FSA? anyone?

Im thinking about signing up for the flexible spending account. But im not sure.  does anyone have that? and if so is it going to cover their surgery?

If it is Flexable spending account?  If yes it will pay some but probably not all.  You can only put back a certain amount of money pre-tax (not sure what the limit is) to pay for medical, dental and eye care expenses not covered by your insurance.  I am not sure if you understand how FSA works.  If you did not know, they will deduct  a portion of the dollar amount you select out of all your paychecks all year long to equal up to the dollar amount selected to put back.  If you haven't used the full amount you put back during the year you forfit that money so you want to be sure to pick an amount that you will use.  As far as covering surgery you can use that money for deductables, and if your insurance pays 80% of a cost you can use the money to help you pay the 20% remaining.  If this was completely confusing I would suggest that you talk to Human Resources Representative.   I use my FSA for some fixed amounts I know I will have.  For example, my medical deductables, cost of six months worth of contacts, estimated costs of contact solution, and a few hundred extra in case I need filings at the dentist or unexpected medical expense which seems to happen more often with age. LOL.   I hope this helps.  The reason I don't think you can use it for all surgery costs is that I don't think you can put that much money back.   Good Luck, MileHigh

You are referring to a flexible-spending account.  Basically, this account allows you to "pre-save" money for a certain period of time to be used for eligible medical expenses.  Some of these expenses might or might not be covered by your health insurance.  Basically, it is a great way to set aside money for medical expenses that you know that you will incur. The limits that you are permitted to set aside will depend on your employer.  My partner's employer (since I am covered under his insurance) allows him to set aside upwards to $3,000 annually.  What that means is that from January to December of a specific year, if we want to set aside $3,000, that amount will be deducted from his paycheck.  That is done based on how often he is paid.  Since he is paid semi-monthly, $125 will be deducted from each paycheck ($3,000 divided by 24 paychecks). The thing to consider when thinking about setting up a flexible-spending account is risk.  If you elect to set aside $3,000 for the year to use for eligible medical expenses, then you must use the $3,000.  That means from January to December, you have to use that amount of money.  If you don't, then you forfeit the remaining balance.  Please note, however, that some employers (like my partner's) have grace periods for submitting for reimbursement.  Provided you have unsubmitted claims incurred in the year that you agreed to use your money, you still might be able to submit them for reimbursement even after the year will have elapsed.  For example, you incurred a claim in 2007 but forgot to submit it until February 2008, if your employer allows for a grace period for claims submissions, you will be able to still submit the claim for reimbursement.  In a nutshell, this is the risk you run when setting up the account--losing your money if it is unused. Likewise, the employer shares a risk, too.  Even though you might not have accrued the money, you can still use it at any point in the year.  For example, if you elect $3,000 for 2008 and decide three months into the year that you need to use the entire $3,000, you can do that even though you will have not accrued it.  If you are reimbursed for that money and then turn around and quit your job a month later, your employer will not be able to sue you for it.  The employer simply will lose the uncollected money. As for covering your surgery, that will depend on how much your surgery will cost.  My flexible-spending account covered mine considering our health insurance required a $100 co-pay for the service. .  If you are looking to pay for the surgery outright, then it will most likely not cover it though it will cover a portion of it.  Gastric-bypass surgeries can cost more than $30,000 (depending on the procedures involved). I hope I was able to answer your question suitably.

I apologize for only skimming the previous responses so I may be repeating what they said but: THE MAIN ADVANTAGE OF AN FSA is that your $$$ come out PRE-TAX. 

Therefore it's not like a christmas or savings club which grants you early access.  You are actually getting a 20+% return on that money because you get it before taxes.  Please note however that this can impact your ability to deduct medical expenses paid with these funds.