s/o FSAs

[ny96]

We have never done an FSA for medical expenses before because I was always worried we’d have too much left over in the account, but I’m starting to come around to the idea because I realized that the vision insurance I have is pretty useless. I don’t know if there is a minimum each month I need to contribute, but elections come up next month and I want to be ready. How much would you put in each month, and would an FSA be worth it in our situation? Our medical expenses are pretty minimal:

Medical copay’s - About $100 a year
Prescriptions: - About $200 yearly
Vision Expenses - About $300 yearly

We probably spend about $75 a year on over the counter meds and band aids, and another $80 a year on sunscreen.

I can’t think of anything else we could expense.

[tacokick]

We do about $600 a year and figure glasses/contacts/eye care will take it all. We used to do more but then had to scramble to use it up. I’d rather be a little skimpy than over. That year we got a lot of sunscreen!

I think this is universal but you get the full amount right away, it’s just deducted throughout the year.

For you I’d do like $800 or so

[goldengirlz]

We elect a lot now, like $2400, but we go through all of it.

I’ve used mine for big-ticket costs like contacts, acupuncture, therapy and even Botox (not for cosmetic reasons but for teeth grinding.) Also dental stuff, which can get pricey.

ETA: I think you could start with $700 and see whether that works for your family. It’s a definite tax savings.

[puppylove64]

I would rather have too little than too much. I used it when I knew exactly how much orthodontics were going to be.

[Susie]

We've used medical flex spending to pay for a variety of different things over the years, including:
* doctors appointment copays
* hospital bills
* lab work and diagnostic imaging copays
* Rx medicine copays
* vision exam copays
* Rx eye glasses and sunglasses, and/or new Rx lenses in old frames
* contacts (astigmatism for me makes these pricey)
* contact lens supplies, including solution, wetting drops, etc.
* dental copays/expenses
* orthodontic expenses, new retainers, night guards for grinding
* pregnancy tests 
* any kind of birth control
* at home covid test kits
* bandages/bandaids
* sunblock with SPF 30+
* Rx compression stockings

We used to struggle to use it all in our 20s, but it seems like the older we get, the more we use for ourselves, not even considering the impact of having a larger family now.

ETA:  if you can get a debit card for use with your FSA, totally recommend doing that.  You still have to save documentation in the event of an audit, but it avoids the PIA of submitting claims for every little expense.

[Poppy]

Something I consider is the amount of work per claim. It's not worth my time to enter claims of $5-10. We usually add up our known big expenses (epi pens, certain co-pays that we have every year) and fund it to that level. I think you can also claim mileage traveled to Dr appts so if you have any providers a long way away, you can factor that in.

But like others, it's not worth it to me to scramble to use it up so I try to under rather than over fund it.

It's so frustrating to me that they make them so hard to use.

[chpmnk1015]

I tried an fsa once.. not for me....too much worrying if I was going to spend it all..the. buying stupid stuff just to spend it... love when I had an hsa I could contribute to.. still have money from one a few years ago...

[hbomdiggity]

A lot of fsa have rollovers now, so as long as you stay with the company, you keep a good amount if you under spend.

I’d start with $500-700. We both wear glasses and that is a big portion of our fsa spend. My kid is also stating orthodontia so we will max out ours (even with dental coverage).

[CallingAllAngels]

@@@as a family of 4, we elect the max and usually have no issue going through it. We usually end up spending about $1000 on the dentist each year. The rest gets eaten up with out of pocket expenses for doctors appointments and random prescriptions. None of us have serious medical issues, but my son broke a rib this year, and my daughter saw a couple specialists. Just between 10/24 and 10/31, we have 4 doctor appointments. We usually end up rolling some over, or I’ll spend Christmas break getting Rx sunglasses. I pay for stuff with my FSA card, and for the most part they can verify eligibility and I don’t have to submit documentation separately. If we do, I can pull our EOBs from the insurance portal, and it’s not too bad. I use the FSA card in-person most often at CVS, and the upgrade to having emailed receipts is helpful with record-keeping. I just put it in a folder in case I need it later. For sunscreen, period products, and OTC drugs if i order online, i do it the same - pay with FSA card and then save receipt email in my FSA folder. The tax savings is fine, but I like the peace of mind of having money put aside for these expenses that we can’t use on anything else.

