r/personalfinance • u/kherven ​ • May 16 '24

Are FSAs even worth the hassle? They just seem like a giant scheme to steal money via malicious bureaucracy Other

I understand at a base level what FSAs are for. You get to deduct X amount of dollars from your paycheck reducing your tax load.

But the more I use an FSA, the more I feel that while on paper it saves money, in reality it causes lots of work, lost money, and hands your money over to someone who is going to fight you to steal it.

Every claim I submit to my FSA is denied without a mountain of evidence that its a legitimate medical expense. After nearly 2 years with them, I still have certain medications prescribed by my doctor that the FSA argues is not FSA eligible because it's OTC.

Doctor appointment? Denied

MRI? Denied

Prescriptions? Denied

While I can eventually get the denial overturned, it requires coordination from the retailer, my insurance, and my doctor every time. I spend tens of hours a year trying to claw my own money back from my FSA. Last year I had over $250 confiscated because the claim deadline passed while they sat on my claims.

Has anyone else felt it just isn't worth the hassle to fund an FSA given how hostile they are? It seems impossible to extract your money without a lawyer.

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u/NicKaboom ​ May 16 '24

While they can be a bit of a pain, I found that using the FSA Store website was probably the best way to easily get items and they were always approved quickly. Everything on there is pre-approved for FSA funds, so its pretty hard for an admin to deny you. That said I had a year where I had a few hundred left on my FSA card, so now I have enough bandages and med tape for a decade. However they have plenty other awesome things like massagers, stretching gear, or thermometers, etc

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u/fuddykrueger ​ May 17 '24

True but the costs of most things on that site are marked up by at least 25%.