If you’re wondering how to save money on medical expenses including acupuncture, FSA’s & HSA’s can help.
You may find this information helpful. There are plans that can save you 
money on medical expenses and treatment services including acupuncture. If your medical insurance coverage is limited and does not pay for acupuncture you may want to take advantage of an FSA or HSA.
FSA – Flexible Spending Account
Flexible Spending Accounts referred to as flex plans or FSA’s allow employees to dedicate a pre-determined portion of their earnings to be set aside for the purpose of paying for health care costs. Most employers offer FSA’s. An employee typically need only show a paid receipt for a health care bill to the employer so that dedicated funds can be paid to the employee without paying income or payroll tax. These dedicated funds will help take care of health care costs when insurance coverage is limited and will also provide a substantial savings in payroll tax as funds are set aside before taxes are applied.
For Example: with an income bracket of 28%, a $1,000 FSA might save you approximately $350.
Note: Most flex plans require you to set aside a pre-determined amount of funds at years end for the upcoming years medical expenses so act soon to set up your personal flex plan.
FSA money can be used to cover co-pays, deductibles, prescriptions, over-the-counter drugs and even alternative medical therapies including acupuncture.
Many plans offer a convenient debit card and websites to manage and track your spending.
Two important points to be informed about:
- If you don’t use these funds you loose it by year end or in the first months of the following year, depending on company policy
Advice: Calculate money needed for next year by totaling medical expenses from the past year. If a small amount of money is left over before the end of the year stock up on general supplies like aspirin, band-aids or schedule an acupuncture wellness treatment.
- You can only sign up for an FSA account during open-enrollment season (enquire about this before the end of the year) or major life change (i.e. marriage, new born baby)
HSA – Health Savings Account
If your family’s insurance deductible is higher than $2,300 you may qualify. HSA’s are like FSA’s helping you to save pretax dollars for health costs.
Key difference: you can keep the money in the account as long as you want and you don’t have to pay taxes on any money withdrawn so long as it’s used to buy health care.
Note: you generally cannot have both an FSA and an HSA
Contact your insurance company or your company human resource department to find out if these plans are an available option.
Christopher Carlow, D. Ac. Doctor of Acupuncture December 21, 2007
Updated: July 8, 2009
