Flex account and braces?

[dreamin_disney]

Update #2 6/16/2011 DD got her herbts on today so far so good. I gave her some childrens advil before we left. Her appt was at 10am and she hasnt needed anymore. Within an hour of getting home she had some soup. She's able to open her mouth more then i thought compare to the reviews I seen on youtube she's doing great. ANyways after her soup she was being silly and yelled in slow motion "noooooooooo" and boom the arms came outta the herbts thingy. She got one back in on her own and I tried doing the 2nd but couldnt. I had her look in the mirror and do it and she got it done-lol! Thank goodness and she didnt freakout!!! Next visit they will put the bottom braces in. I guess the dentinst doing it in step and been good instead all at once. Parents dont freakout like I did if you kids need the herbts.
Does anyone get coupons for their payment plan?My dentist does the coupon book and thats my recipet. Only thing is I'm calling in to pay by phone so i can use my rewards creditcard and dont get a printout. Will the contract be enough for the FSA? Do i need to make a copy of the coupon to send to fsa
each month? I cant wait for my new FSA to kick in next month even though I wont be able to claim anything until August cuz thats when first payment is taken outta my check. Good thing is all july stuff will be paid by the end of August whoo hoo

Update#1- 6/16/2011
DD goes to her Appt today to check her bite. SHe has the top braces and the the parts that the herbts will be connected too. Not sure if they will put the herbst in today depending on her bite. I didnt have any of my FSA to cover the down payment of $263 so I had to pay outta pocket. I also had to pay outta pocket for the x-rays then submit to insurance. I was given a hassle because even though my dh dental insur doesnt cover ortho he's the primary and we still had to send it to them 1st. I had sent it to mine first and it was denied. I had to send it to dh's so they could deny it then send it back to my dental insurance. Plus 1-2 codes were wrong so they werent gonna cover it but we cleared it up luckily the ortho lady helped us and she was shocked at the run around but I got refunded the entire $225. DD got her free ipod through a promtion ortho was having so that was worth it.

Well my new fsa goes into affect next month. Our cap is $2400 a year. I will use up $1200 on braces for that fsa year. My question is will fsa cover the dental floss with the hook for braces, water pick or those lil braces brushes??? Will my ortho Dr. be able to write me a RX for childrens advil for reinbursment?Just thought of that. DD said childrens advil was a big help with the soreness. If she gets the herbts she's really gonna need it


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DD had her ortho appt today. We were told she does need braces for an overbite. Dentist also said her canines was slightly one tooth over then were it should be or something like that. Her case isnt as severe. She doesnt need any teeth removed-thank god! Her top teeth go over more than half of her bottom teeth. We ask if we dont get braces what would happen(we plan on doing the right thing for dd) they said then her bottom and top would grind causing wear and tear or chip teeth. I'm having that problem with my front teeth.
We were told we need to pay for the full skull xray $250 insurance might reinburse some of it

Price for braces plus retainer $ 4419
discount for my dentist plan $3963 new price for braces
insurance pays $-1500
my new total outta pocket is $2463


do0wn payment $163
monthly payment $100x23 months


how does it work with a flex plan? My work did something different this year so our plan is for Jan2011-jun2011. (6months)
Then the new one will start July 2011-june2012 (12months)

The lady at ortho said treatment will be 12-18 months. She said since I'll be making payments on braces I can put submit reinbursement for the 6 months jan2011-june2011. Then next i can do $1200 for the next session in july2011-june2012. She said it can be done because the treat will be for over a year. Is this true??????????

I have no idea how this works. I was thinking I would have to do $2500 for flex account july2011-june2012 and thats all i would be able to claim because its the braces were put on in that year.

Please let me know how its done, if i can do it like the lady said then even better and less stress

 

[disneymayz]

My DD8 "had" a big overbite. They used headgear to fix this and now they just switched her to braces to correct the outcome of using the headgear. Total cost me about $1500. We gave them a credit card and they charge about $75/month. During this whole process everything else was/is covered. All the visits, if a brace comes off, tightening, etc.
As for flex account- mine pays when the bill comes in not when the service is completed. My parents works the same way so I would imagine yours would also.

Side note - not sure if your DD is active but we found out that we could get a free mouthgaurd to protect her braces (your investment) during sports. This was something that was not told to us we had to ask.

 

[ExPirateShopGirl]

When your daughter begins her orthodontic treatment, the orthodontist will set you up on a contract. You can submit FSA claims for the monthly payments (and downpayment) as they are billed. Your dental insurance will likely pay some or most of the pretreatment x-ray or pano. Then they will pay a portion of the $1500 lifetime benefit as treatment progresses.

I just paid all of last year's ortho payments the other day with my Flex Visa card. I need to use up 2010 money before March 15!

