With the new calendar year came also the changes to insurance and Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) and Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs). My husband’s employer offers us the HSA benefit and in addition to that, we can earn more money to this account by jumping through some rather easy hoops. If we get an annual physical, they’ll give us $350. Dental and vision visits get us $50, I think. Watch some videos, $25 each.
Aaron contributes as much as he can each year. He’s kinda an expensive guy health-wise, and is quite sure health expenses will only escalate. So he likes to build up that Health Savings Account. I, on the other hand, have zero confidence that that money will be available in the future and prefer to build up supplies at home. So I get to use the HSA money I bring in by jumping through those hoops to earn a little extra to finance the items I want.
I previously limited those purchases to what I could acquire at the little pharmacy that the company operates for its employees. And when I say little, I mean really little. The single row of shelves is probably less than ten feet. Fortunately, it is usually well stocked and while the selection is limited, we get everything at cost, a huge savings for us.
I recently realized, however, that I could use the HSA card to buy supplies on Amazon. A whole new world has opened up, to say the least.
Just last month I reorganized our supplies and took a mental inventory of what we needed. I felt we were pretty well set until I watched a K-drama (The Youth of May) on the Gwangju Uprising. Nope, we need a lot more wound care supplies.
I used the Master Medical Shopping List as a starting place to help me quickly search for supplies I wanted to get through Amazon. But it was slow going, because not all the medical supplies are FSA/HSA eligible. I don’t know how Amazon decides what is eligible or how companies get that designation, and it wasn’t really important to me anyway. I just wanted to see what I could buy.
A bit of sleuthing landed me on a helpful little page. https://arcus-www.amazon.com/FSA-FAQ/b?ie=UTF8&node=17900051011
If you’ve got questions about using your FSA/HSA with Amazon, that page will probably have some answers. What it also had was a helpful link to FSA/HSA eligible products. (However, that page/link does not include medications, and least not that I could find. Typing "FSA HSA approved products" into the search bar will bring up medications as well.) And I was amazed at the wide variety of products deemed eligible.
Not only can you get your basic wound care supplies, tapes, dressings, orthopedics, and such, but you can also get toilet bowl liners, disposable bathing wipes, and incontinence underwear. And insulin syringes. (Other syringes with needles can be a little difficult to acquire, but insulin syringes are easy.) Israeli bandages, SAM splints, and QuikClot. “Emergency Wound Closures”, a couple of different brands, which tout the strength of sutures without the pain. They run about $35 each. The Scherber Premium IFAK Kit actually looked respectable—not just full of band-aids like most of them. And as I scrolled through I found a couple of others that looked pretty good.
The most pertinent information from Amazon’s website:
Q: What items are FSA or HSA eligible on Amazon?
Not all healthcare products on Amazon are FSA or HSA eligible. A list of FSA or HSA eligible products can be found here. Eligible products also display the label "FSA or HSA Eligible" on the product page. Your FSA or HSA card can pay for the product tax and shipping. If you have ineligible items in your cart or choose to have your eligible items gift-wrapped, you can choose to add another payment method and Amazon will charge the correct amount to each card or payment method.
Q: What if I have trouble registering my HSA card?
Certain HSA cards cannot be registered as FSA/HSA cards with Amazon, but can still be used if registered as credit cards. If you register your HSA card as a credit card, you’ll be responsible for ensuring the card is used only for eligible products. HSA cards registered as a credit card do not automatically restrict the types of products you can purchase with the card. Purchasing ineligible products or services with the card may require you to report them and pay additional taxes. Contact your plan administrator or employer for more information.
As you shop, remember that you may be able to get the same items cheaper without using your FSA/HSA. Also, make sure that the products you are purchasing have the FSA/HSA designation on them to avoid hassles.
Thanks, Jennifer. It didn't occur to me to use my HSA for this purpose.
ReplyDeleteIt hadn't occurred to me, either, so I thought it might be a good suggestion. And that reminds me to go place another order!
Delete