{"id":17940,"date":"2020-08-05T09:36:36","date_gmt":"2020-08-05T07:36:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.intimina.com\/blog\/?p=17940"},"modified":"2020-08-05T09:36:36","modified_gmt":"2020-08-05T07:36:36","slug":"submit-fsa-easy-steps","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.intimina.com\/blog\/submit-fsa-easy-steps\/","title":{"rendered":"How To Submit Your FSA for New Menstrual Products (In Less Than 5 Easy Steps)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Good news everyone!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">(Well, good news for anyone who lives in the U.S. like yours truly!)<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The U.S finally approved menstrual care products for health care FSA reimbursement!<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">About time right?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you\u2019re someone who\u2019s ever menstruated, you know how absolutely <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">essential <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">having the menstrual products you need during your period is!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How it took them so long to get that figured out and approved, I\u2019ll probably never know \u2014 but that\u2019s a conversation for a different time.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Before We Begin<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">First off \u2014 let\u2019s shoot for a little clarification here on what an FSA is, exactly.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">FSA stands for <\/span><b>Flexible Spending Account<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (or aka flexible spending arrangement).<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It\u2019s similar to a regular bank account but special in that it is <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">only <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">used for out-of-pocket health care expenses. You also don\u2019t pay taxes on this money, so that\u2019s pretty cool.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">FSA is also unique in that it\u2019s a \u2018<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">use it or lose it<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2019 kind of an account.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You pay for it out of your paychecks throughout the year (if you signed up for it through your employer). The major bonus for an FSA is that money you plan on putting into it is available upfront.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Though there is <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">a limit<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> of $2,650. Be sure to keep that in mind when planning out your health expenses and how much you\u2019ll need for the year.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Remember not to put in more money then you\u2019ll think you\u2019ll use in a year&#8217;s time. Once the year is up, that money is gone.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I\u2019m going to show you two different ways to use your FSA for your menstrual products.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">One will be to submit a claim manually through your FSA site.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The other will be when you pay with your FSA card.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Manually<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><\/p>\n<h3><strong>Step 1<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This is going to be the simplest step and one you\u2019re already familiar with because you\u2019ve likely been doing it for years.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Buy your menstrual products!<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">And make sure to keep your receipt! (You\u2019re going to need that later)<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><strong>Step 2<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><b>Login to your FSA account.<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This step may look a little different depending on how your FSA is set up.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But since FSA is an exclusively employer-established business plan, the general process should be the same.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Navigate to your Flexible Spending Accounts.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Depending on the system and how long you\u2019ve been with your employer, you may see more than one account.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Verify the one you need is there by clicking on the correct year.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><strong>Step 3<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">From here you should see a \u2018<\/span><b>submit claim<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2019 button or a link.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You then need to fill out the requested information. These should be generally the same no matter who you have your FSA through.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Fields that need to be filled :<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Service start date<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Account type (if you have more then one FSA. I also have a seperate one for daycare.)<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Claim amount.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There will be other miscellaneous fields you can fill. The more information you can provide, the better!<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><strong>Step 4<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">After that, you will be asked to <\/span><b>include a receipt<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Attach the receipt that shows you buying your menstrual products.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Click submit!<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">And that&#8217;s it for you \u2014 until you hear back from the company.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">They\u2019ll either tell you that it was approved <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">or <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">that they need more information.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If the latter is the case, continue to step 5.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><strong>Step 5 (if needed)<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Hopefully, you will not need this step, but if you do, it\u2019s here for you.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I\u2019ve submitted claims before only for them to email me and tell me that my receipt doesn\u2019t have enough information.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Uh oh.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The good news is that most businesses offer <\/span><b>itemized receipts<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Especially if you buy from somewhere other than a big box store.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I recommend buying right from the source online. This way you can quickly and easily send them an email for a more detailed receipt.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Then just go back to the already submitted claim and add your new receipt to it.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Buying with your FSA card<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There is also the case when you have your own FSA debit card.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This makes things a LOT easier.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It even cuts out a few more steps!<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><strong>Step 1<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Use your card to purchase your menstrual care products.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Keep your receipt!\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">And this may be all you need to do!<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Unlike with the manual process listed above \u2014 when you use your card, you don\u2019t have to do much until you hear from your FSA. You will receive an email or other notification that they need further documentation.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><strong>Step 2<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">All you need to do is <strong>log in<\/strong><\/span><b>\u00a0to your FSA account<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You should see a section labeled \u2018<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">transactions<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2019. This is where you want to look for it. Find your menstrual care product transaction.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Attach a digital copy of your receipt here and make sure it includes the date!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">(I\u2019ve gotten burned by that one a few times. And most recently when buying a menstrual cup online.)<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><strong>Step 3 &#8211; if needed<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This step is the same as step #5 above.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Your company may want additional information. Reach out to the company you bought your menstrual products from to get an <\/span><b>itemized receipt<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But if not&#8230;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">That\u2019s it!<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">So here\u2019s two quick and easy ways to get your menstrual care products approved!<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you have an FSA card, use it!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Otherwise, you\u2019re now an expert and can do it manually too!<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you have any other questions or concerns about your FSA process, talk to your HR or the company that holds your FSA account. They will be able to help point you in the right direction.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Good news everyone!\u00a0 (Well, good news for anyone who lives in the U.S. like yours truly!) The U.S finally approved menstrual care products for health care FSA reimbursement! About time&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":28,"featured_media":17941,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v20.12 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>How To Easily Submit Your FSA For Menstrual Products? (Step-by-Step)<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Can I buy menstrual products with my FSA? Are cups eligible for FSA? 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