[quesyrah]

We put $500 in and DH’s employer puts in $500 and we can each get $300 from the company for having a biometric screening done.

It’s always been plenty for us and the part the company contributes rolls over so some years we contribute less depending on what amount rolls over.

[sadlebred]

I meet my OOP max year. I usually put it in. This year I plan to put in an extra $200 for misc. expenses that I can buy OTC.

[niq]

This year I elected and did $500, which will go to contacts and/or glasses if I can't come up with anything.

I am to lazy to use it for stuff like copays or small expenses. Maybe we should use it for high prices specialists like pediatric dermatologists.

If we ever go back to regular parent or kid coaching for behavior management, we'd probably start maxing and use it for that.

[k3am]

Our health insurance family OOP max was something like $1500. DD was my brain tumor baby, so we definitely used all $1500 a year, so that was easy.

Now we're a family of 4, brain tumor issues are sorted, and medical expenses are pretty low. I generally put in $500 a year. I'm not sure if it's every FSA, or specific to my company, but balances under a certain threshold (I think it's $500) roll over. Last year, I only put in $300, since I had some rolling over from the prior year. My benefits aren't on a calendar year (they reset in May for some reason) and DH's are calendar year, so since we know we've already blown through everything this year, I'm having DH put some into his.

I primarily use it for copays. We have a credit card linked to the FSA, so I just swipe and it's easy. Our provider has all the receipts online if we ever need them.

Also, if you don't use all your funds, you can also shop the FSA store (https://fsastore.com/) and use it for stuff like sunscreen, allergy meds, and other miscellaneous stuff that you're going to use anyways.

[simpsongal]

The federal FSA processes copays and OOP prescription costs automatically, so that's helpful. I'm dropping my FSA contribution next year, I keep putting too much in....

[Mushe]

Do you have access only to an FSA, or also an HSA? We contribute the max annually to an HSA through my husband’s work, but use it mostly as savings for future health expenses. Our annual costs are pretty low like yours, so we don’t bother with small claims (or use the HSA card). I did have to take my daughter to the ER this year for croup that popped up overnight, so we used the HSA funds as it all went to our family deductible and was something like $3k.

[carmenere]

Nov 16, 2022 13:52:42 GMT -5 Mushe said:

Do you have access only to an FSA, or also an HSA? We contribute the max annually to an HSA through my husband’s work, but use it mostly as savings for future health expenses. Our annual costs are pretty low like yours, so we don’t bother with small claims (or use the HSA card). I did have to take my daughter to the ER this year for croup that popped up overnight, so we used the HSA funds as it all went to our family deductible and was something like $3k.

We do HSA too - if you have a high deductible plan then HSA is nice since whatever you don't spend in a given year can roll over, go with you and even earn interest in that account. The full amount you elect is NOT available upfront like it is with a FSA, but you can get all your expenses reimbursed from the HSA at the end of the year.

[sadlebred]

Nov 16, 2022 13:52:42 GMT -5 Mushe said:

Do you have access only to an FSA, or also an HSA? We contribute the max annually to an HSA through my husband’s work, but use it mostly as savings for future health expenses. Our annual costs are pretty low like yours, so we don’t bother with small claims (or use the HSA card). I did have to take my daughter to the ER this year for croup that popped up overnight, so we used the HSA funds as it all went to our family deductible and was something like $3k.

Generally if you have a HSA you can't have a full FSA. There is something you can have- a Limited Purpose FSA - with a HSA if your company offers it. You can only use it to pay for vision and dental.