Flex Spending Timing Question

[MarkBarbieri]

If I have a medical procedure performed in December 2010 and pay for it in January 2011, which year's Flex Spending account do I use?

 

[Christine]

My plan always goes by the "date of service" not the day you paid.

So, if the procedure was performed in December 2010, it should be claimed against your 2010 benefits.

Edited to add: This doesn't really apply to your question, but some plans will also let you bill "dates of service" that occurred in Jan-March of one year back to the previous year's flex plan. For instance, if I have a procedured done on February 15th, I can still claim it against my 2010 flex plan if I still have money left over OR I can claim it against 2011. But that's not what you asked....

In your case, it goes to the 2010 plan.

 

[aprilgail2]

I use whichever I have at that point. If I have leftover from 2010 I wouold use that and if not I would use 2011. I had a couple leftover 2010 bills that I just paid with my 2011 flex spending. In fact I had one which half came out of 2010 since I had a bit left in there and the other half of that same bill came out of 2011.

 

[tlbwriter]

Mine goes by date of service. But I don't even get to make that decision - I turn it in and they take it out of the correct account.

 

[IllumFan]

Mine also goes by Date of Service - not when I am billed.

We do have some flexibility, though. A few years back, the plan changed so I can use my previous year's Flex Spending account for service in first quarter of the next year.

 

[tlbwriter]

We do have some flexibility, though. A few years back, the plan changed so I can use my previous year's Flex Spending account for service in first quarter of the next year.

Mine allows this as well, but I don't have any control over it. If there are 2010 dollars left, and a particular claim could go for either 2010 or 2011, it's automatically applied to 2010.

 

[goofy4tink]

I had this come up this year. We had about $400 left in our FSA. I needed new glasses but wasn't up for a new pair paid for by vision insurance. My dh told me that I could use up the FSA in Dec, by paying for the lenses then, or I had 30 days or so into 2011 to use it up...may have been 60 days, can't remember. But generally it goes by date of service.