Fed Health Spending Account (HSA) worth the trouble?
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Anonymous
| I'm trying to decide whether I should use a HSA next year. I have good health insurance and no major health problems so I would only contribute $1000 or so and use it to for copays (doctor visits and prescription medication) and dentist checkups. Is it a big hassle to document small dollar items (such as copays)? It it worth it to you? |
Anonymous
| Mine is tied to my insurance. I have no idea how it works on the back end. But I always get my copays direct deposited to my bank account. So no, it's not a problem to document since I don't have to. |
Anonymous
| You mean a FSA, right? I do same as PP-- our insurance is tied in together so we put aside an amount and then whatever is submitted to insurance but isn't covered gets direct deposited to my checking account. |
Anonymous
|
p.s since it's pretax you can figure you are saving whatever your marginal tax rate is-- so if your top state and fed combined income tax rate is 25 or 30%, then even setting aside $1000 can save you hundreds.
I think it's a stupid system but as long as it's around I'll try to use it. |
Anonymous
|
I use ours for the family. 2 adults and a preschooler. Mostly it goes towards dental bills, contact lenses, and copays. At the end if the year, if there is left over $, we stock up on sunscreen, bug spray, band aids, etc. sucks that you can't use it for OTC meds.
Oh, last year, I used it to get reimbursed for all my ovulation kits and pregnancy tests. Not relevant to the op, perhaps, but good for us! |
Anonymous
| Do you or anyone in your family wear glasses? Right there you could get your $1000 back. And you have til March of the next year to accumulate expenses, and May to turn in the receipts. |
Anonymous
| Since when are glasses $1000?!?!?! |
Anonymous
My most recent pair was $500 after insurance. Without insurance it would have been $1200. Granted, they were pricy frames, but those were still less than half the cost--it was the exam, lenses, coatings, etc that made up the bulk of it. |
Anonymous
| Yes, I find it absolutely worth it. |
Anonymous
recently got a pair that were $700. They were bifocals and I have to get a special lens to make it thinner (because of my severe astigmatism). |
Anonymous
| We just spent over 800 on Saturday for my husband's new glasses. |
Anonymous
|
If you know exactly how much your copays will add up to, it's probably worth it but if you would need to buy a bunch of eligible items to make up for any amount you overestimated, then it is a huge PITA, in my experience, to get reimbursed for the various pharmacy items that are supposed to be eligible. A few years ago, they made about 1/3 of those items as eligible conditioned on a note from the Dr, but sometimes a Rx is not enough - you also need a diagnosis, if any of the forms are difficult to read when scanned, which is largely out of your control, then it's an automatic reject. I just really hate the health-based FSA administration. Huge PITA. DH has dental surgery this year so that's the only reason I'm putting up with it.
Childcare FSA on the other hand - piece of cake. Never had a problem. |
Anonymous
| So an HSA is different than an FSA in that you get to keep all your money from the HSA whereas your FSA money will expire at the end of the year. I've had both and think both are worth it, but there really is no downside to the HSA. Mine is also tied to my insurance so bills are automatically deducted plus you get a debit card for prescriptions etc. way convenient. |
Anonymous
I'm the $1000 for glasses poster. Because it's not just your glasses, it's everyone in your family, so with 3 people with glasses, we spend $1000 per year easy. Kid loses/breaks them, prescriptions change, prescription sunglasses, contacts, etc. BTW, the best place to get glasses is Costco-- great prices, OK enough selection. |
Anonymous
| I find it worth it, too. Our program gives you a debit card which makes it really easy to use, nothing to submit. Although occasionally they'll ask you to substantiate a claim if it's not clearly from a doctor's office or pharmacy. |