I just turned 50 and also found out that my job will be ending in 2
weeks. About $3K in my Healthcare Spending Account, that I need to
spend before my last day at my job. Looking for ideas of qualified
medical expnses that I can use this for.

The orig plan was to use this for some dental work and the new dentist
told me (also coincidentally in the last week) that this is not
necessary.

Asked my MD about getting a virtual colonoscopy or something like it
(for a baseline) which may be outside my health plan. The MD's said
that the HMO that I belong to (Kaiser) does not offer this and that
they can't advise about going outside the organizational practices.

Am I likely to lose the $3K which is a rather large amount to me and
having contributed to it, would like not to lose it.

In the meanwhile, my strategy is : Over-the-counter purchases
(vitamins, blood pressure machine etc);
Family's dental/vision/medical needs

Please send your suggestions and ideas at your earliest;

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Request for Question Clarification by pafalafa-ga on 27 Aug 2006 18:53 PDT

avs2006-ga,

Take a look at the full list of eligible expenses, if you haven't already:


https://www.fsafeds.com/fsafeds/EligibleExpenses.asp#Capital



Seems like there's a bunch of stuff to consider:  air conditioners,
certain home improvements, automobile modifications, hypo-allergenic
sheets, matresses, etc, eye care, even taxes paid for health-related
items.


Have you considered all this already...?

pafalafa-ga

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Clarification of Question by avs2006-ga on 29 Aug 2006 10:54 PDT

Thanks for the query. Yes, I have looked at the list already and did
not see any benefit for me. Being generally of good health, it is hard
to get/justify a medical reason for many/all of these.

I was looking for some tests (virtual colonoscopy?, full body scan?
bone density readings?) that I could get done now (at the age of 50)
which would be meaningful for my physicians when I am 65. In addition,
if I can provide some genetic marker DNA data for my kids and future
generations, then, I am open to that as well. Most of this would not
be covered by my Kaiser plan and would be a good candidate for this
expense if I can make the timeline.

In my experience and research, any medical expense (see pafalfa's
comment for a list) should be reimbursable from your FSA.  To be safe,
get a doctor's prescription, and verify that your HMO DOES NOT cover
it.  If your HMO does not cover it, then the FSA will.

I had a problem once where my FSA claim kept getting bounced.  The FSA
and the health insurance were managed by the same big company.  I had
to remind them that the FSA covers costs that the insurance does not. 
They paid.

An expensive procedure sounds like a good idea, but it must be
medically necessary.  Get a prescription.

Hi! Don't forget - if you need reading glasses/glasses or contacts
purchase them now. Look in to dental work also (not cosmetic).