Flex account :/

[dreamin_disney]

My flex just started for the year. I wish that we could still buy over the counter stuff without an RX! Will it ever go back to the way it was???

My allergy doctor is ok about giving out rx note for over the counter zertec, allegra and benadryl gel itch cream.

My primary is ok with giving rx note for reflexology, massage therapy

Dh's primary isnt ok with it and the first year they started the rx note for over the counter he told dh no. Dh only goes for his physical so he didnt get rx for cough meds because he didnt have a cough.

DD's doctor I was going to ask for cough rx over the counter but she was like let the cough just run her course and was in a hurry and walked out. Luckily she gave dd antibotics for her ingrown swollen toe.

DD's dentist is ok with giving advil rx for dd's orthos adjustment she gets sore afterwards.


How do your doctors respond about having to write out rx for over the counter stuff?

 

[AquamarineSteph]

My insurance does not cover OTC items, even if there is a doctor's prescription written for it.

 

[dreamin_disney]

My insurance does not cover OTC items, even if there is a doctor's prescription written for it.

Flex account isnt medical insurance its a FSA a medical reinbursement account. I think its also called a cafeteria 125. Money taken out of my payroll for medical expenses .

My medical insurance is seperate from this

 

[My3Princez]

The first year, our Dr's weren't sure what to do, but by now, they have it all down pat. We get the notes of medical necessity without a problem. Even for my son's Goodnights underpants. In fact, I'm still submitting claims using the notes from last year. The FSA hasn't asked for updated ones so far.

 

[ssawka]

Not a problem for us, because we usually exceed the max FSA withholding anyway, but I just wanted to add this tip. Make sure you have a CVS ExtraCare card and register the card on their website. I get weekly coupons for 20% or 25% off that I use for allergy meds. Also, if you are on Allegra D, CVS has their own brand of it. AFAIK, CVS is the only store that has a generic version of the D. Now, the only PITA is that I have to go back to the store every 10-15 days because of the restriction on fexofenadine.

 

[clutter]

If you're a member of Costco, you can get a ton of zyrtec for $15-20. Like a year's worth. I believe they have generic for other allergy meds. They are worth checking out.

 

[jperrot1]

When I participated in our Flex account my employer sent out a letter specifically excluding OTC stuff. I don't think our administrator would approve OTC even with a Dr. prescription. Our secretary/program administrator is really worried about following protocol as the company can get in trouble for not following the guidelines. I believe this is because the company saves taxes on this program also, and the government sees a flex administrator as avoiding paying taxes if they pay out on items that are not allowed.

Anyway, I dropped participation in the flex account program. But, my employer does not contribute any amount towards it. We choose how much is to be withheld from our pay to go into the account. And I dropped it, mainly, because of the negative effect on social security as any amount you flex is considered money not earned.

It depends on how much you make, and how much you are flexing, and how many years you flex, on how negative an impact it will have on your social security, and it usually doesn't affect it much at all. We flexed certain years where we felt it helped us more during the flexing years and less damage on retirement years. It's kind of the same thing as should we put that $4,000 in our 401K, or should we spend it this year on a trip to WDW and have great memories.

 

[wiigirl]

If you're a member of Costco, you can get a ton of zyrtec for $15-20. Like a year's worth. I believe they have generic for other allergy meds. They are worth checking out.

 

[katrina1122]

My flex covers lots of otc stuff without prescriptions.

 

[kim929]

My flex just started for the year. I wish that we could still buy over the counter stuff without an RX! Will it ever go back to the way it was???

My allergy doctor is ok about giving out rx note for over the counter zertec, allegra and benadryl gel itch cream.

My primary is ok with giving rx note for reflexology, massage therapy

Dh's primary isnt ok with it and the first year they started the rx note for over the counter he told dh no. Dh only goes for his physical so he didnt get rx for cough meds because he didnt have a cough.

DD's doctor I was going to ask for cough rx over the counter but she was like let the cough just run her course and was in a hurry and walked out. Luckily she gave dd antibotics for her ingrown swollen toe.

DD's dentist is ok with giving advil rx for dd's orthos adjustment she gets sore afterwards.


How do your doctors respond about having to write out rx for over the counter stuff?

My Dr gives us prescriptions for over the counter. I was just wondering, where do you go for the reflexology and massages. My primary care Dr. has given me rx for massages due to the issues with my back but I've always gone to the physical therapist who just has me do exercises

 

[Jeff_G]

I dumped my Flex account this year because it was such a hassle to get reimbursed and for the small tax savings it just wasn't worth it. The Flex rules are governed by the IRS, you are not allowed to use the flex account for OTC medicines without a prescription. My gut tells me things will not go back to the way they were.

 

[DVCcurious]

The PPACA changed the law and now Flex Accounts can only be used for prescription medicines but not over-the-counter medicines. So if you have a prescription for Advil you can use your flex to pay for it, but if you just want to buy Advil without a prescription you can't use your flex dollars to pay for it.

As for the question "will you ever be able to use your flex account to pay for over the counter medicines in the future" the answer is: if the PPACA is repealed then "yes" but if the PPACA is not repealed then "no".

I tried to add a link but I don't have enough posts. Just google "ppaca and over the counter medications" and it's the 3rd item down.

Here is the appropriate quotes:

"IRS issues PPACA rules on OTC drugs

The Internal Revenue Service has issued guidance on the purchases of over-the-counter medicines and drugs with flexible spending arrangements and health savings accounts under the new health care law.

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, enacted in March, established a new uniform standard that, effective Jan. 1, 2011, applies to FSAs and health reimbursement arrangements.

Under the new standard, the cost of an over-the-counter medicine or drug cannot be reimbursed from the account unless a prescription is obtained.