 

[dreamin_disney]

When your daughter begins her orthodontic treatment, the orthodontist will set you up on a contract. You can submit FSA claims for the monthly payments (and downpayment) as they are billed. Your dental insurance will likely pay some or most of the pretreatment x-ray or pano. Then they will pay a portion of the $1500 lifetime benefit as treatment progresses.

I just paid all of last year's ortho payments the other day with my Flex Visa card. I need to use up 2010 money before March 15!

my head is spinning-lol! so for the next two years dd gets treatment i can use my flex account as long as i have money in there to request reinbursment,because the treatment is ongoing right? I guess i was thinking it was like an operation can only be reinbursed during that flex year you had the surgery. I just dont want to lose out.

 

[dreamin_disney]

My DD8 "had" a big overbite. They used headgear to fix this and now they just switched her to braces to correct the outcome of using the headgear. Total cost me about $1500. We gave them a credit card and they charge about $75/month. During this whole process everything else was/is covered. All the visits, if a brace comes off, tightening, etc.
As for flex account- mine pays when the bill comes in not when the service is completed. My parents works the same way so I would imagine yours would also.
Side note - not sure if your DD is active but we found out that we could get a free mouthgaurd to protect her braces (your investment) during sports. This was something that was not told to us we had to ask.

dd will use the rubberbands .
I'll have to ask about the mouthguard, i hope it will be free.


I'm hoping to use creditcard so i can earn rewards on top of it. I pay my card off each month

 

[klynn]

so for the next two years dd gets treatment i can use my flex account as long as i have money in there to request reinbursment,because the treatment is ongoing right?

This is exactly how my flex account works.

 

[living20057]

My son will be needing braces too They are so expensive. I currently use a flex plan. How does work? The money is taken out pre tax out of my paycheck?

 

[edk35]

Okay can someone explain the Flex Acct. we don't use this but maybe we should. Our ds is starting this month with braces. Total 5300 minus the 1500 ins. pays. THANKS

 

[lisaross]

You have to authorize a certain amount of money to go into ur flex account during open enrollment...Our open enrollment is in November for the following calendar year. i usually do 300.00 per year - my son is also going to need braces, but i did not up that amount but i'm thinking he won't be getting the braces on till probably this summer, so i will be sure to take out more in my flex acct (pre-tax) for 2012.

My sons braces will be 4500.00 -(-2000) insurance pays so i'll pay 2500.00

Okay can someone explain the Flex Acct. we don't use this but maybe we should. Our ds is starting this month with braces. Total 5300 minus the 1500 ins. pays. THANKS

 

[Tink415]

Check with your plan administrator to be sure it will work this way, what we did with my DD 1st stage of orthodontic treatment (2 appliances) $3900, insurance will pay 50% over the course of treatment (12-18 months), the other 50% we paid 100% when treatment started to get the largest discount, claimed the entire amount to our flex account and was reimbursed with one check. Monthly claims to the flex account were not needed since we made one payment.

This year 2nd stage of orthodontic treatment is going to start, estimate was $4800, I'm putting $5000 in the flex account and I'll make one payment again.

Flex account maximums are supposed to be lower in 2012.

 

[prettyprincessbelle]

I signed the contract for my monthly payment for my ortho before I got my flex account. So I couldn't do what Tink415 did.

What I did was just paid each month out of pocket to my ortho office (they took it out of my bank account each month) and then submitted a claim to my flex account to reimburse me. It worked fine and my flex account reimbursed me within a couple of days from me putting my claim in.

 

[FLA NUT]

My flex spending account has a debit/credit card attached to it. I set up automatic payments to come out of my flex spending account monthly. Have been doing this for almost 2 years without a problem. During open enrollment I just figure how much I need in my account for the following year and sign up. It really is convenient, and I don't miss the money as bad this way.

As for the insurance reimbursement-----my dental insurance pays $1500. Unfortunately, I do not get this all at one time. They will only pay out a percentage of the total on a quartely basis. I end up getting $186 every 3 months. This really bites!!!

 

[dreamin_disney]

i called american fidelity to ask a few more questions but they are closed due to weather.

 

[dreamin_disney]

When your daughter begins her orthodontic treatment, the orthodontist will set you up on a contract. You can submit FSA claims for the monthly payments (and downpayment) as they are billed. Your dental insurance will likely pay some or most of the pretreatment x-ray or pano. Then they will pay a portion of the $1500 lifetime benefit as treatment progresses.

I just paid all of last year's ortho payments the other day with my Flex Visa card. I need to use up 2010 money before March 15!

I didnt realize the insurance will only pay a portion of my $1500 throughout the treatment. I thought They would pay it all at once. Good to know.

Check with your plan administrator to be sure it will work this way, what we did with my DD 1st stage of orthodontic treatment (2 appliances) $3900, insurance will pay 50% over the course of treatment (12-18 months), the other 50% we paid 100% when treatment started to get the largest discount, claimed the entire amount to our flex account and was reimbursed with one check. Monthly claims to the flex account were not needed since we made one payment.

