If you are still thinking about how and where you should spend your FSA money, we are here to remind you that you and your family or other dependents are all prone to small cuts, scars, and wounds on a daily basis; this requires immediate medical attention. Certain small blood incidents may cause inconvenience to you. And for coping with your little inconveniences, you can very well utilize your convenient FSA account for paying off your Bandage bills.
Wound care is eligible for reimbursement with flexible spending accounts (FSA). While small wounds only require some immediate local first aid with cleansing and dressing, deeper wounds may need medical attention to prevent infection and loss of function due to damage to structures like bone, muscle, tendon, arteries, and nerves. All such wound assistance items are essential medical care and are covered under the FSA health plan of the US.
Under IRC 213(d) (1), "medical care includes amounts paid for the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment, or prevention of disease, or for the purpose of affecting any structure or function of the body." This includes medical equipment and devices.
Thus items like bandages, gloves, first- aid kits etc. are now FSA approved and when bought over the counter do not require a prescription. Such details are regulated by the latest updates as herein under:-
The CARES Act, being in effect from January 1, 2020, the following are FSA eligible items:
‘Shop Wound Care’ offers you a wide range of FSA-eligible medical and wellness supplies that you can easily select and shop by utilizing your unspent FSA Dollars. While exploring our website you will come across a huge variety of healthcare products that are covered by your FSA plan. Our essential medical care solutions will not let you lose your FSA money. While scrolling through the ‘SHOP WOUNDCARE’ website, our product catalog display all the items marked with FSA approved symbol which is FSA eligible. However, as there are different categories of health care products covered by different FSA plans, we recommend you confirm the eligibility requirements as per your FSA, prior to making any purchase with us. Shop Wound Care in no circumstances takes any responsibility for the employer-specific limitations or restrictions on your Health FSA Plan. After a proper approval from your health plan administrator, you can do FSA shopping online with us and swipe your FSA Card.
Even if you have well-planned health insurance, not all of your medical expenses are likely to be covered by your plan especially when it includes your daily medical needs. Such daily needs may on the face value look very negligible but forms an important part of your expenditure. With a flexible spending account or FSA, you can save money on eligible medical-related purchases, services, and procedures that you would ordinarily have to pay from your pocket. A Flexible Spending Account or FSA is an account linked to a health care plan offered by your employer. Under this system, you yourself finance your account by funding it with your own paycheck. The prime benefit of this is that you do this procedure before you pay taxes on your income. That is why shopping with an FSA is tax beneficial. You can use these funds over a year for your potential medical expenses. The only thing you have to keep in mind is that all your purchases should be FSA eligible as per the arrangements between you and your employer.
If your out-of-pocket medical expenses are high, then FSA can very well save your money. For this, you need to be FSA qualified.
Firstly, to become an FSA-eligible member, you have to have employment in an organization. This however does not include freelancers and self-employed people. An exception can be made with respect to the key employees and highly compensated individuals determined by the standards given under the IRS regulations.
Secondly, always remember to use your FSA funds before the year ends otherwise you will lose all the money that is kept there. Your FSA provider can choose to allow a grace period for you to utilize FSA funds or a carryover of a certain amount (for the year 2020 to 2021, it is up to $500 - $550) of FSA funds into the next year, but not both.
Thirdly, it is advisable to shop your FSA-approved wound care products up to a defined limit set by your FSA administrator or your employer. If no such limit is set by the organization you are working for, then such purchase should be made within the limits of $2,750 as set and regulated by the ISR for the year 2020*.
For further tax-related queries and FSA visit: https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-dft/p969--dft.pdf
Fourthly, FSA can be used to pay for qualified medical expenses which include personal care and/ or family needs. Such expenses are those incurred by the following persons.
Lastly, it is to be noted that the complete amount which is kept aside for FSA is tax-free. It helps consumers to reduce their taxable income and get beneficial reimbursement to all such medically approved purchases that qualify for the same and is not included in regular health plans.
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