes more and more sense.
Remember you can also claim dental, vision, and certain non prescription drugs using your 125 plan. For instance, alcohol swaps, used for shot prep with or without a script.
One more thing, be sure you use the funds, it is a lose or use benefit. One good strategy for using the dollars is to get your eyes examined at the end of the year. If you wear glasses, or anyone in your immediate family does, a vision exam is always welcome. You can also buy items that you do not need a script for in large quantities at the end of the year. For instance many people buy a years supply of contacts if they have money in their account at the end of the year.
rick