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May 2011 Moms
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Flexible Spending allotment for 2011?

sdlaurasdlaura member
in May 2011 Moms

Does anyone have any advice on how much to put in an FSA for the year you're having a baby?  I know that delivery through my insurance costs $1,000, so I will definitely be putting that in, but how much extra are you putting in/would you recommend, for other health costs?  It looks like all post-natal care for me and all baby health care are fully covered, so I'm trying to figure out if there are any other health care-related costs I should expect.

Also, is anyone able to put aside pre-tax funds for childcare at their job?  I'm not sure if I can do that here, but if I can, I'm trying to figure out if I should put in funds for a few months of daycare during 2011, or if that's too risky since something could always happen with the baby and then I'd lose that money.  (I know I should probably ask this on the working moms board, too).

What do you think?  Thanks in advance!

BFP #1 9/2010 (lost our baby at 21 weeks) BFP #2 8/2011 (ectopic pregnancy) BFP #3 10/2011 (chemical pregnancy) BFP #4 12/2011 (Abigail born 8/15/12) BFP #5 5/2013 (Griffin born 1/23/14 with heart defects, now repaired!)

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Re: Flexible Spending allotment for 2011?

  • abHokieabHokie
    As far as the child care you should be able to add that later because it's considered a "life change" so you can change your coverage even when it's not open enrollment. 
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  • sdlaurasdlaura member
    Ooh, good point!  Thank you.
    BFP #1 9/2010 (lost our baby at 21 weeks) BFP #2 8/2011 (ectopic pregnancy) BFP #3 10/2011 (chemical pregnancy) BFP #4 12/2011 (Abigail born 8/15/12) BFP #5 5/2013 (Griffin born 1/23/14 with heart defects, now repaired!)

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  • abHokieabHokie
    Yeah, I was trying to figure out the same thing when someone told me that. : )
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  • IU_babyIU_baby member

    We'll be maxing out our FSA for 2011, but our insurance sucks and we have a lot of out of pocket expenses.

    We do a dependent care account too, but I agree with the pp, you can always add it after baby arrives.

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  • carishabobcarishabob member

    Speaking of FSA's, I saw this on the web this afternoon and thought it was interesting, especially if you have one. Just something to keep in mind!

    https://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/40115654/ns/health-health_care/

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  • ECB0718ECB0718 member

    We're using that for our childbirth class and for my prenatal vitamins.  You can also add more $ after the baby is born if you need to.

     EDIT:  Although the government wants to screw us and make it so you can only use flex spending for prescription medication, you can still use it as long as your doctor writes you a prescription for OTC stuff.  Even though you don't NEED a prescription for things, your doctor can still write in on a prescription thingy and you can submit that with the receipt.

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  • cekelly11cekelly11

    We are putting in the $1000 for the deductable and probably another $300-$500 for the rest of the year, when we had DD we put in a bit more but over the counter meds were covered back then so we will do less this time.

    BFP #1 DD 5/31/08 BFP #2 EDD 12/02/10 mmc found 4/28/10 D&C 5/13/10 BFP #3 DS 5/15/11 BFP #4 EDD 08/02/13 BabyFruit Ticker
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  • nicnjednicnjed
    You can add co-pays for your pediatrician visits if you have co-pays.  Most see babies at 2-weeks, 1-month, 2-months, 3-months, and 6-months!  Not to mention the occasional sick visit.
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  • MeredithEleseMeredithElese member

    imageabHokie:
    As far as the child care you should be able to add that later because it's considered a "life change" so you can change your coverage even when it's not open enrollment. 

     I didn't even think about that! We were just talking about $amounts last night. Our plan we have to do 2 separate accounts, one is a dependent care for daycare and the other is for healthcare.


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  • redhead712771redhead712771

    imagenicnjed:
    You can add co-pays for your pediatrician visits if you have co-pays.  Most see babies at 2-weeks, 1-month, 2-months, 3-months, and 6-months!  Not to mention the occasional sick visit.

     

    This 

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  • everam01everam01 member
    Twins + high risk + c-section + hospital stay + possible NICU = I'm maxing out my FSA for next year!
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  • alliejoealliejoe member
    don't forget any prescriptions you might be on and contacts/glasses if you or you family wear them.   I put in $1200 for last year and we just used it all, but DH and I both wear glasses and got new ones (plus safety glasses for DH this year too)
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  • kristenndkristennd member

    I visited the business office of my clinic and they pulled everything up on the computer. For prenatal appointments after the birth, the baby will be on a separate deductible from me, so I ended up signing up for $3,000.

    That hopefully leaves just a couple hundred dollars for non-baby related stuff for DH and I, including dental and eye appointments.

    We were conservative this year and had used up the allocation before I even got pregnant.

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