Re: Insurance annoyance

Abrowneyegirl · ‎03-15-2010

You put your finger on the problem!

You have to make an educated guess and put in less than that amount.

In my opinion it is not worth the headache of having a HSA if you do need several hundred dollars throughout the year.

YES you hate to loose the money!! Aughh!

Charlie Bear · ‎03-15-2011

I had the same problem with my HSA after Connect Your Care took it over. The bill submitted was from a hospital and they still requested additional paperwork. It took 4 months to resolve the issue. Of course they blamed the IRS guidelines and agreed that it was a valid expense but the paperwork had to be precisely worded. What a hassle but they will withdraw payment and lock your account so I would recommend you submit the requested paperwork to spare yourself alot of frustration. Good Luck

VaBelle35 · ‎03-10-2010

You all are talking about an FSA, not an HSA.

With an FSA, you lose the money at the end of the year if you don't spend it. You have to put your claims in my 3/31. With an FSA you estimate how much you will need in the calendar year.

With an HSA, you never lose the money, it's an investment account.

They are similar, but they are 2 different things with different rules.

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Laura14 · ‎06-09-2014

wrote:
@Mominohio
There are few different variations now a days but I have a traditional one
The concept is to set aside money pre-tax to be used to cover out of pocket medical costs and expenses. The money has to be used for expenses occuring that year. If you do not use it you lose it.
The IRS establishes a list of 'allowable' medical' expenses.

The companies that manage the accounts charge the employer a fee for managing the account as well as share a portion of the unclaimed money for the year. They are VERY happy when there is money left over at the end of the year.

Any time I put money in an HSA I be sure to put in LESS than I need and use it all by March. I know I have about $10,000 in dental bills in 2018 but I put in less than $3000

There is a max you can put in the account for a year.

Okay this is why I was confused. @VaBelle35 is correct. This is an FSA not an HSA. Completely different type of account.

@Abrowneyegirl If your employer offers an HSA which is the same concept but is truly your own bank account and is not tied to your employer, I would strongly suggest doing that next open enrollment. I think an HSA needs to be tied to a high deductible medical insurance plan but, once you have it, it's yours forever.

I had an FSA way back in the day before HSAs came out but I still never experienced this type of inconvenience. If you can, ask your payroll to stop contributing to the FSA and just use it up and end it like you want. That's probably your best bet. What you're describing is not okay.

The last FSA I had I literally went to Walgreens on the last day and bought every type of little thing I could including a first aid kit just to not lose my money. No one ever asked to see my receipts or jump hoops like you are describing.

Group 5 minus 1 · ‎03-11-2010

Before retirement the company DH worked for had a program like that. He was very unhappy w/ the way it was administered and stopped it and we set up our account throught a local bank.

I keep on dancin'

Lipstickdiva · ‎03-10-2010

We also have an FSA account through my DH's employer. We never had a problem until last year when practically everything needed to be verified because they changed the plan administrator. After a ton of complaints by employees, they are back to the original plan administrator.

I'm guessing we can thank cheaters for this. I'm 100% certain there are unscrupulous people who use the card for things that aren't covered and we are all paying the price. Regardless of the fact that this is your money, there are still rules as to how it can be used.

While it's a little bit of a hassle, it's not that big of a deal for me to upload my receipts and send it in to the administrator of the plan.

Lipstickdiva · ‎03-10-2010

wrote:
Excuse my ignorance, but do people fund these with their own money, and do they do it as a tax break/shelter?

If so, it may seem that it isn't worth the 'benefit' of doing so, if you have to fight for payments, spend a lot of time and effort to fill out requests etc.

What is really the benefit to these accounts? (not a snark, truly not familiar with what the benefits might be).

We have an FSA, not an HSA through my DH's employer. The savings is very beneficial.

If I was only going to put a couple thousand in the FSA, I wouldn't bother.

77yangya · ‎06-21-2011

Hi, @Abrowneyegirl. That's terrible what they're doing to you. I had our insurance company tell me the hospital that I just had an appendectomy at is NOT in network and their site said it IS! I feel your pain. I had to have a double apicoectomy which was around 2,600 and change but no in the five figures, like yours. Are you having implants? My face, after the surgery looked like I was in a bad car accident. The pain med did nothing to help too. The ins. only paid 1,000. I had to have a bunch of caps, husband too and now we owe over five grand out of pocket. YOU put the money in, they should not be able to dictate to you what they're gonna do with it! I don't understand the ins and outs of it but I would get someone to help me with it. All you have to do is sign a release form for hippa and get someone in the know about this thing you have to be an advocate on the phone for you, I would...seriously. You're talking alot of money here. I'm really sorry for you, you must be suffering if you need that kind of work done. Poor kid. God bless.