I went to the dentist the other day and had a $350.00 co-pay on my ceramic filling.
I paid for it out of pocket and then went to my corporate intranet to figure out how to get reimbursed for my payment. I spent 30 minutes running around and calling different places and was feeling really frustrated. I have recently moved from VA to DC and the insurance company changed because I moved, because of that I was being redirected to the wrong places. But once we got the right HSA administrator on the phone, I got my questions answered.
There are two options for HSA reimbursement.
1. Pay with your HSA checks with you and pay the provider directly.
2. Pay out-of-pocket and then write yourself an HSA check. Hang on to your receipt for tax purposes.
Easy peasy!
Unfortunately, this was my first time trying to do this so it was a little frustrating to find this information out at all. But I liked this because I didn’t have to send anyone a receipt detailing my health expenses. It beats an HCSA where you have to send stuff off for a reimbursement and you have no idea where it’s really going.
While I had the HSA agent on the phone, I asked her why I only had a .5% interest rate on my account and if there were any other investment options at all. She told me that there are other options but I have to have a minimum $1500 balance. Currently, I have $1250.00 in the account, so I am on my way.
But now I have something else to consider. Should I pay myself the $350 from the account or just save it? I’m actually going to pay myself from the HSA rather than save it because I paid my dentist with a credit card that has a balance on it. Since I get a very small amount of interest on my HSA, it’s better for me to take the money out and put it towards my credit card balance. I just have to wait for the HSA-checks to arrive so I can write one to myself.
I have another appointment scheduled for a ceramic filling. (I’m having all my old silver-amalgam ones replaced.) It’ll be $700 total for the year. What’s cool is that my company gives me $500 cash into my account for picking this option, so I’ll really only be paying $200 for my dental work this year.
The other thing to keep in mind is that an HSA is essentially a checking account. It’s not an actual savings account at all. It’s FDIC-insured, but you aren’t limited to 6 withdrawls a month. You can write as many checks as you need for qualified expenses.
Many HSA’s charge monthly fees. However my company pays for those fees as long as I am employed with them. Keep that in mind if you are going to consider this option for yourself.
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{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
My God! 350 USD for a ceramic filling? That is a lot of money. Here in Turkey it is 50-75 USD depending on the dentist. Save up your pennies, come over here for a vacation and have your dental work done. History, beaches and health care, can’t get any better… No wonder so many Europeans are coming over here to have surgeries, fertility treatments and such.
I have lived in the US for over three years. Generally speaking US is much cheaper in terms of standards of living (groceries, clothing, gas, cars and etc.) but health care is extremely expensive. I had do deal with an HMO back when I lived there and remember threatening the customer relations by suing them because I needed to see a specialist for some infection their doctor could not cure with three bottles of antibiotics.
Don’t you lose the money if you don’t use it inside a year? That would be my incentive to pay myself for every qualified expense as soon as possible.
Yes, you could save up the receipts and write a check to yourself at the end of the year, but that strategy hinges on good organization &/or remembering to write the check in time. Very few people would be successful.
Hi Christine-
No, I don’t lose it because it is a Health Savings Account. You are confusing it with the HCSA, which is the old version of the Flexible Spending Account. (Now called the Health Care Spending Account.)
HSA’s are only available to employees who choose their company’s High Deductible Plan offering so they can cover any high deductible for the year. It also functions a bit as a Roth IRA.
Mapgirl – Glad to hear you are enjoying the HSA!
Just wanted to give you a quick thumbs up for thinking about *not* using the reimbursement. It has taken some doing, but my husband and I have over 13K in our HSA now, which is a nice (medical) safety net. Given where you are at, taking the $350 is probably a good plan, but if you can start limiting how much you reimburse yourself, the balance does grow pretty quickly. And then as you mention, you get access to better investment options. Good luck!
Mapgirl – Thank you for accurately explaining HSAs. I run an online resource for Health Savings Accounts and HSA Health Insurance plans at http://www.HSAConnect.com and one of the main misconceptions about HSAs is that they have a use-it-or-lose-it clause. As you correctly noted, this is the case with FSAs and now HCSAs, but not HSAs. The money remaining in the account at the end of the year stays there and grows tax free.