For details on current rules, see Publication 969, Health Savings Accounts and Other Tax-Favored Health Plans. Updates on this and other health care reform provisions can be found on the Affordable Care Act page on IRS.gov, the agencys Web site."

 

[mistysue]

I just want to throw this out there- ours covers sunblock and aloe. My pediatrician wrote us a prescription for that so I could use it for all of our sunblock for this year! I burn easily, and this made it easier to justify getting a nicer sunblock, we stocked up on the stuff that is for your face so we don't all have to feel shiny and sticky when we put it on.

 

[ssawka]

My Dr gives us prescriptions for over the counter. I was just wondering, where do you go for the reflexology and massages. My primary care Dr. has given me rx for massages due to the issues with my back but I've always gone to the physical therapist who just has me do exercises

Check with local chiropractors. Many offer massage services.

 

[ssawka]

If you're a member of Costco, you can get a ton of zyrtec for $15-20. Like a year's worth. I believe they have generic for other allergy meds. They are worth checking out.

Unfortunately, they don't offer their brand of D. You are only allowed to buy 15 pills with Fexofenadine at a time.

I dumped my Flex account this year because it was such a hassle to get reimbursed and for the small tax savings it just wasn't worth it. The Flex rules are governed by the IRS, you are not allowed to use the flex account for OTC medicines without a prescription. My gut tells me things will not go back to the way they were.

That really depends on how much you have taken out and what your tax bracket is. If you take out the max ($2500) and let's assume you are in a 25% tax bracket. Then, you are saving about $833 per year. That's not a "small tax savings", IMHO.

Our FSA is quite easy to use. We are given a debit card that we can use for medical expenses. The most we have to do is fax over receipts for doctors' visits.

 

[MomToOne]

If you're a member of Costco, you can get a ton of zyrtec for $15-20. Like a year's worth. I believe they have generic for other allergy meds. They are worth checking out.

This isn't the OPs problem, but for anyone else reading the thread: you do NOT need to be a member of Costco to purchase most of their over-the-counter meds. Just go to Costco.com and purchase it there - there has been no surcharge for non-members on the drugs I've purchased. They are the same price as in the stores, and usually no charge for shipping. I receive most meds in the mail in about 3-4 days.

 

[EMAW_KSU]

That really depends on how much you have taken out and what your tax bracket is. If you take out the max ($2500) and let's assume you are in a 25% tax bracket. Then, you are saving about $833 per year. That's not a "small tax savings", IMHO.

Our FSA is quite easy to use. We are given a debit card that we can use for medical expenses. The most we have to do is fax over receipts for doctors' visits.

I agree that it is not a small tax savings but can you explain the math?

We used ours when my wife had lasik done. I paid by check to get the cash discount and submitted the claim with the iphone app while waiting for her to get done. The deposit was in my account before the check I wrote cleared.

 

[ssawka]

I agree that it is not a small tax savings but can you explain the math?

We used ours when my wife had lasik done. I paid by check to get the cash discount and submitted the claim with the iphone app while waiting for her to get done. The deposit was in my account before the check I wrote cleared.

Well, the way the FSA works is that the money is put into your account through pretax deductions from your paycheck. So, if you were in a 25% tax bracket, you would have to earn $3333.33 to take home $2500 (.75 x $3333.33 = $2500). Thus, you are saving $833.33 by putting the money into the FSA, provided you use all of it by the end of your company's FY.

 

[dreamin_disney]

If you're a member of Costco, you can get a ton of zyrtec for $15-20. Like a year's worth. I believe they have generic for other allergy meds. They are worth checking out.

We have costco and Sam's card. I do buy the genric allegra for me and I buy zertec for dh and dd. Its a lot cheaper to buy it there

My flex covers lots of otc stuff without prescriptions.

So does mine but not OTC like cough medicine, Halls for throat, neosporin, benadryl pills or itch cream or gel, etc

My Dr gives us prescriptions for over the counter. I was just wondering, where do you go for the reflexology and massages. My primary care Dr. has given me rx for massages due to the issues with my back but I've always gone to the physical therapist who just has me do exercises

My chiropractor has a massage therapist but I go to another chiro office for the reflexology and massage therapy because the girl that works on me is great but I wont let the chiropractor there touch me. She is all about money and insurance. I like my chiropractor so I get adjusted by him but have never tried the massage therapist there. Plus the other place is cheaper $25 for hour reflex and $60 for massage but theres 2 days a week that its on special for 1 hr for $50.

I dumped my Flex account this year because it was such a hassle to get reimbursed and for the small tax savings it just wasn't worth it. The Flex rules are governed by the IRS, you are not allowed to use the flex account for OTC medicines without a prescription. My gut tells me things will not go back to the way they were.

I usually never have issues with my reinbursments except for this year. I think I had to call 4 times to get my $$ but is was smooth process and it was fast when it was pointed it it was an error on their part. Last year most of my expenses were for my Chiropractor, massage therapy, dd's ortho. Plus dd got contacts for the first time and new pair of glasses lucky dh's work added vision so we had double coverage. i maxed out 7-8 months into the plan and it was at $2500.00 . This year I only did $1500 and hopefully I wont need much medical chiropractic and massage therapy because that will mean i'm not in as much pain and feeling better. But time will tell

 

[Sadie22]

I had had a FSA with a previous employer for which I had a debit card which I would give to whichever family member was seeing a doctor or dentist. I had to submit bills to the FSA administrator for the one provider I had to pay by check. I'm no longer with that employer, and now DH has a FSA. We pay our copays and any coinsurance and then those amounts are automatically processed through the FSA a short time later and the reimbursement direct deposited to our checking account. It couldn't be easier.

I wouldn't worry about that amount causing anyone to eventually receive less in Social Security payments.