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Ulcerative Colitis
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Posted 1/21/2013 7:54 PM (GMT 0)
Hi-
I was reading about changes in FSAs for 2013 and wondered if many of you (in the US) use these accounts to pay for meds, etc not covered by insurance on a pre-tax basis?

Seems like a good way to save some $.
I would like to have an account but am on Medicare and not eligible.
Posted 1/21/2013 8:50 PM (GMT 0)
You have to be careful about those accounts because if you don't spend everything in the account you lose whatever's left. Probably not a problem with most UC'rs though.
Posted 1/21/2013 9:20 PM (GMT 0)
Ditto on the you loose $$$ if you don't use it all by the end of the year bit. They have those at my work. The primary advantage of such accounts is it is tax-free. So any dollars in your account that you use toward medical copays for drs visits and medications(?) are pretax.

I've never used one myself, but it would be pretty easy to tally up your anticipated copays for a year and put that much $$$ in. I just wouldn't put any more in that you anticipate needing.
Posted 1/21/2013 9:34 PM (GMT 0)
I use an HSA, which is similar to the FSA but allows you to roll it over to the next year if you don't use it all up.   It works  out great for me.  I have pre-tax dollars withdrawn from my pay and the money is deposited in my HSA Bank of America account.  It works out almost like a payment plan for your prescriptions.   Lialda is crazy expensive as everyone knows, but with the $500 that my company deposits in my HSA in January and my payroll deductions, I rarely have to spend money out of pocket. 
Posted 1/21/2013 11:15 PM (GMT 0)
I use one- though the use it or lose it thing is very obnoxious. Once in the last week of December I hurriedly bought $400-500 of VSL3 so as not to lose the balance- silly that it can't be lose it or be taxed on the balance; whoever wrote the rule was either an idiot or a shyster.
Posted 1/22/2013 12:35 AM (GMT 0)
Probiotic-
I believe the law was written by our very own politicians.

Apparently there may be a change in the "use it or lose it" rule because the amount that can be put in accounts has been reduced.
Actually, the rule was probably written to prevent people from "sheltering" excess amounts of $ to avoid paying taxes.

Eil- your HSA sounds like a very good deal. It's like a 401(k) for meds. The "roll-over" feature is especially helpful.
Posted 1/22/2013 12:35 AM (GMT 0)
It really made me mad that they changed it from 5000 to 2500 this year. My medical expenses are outrageous every year and even though we make very little money we still elect the maximum.
Posted 1/22/2013 2:39 AM (GMT 0)
I have an FSA and there is no way i wouldn't go through all of the money. It's amazing how much you can spend on medical expenses.
Posted 1/28/2013 8:11 PM (GMT 0)
I never ran into any issues with using all of my FSA money. The changes make it a little harder, but if you estimate what you're gonna spend your FSA on, it makes it easier. :)

FSAs are great to save on so many different things like bandaids, blood pressure monitors, wonderpants and breastpumps for your baby, shoe inserts, contact lens solution, and you can even get sunscreen. A friend of mine recommended this site, fsa store, that sells only fsa eligible products and they have free shipping for orders over $50.
Posted 1/29/2013 12:21 AM (GMT 0)
Never had one of these type of accounts but I always wondered - if you lose it, where do you lose it to? Someone has to benefit from your misfortune.
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