Using an HSA account finance invisalign

Message

#1 Post by **armopearls** » Wed May 30, 2007 11:03 am

Has anyone used an HSA(health savings account) to pay for your braces? My employer has set us up with an HSA and theres no one around who can answer this question. The braces are costing me about $5800 and insurance is covering only $1500 and the rest is my responsibility but i figured since i have this account i might as well use it for this medical expense. Anyone have any thoughts?
Thanks

#2 Post by **sandra** » Wed May 30, 2007 12:00 pm

I did. I paid the first half down and then got reimbursed through the account.
I think anything that is not out of the ordinary is ok. Don't go get a face lift and charge it to your account!!!

#3 Post by **jeni** » Fri Jun 01, 2007 8:24 am

I am using my HSA account as well. I don't know if only people on high deductible medical plans can have HSAs but I think that is the case. I got tired of having about $11K a year coming out of my paychecks when I only need to see a doctor a few times a year and have never had a major medical procedure or been hospitalized. So, now my employer's share of contributions to my account and the amount that I add in to get the best tax advantage is financing my treatment. Now, I will just cross my fingers and hope nothing major comes up for the rest of the year.

My total cost is $5180 and I had to pay $750 down in January or February (insurance is also paying another $750). Since my HSA account just started on 1/1/07, I have been reimbursing myself little at a time since then. Every month, my treatment installment of $230 comes directly out of that account. I will be done with payments a year from now, so I will probably re-enroll in the high deductible plan for another year so that I can keep my HSA and not have to pay for this out of pocket. I don't know how I would be able to afford it any other way.

#4 Post by **armopearls** » Fri Jun 01, 2007 9:04 am

Thanks for the response! Did you guys wait until the end of the year to get reimbursed and fill out all the paperwork or did you just use the debit card provided by HSA acct to pay on the spot?

#5 Post by **jeni** » Sat Jun 02, 2007 7:18 am

I don't have any paperwork to fill out. When I need reimbursed, I write myself a check. I could wait until the end of the year and give myself a $750 Christmas bonus since I can't expect to receive it from my employer but why bother waiting when the money is in there now? My account is on the trust system and it can be audited. If I use it for anything that I cannot substantiate as a medical expense or do not have a receipt for, then I could face tax consequences for using tax-sheltered money as contributions to the HSA use pre-tax dollars. Maybe other HSAs are not on the trust system though. I know that the flex spending account that I could also get through work requires paperwork.

I use the debit card for everything that I can (but so far that has only been at the pharmacy). I don't see any reason why I couldn't also use it at the doctor's office.

By the way, mine isn't really a debit card even though it says "debit" on it and is referred to as such in all of my literature. The bank that the HSA is through sent a PIN # but you can't run my card like that or get account information over the phone by using the PIN. None of my co-workers can use their PINs either. One even asked the bank last year why they send PINs when they don't work but they did not have an answer. We just have to sign for everything like it is a credit card.

My account is through Tower Bank in Ft. Wayne, IN and has been pretty messed up. First of all, when the checks arrived, they didn't have my husband's name even though he is a co-owner. I didn't push the issue since I handle all the finances anyway but everyone else's was also like this (at least one pushed the issue and got a new set of checks). My checks took over 2 months to arrive but got to my house within a week of me irritating them until they realized that they never actually sent the order to the check company. Until the checks arrived, I did not know the routing number or my account number because their website is terrible. You can't even do fund transfers on their website so you are forced to buy checks to do any reimbursements or for anything that you receive a bill in the mail for. They also sent the first debit card with an expiration date in 2001 and it took about 4 weeks to receive ones with an acceptable expiration date. To top it all off, I then received notification that they may have put my check images in with someone else's

(!?!?!?!) bank statement! So, they had to give me a new account number and ship me new checks that I had to wait about a month for (meaning I had to contact the ortho's office for the 3rd time in 4 months to request that they change the EFT account that my payments are taken from). Someone has to cover the extra debit cards (my husband and I both got a messed up one), that were sent out, worthless PINs (which of course without I didn't think that I could use the card since it says "debit" on it), my extra box of checks, and for the people who really push the issue to have the co-owner also listed on the checks, yet another box of checks. Who out there thinks that my service charges will be going up if I keep the account next year???

#6 Post by **Anticipator** » Sat Jun 02, 2007 7:52 am

armopearls wrote:Thanks for the response! Did you guys wait until the end of the year to get reimbursed and fill out all the paperwork or did you just use the debit card provided by HSA acct to pay on the spot?

Waiting until the end of the year defeats the purpose doesn't it?

I did not receive a debit card, that would've nice. Instead I pay out of pocket and send in regular claims whenever my monthly payments start building up to a sizable amount.

#7 Post by **fabfemme** » Mon Jun 04, 2007 7:54 am

I'm not sure the difference between the HSA and FSA...I am paying for mine with my FSA card. We are issued a Visa card each year with a certain amount and then have the whole year to use it. It's like a credit card, but will only work on medical purchases. Sometimes at Walgreens and the like things won't ring up as medical so I have to send in a receipt for a refund. I am LOVIN my FSA card

#8 Post by **diehard** » Mon Jun 04, 2007 11:12 am

the options are simple in uk want good teeth then you have to pay the end!!!!

#9 Post by **sandra** » Tue Jun 05, 2007 3:35 am

I sent it in right away!

#10 Post by **DiaEmerald** » Tue Jun 05, 2007 2:43 pm

I have a HSA/FSA. Before the year started I indicated how much I wanted to put in the account ($2000). They divided it equally between my paychecks, so the same amount comes out of each check, pretax.

I can submit the bills as I incur expenses, even if I haven't deposited enough in the account to cover it. I'm then reimbursed for what I spent on my braces.

Hope this helps!

#11 Post by **Thathrill** » Mon Jun 18, 2007 5:39 pm

My employer started FSA not too long ago. I decided to opt in to cover my braces as it will save me some money. I finally decided to get braces this year and it was also the first year our FSA program offered debit cards. Its amazing. I use it for all my co-pays, prescription meds, and ortho fees. I just have them run the card like a credit card and its set. I have access to the full amount ($3k) while my paycheck is debited monthly.