Did you know that FSA and HSA funds could be used to pay for dental expenses as well as medical expenses? If you’ve been holding off on having that one cavity filled because you’ve already met your insurance maximum for the year, turns out, it just might be time after all. Today, we’ll discuss FSAs and HSAs—what they are, why you might want to spend that money, and what dental products and services you can and can’t purchase using them.  

What’s an HSA? 

A health savings account (HSA) is often offered by employers in their benefits packages for employees. It allows the owners to contribute pre-tax dollars to the account, and then withdraw that money—also tax-free—for certain qualified medical and dental expenses.  As you can see, this is a major budget-booster. Funds in HSAs roll over year to year and can even invested, so that you can grow those funds for larger expenses over time if you so choose.  

What’s an FSA? 

An FSA is similar to and easily confused with an HSA, but not quite the same. Short for flexible spending account, these also allow you to contribute pre-tax dollars to the account and use them on approved dental and medical expenses. There are differences between HSAs and FSAs in contribution limits, investing potential, and ownership, among other things. Perhaps the most important difference, however, is that the funds stored in an FSA do not roll over each year. Any unused funds in an FSA will expire yearly.  

Why Spend the Money? 

If you have an HSA, the money will not be returned to your employer. But as discussed, unused funds in an FSA get sent back to your employer at the new year, or after the specified grace period! So simply put, spend the money so that it does not go to waste! We would encourage you to come into the office and purchase the products you need or receive any treatments you may have been holding off on to make sure you get the full use of your money.  

What Can I Purchase? 

That begs the question: what exactly can I use my funds on? We’ll focus on FSA funds, since these need to be used up before the end of the year, but just know that the coverage is similar. The guidelines for FSA coverage are “anything that treats or prevents a dental disease.” If you’re unsure whether something is covered, you can ask yourself if the produce or service is treating or preventing dental disease (or ask your financial advisor).  

Things that fall under this would be:  

• Fillings and sealants 
• Crowns 
• Teeth cleaning 
• Bonding 
• Dentures 
• Tooth extraction 
• Inlays and onlays  
• All diagnostic and preventative services 
• Treatments for gingivitis, temporomandibular joint syndrome and disorder, gum recession, and necessary oral surgery 

Is There Anything I Can’t Purchase? 

Unfortunately, neither your HSA nor your FSA will cover cosmetic services or procedures such as professional whitening.

In conclusion, these two accounts provide excellent tax advantages, and may be used to cover approved dental expenses. If you would like to make the most of your HSA or FSA funds, please contact our office! We would love to see you.  

Happy holidays to your family from ours at Athens Family Dental!