This year 2nd stage of orthodontic treatment is going to start, estimate was $4800, I'm putting $5000 in the flex account and I'll make one payment again.

Flex account maximums are supposed to be lower in 2012.

Usually if there are severaal stages or phases they tell you this all upfront with all the cost right?? We just got one contract with the cost so i'm assuming that will be it. I hope theres no extra surprises.

dd wil have upper and lower braces and bands later. Is that considered 1 phase or more? Are the rubberband usually included or extra? I knew i'd have more questions once i left-lol!

To those that get a mouthguard for braces for sports is it usually included or extra cost and how much should i expect to pay?

The appt was just a consault and $$ info so i'm sure we will get more info when we sign up

 

[runwad]

I second calling and asking. When my DD got braces it was 3500, I was paying it all up front to get a discount. I thought I could put 3k in my flex plan (the highest I could contribute) and get reimbursed that year. After talking to our plan administrators I found out since DD's treatment was 2 years then they would only pay for that year's service so 3000/2=1500 for year one. Then starting year 2 i could put another 1500 in my flex plan and they'd pay that based on my contract with my ortho. So glad i called to get the explanation because I would've put the whole 3k in the plan for year 1 and only got reimbursed for the 1500 and been screwed out of the other 1500 as we don't thankfully, incur any medical expenses throughout the year. So make sure you get it straight from the horses mouth how your plan works.

 

[clh2]

I second calling and asking. When my DD got braces it was 3500, I was paying it all up front to get a discount. I thought I could put 3k in my flex plan (the highest I could contribute) and get reimbursed that year. After talking to our plan administrators I found out since DD's treatment was 2 years then they would only pay for that year's service so 3000/2=1500 for year one. Then starting year 2 i could put another 1500 in my flex plan and they'd pay that based on my contract with my ortho. So glad i called to get the explanation because I would've put the whole 3k in the plan for year 1 and only got reimbursed for the 1500 and been screwed out of the other 1500 as we don't thankfully, incur any medical expenses throughout the year. So make sure you get it straight from the horses mouth how your plan works.

Talking to your plan adminstrator is VERY good advice. My employer's plan pays out similarly to runwad's. If I would have paid the whole amount in year one (to take advantage of the ortho's prepayment plan) I would still have only gotten reimbursed per the plan for year 1, and then nothing in year 2, since I would have not incurred an expense in year 2.

 

[mjkacmom]

I second calling and asking. When my DD got braces it was 3500, I was paying it all up front to get a discount. I thought I could put 3k in my flex plan (the highest I could contribute) and get reimbursed that year. After talking to our plan administrators I found out since DD's treatment was 2 years then they would only pay for that year's service so 3000/2=1500 for year one. Then starting year 2 i could put another 1500 in my flex plan and they'd pay that based on my contract with my ortho. So glad i called to get the explanation because I would've put the whole 3k in the plan for year 1 and only got reimbursed for the 1500 and been screwed out of the other 1500 as we don't thankfully, incur any medical expenses throughout the year. So make sure you get it straight from the horses mouth how your plan works.

And I wish I had this information when DH put $5000 thinking the same! Plus, we had assumed ds12 (almost 13) would've started as well, but he still needs to lose 4 baby teeth still. After a $500 order at drugstore.com, we thought we'd be close, but then found out our insurance company will let us use anything we paid for (except OTC meds) in Jan, Feb, and March towards 2010. And then DH got a toothache, and got a root canal, and a crown. Sadly, I could no longer justify my whole drugstore.com purchase, and sent back the "wants," and kept the "needs." So long, portable nebulizer.

 

[ceemys]

My daughter is getting braces also. Good Luck for your daughter. The thing to know is, even though you have a contract for 18 to 24 month, your dental insurance will not pay it all up front. The dentists office receives a monthly payment from the dental insurance and you pay the out of pocket each month also. If your ortho asks for any extra payments, tell them no, they are not allowed per the insurance contracts.

 

[aprilgail2]

My out of pocket for my daughters braces was 3600--- I made arrangements with the ortho to make 2 payments of 1800.00 --made one the Jan she got them on and one the following Jan so this way I could break it up over 2 years with the flex spending.

 

[dreamin_disney]

I had my dh call flex company. They told him whenever the contract starts from the start of the brace until the final end i can submit and get reinbursed as long as i have the money in my flex account

Feb 22nd dd will get x-rays and mold made

I only have $800 for Jan 2011-june2011 so I'll submit the
-xray fee $225 depending if insurance pays or reinburse a portion
-down payment $163
-march she gets braces put on
-april payment $100
-May payment $100
-June payment $100

anything else i should know or ask?????