Anyone with an FSA (flexible spending account) should use their money on services and items not covered by health insurance. Although there are a lot of benefits to FSA accounts, including tax benefits, patients will lose the money in the account if they don’t use it by the end of the year.

Although people can no longer purchase over-the-counter medication using their healthcare FSA money, there are still plenty of medical expenses that they can spend it on. The following are a few of the things that one can purchase using their pre-tax healthcare FSA money on:

1. Home medical equipment: This includes items such as crutches, bandages, first-aid kits, blood-pressure monitors, thermometers and even inhalers. For items such as these, their FSA eligibility should be noted at the bottom of the receipts.
2. Insurance co-pays and exams: This includes vision exams.
3. Dental work: This includes full dental checkups, fillings, extractions, teeth-cleaning appointments and braces. However, teeth whitening is not covered.
4. Glasses: This includes prescription glasses, sunglasses and reading glasses.
5. Alternative treatments: This includes chiropractic sessions or acupuncture sessions. This depends on the type of FSA plan the patient has.
6. Prescription medication: FSA money can be used to replace expired medication. However,  even though FSA money can no longer be used to pay for over-the-counter medications, there is a way to get around this — one can have their doctor write a prescription for an over-the-counter medication. In this case, the patient can use their FSA money.
7. Medical mileage reimbursements: This means people can use their FSA money to cover the cost of traveling to a medical appointment, whether by car or public transportation. Parking fees and tolls are included in this as well.

These are a few medical expenses that California residents can spend their healthcare FSA money on. However, it should be noted that those who have an FSA as well as a Health Savings Account can only use their FSA for dental and vision expenses. To keep up-to-date on health insurance news, visit us at the Benefits Store today.