In his defense, the brochure didn't exactly spell that out. I consulted friends on ************* about their experiences with ... shucks, I've forgotten what the generic term the IRS uses is ... ahh, Flexible Spending Accounts, or FSA's. I had questions about some specific items as to whether or not they qualified.

When you buy one of the items at Walgreens, for instance, they tag the item on the receipt with an "F," so I know that Bandaids qualify, but Dr. Scholls insoles (you gellin'?) do not. I also found out there's a page on the Walgreen's website where you can look at FSA eligible stuff (and order online if I wind up nearing the end of the year with money to spend).

Anyway, I digress. The biggest complaint I heard at PPW about the FSA was exactly what your FO suggested -- the trouble with getting the money when you need it. Apparently, different companies handle it different ways. Our brochure does say there's three ways to use the money: 1) a Debit card that you use like a credit card (i.e., no PIN) 2) Pay my provider (fill out some paperwork, and they pay the doctor for the copay or deductible or whatever and 3) Pay me (I send in receipts, they direct deposit into my checking account). It was not until I called to sign up that I discovered that OUR FSA provider, that is the Company that administers the "HCSA" for us, sends out the VISA Debit card with the amount fully loaded. In other words, if I have $3000 of qualifying medical expenses (I signed up for the max) on January 1st, I can use that card to pay the full $3,000. I think that's pretty slick.



Short version: I didn't know about the "fully loaded Debit card" until I made the call to sign up. That's when I learned the Secret Handshake, too.



We'll see how it goes.




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