I have a new employer and they offer an FSA account. I'm unfamiliar with using one. I know the basics, but I am unclear of the details so I want to run my plan by you guys first.
We are 7 months pregnant - due late october. Everything we've paid into our old insurance for the last 8 months is irrelevant, and the plan is terminated. Now we are starting over fresh with with a new plan - deductible/out of pocket max (OOPM) are both reset. The monthly cost between the plans is not that much, so I think I should choose the plan with the lowest OOPM. I only have to pay the premiums for 4 months this year, but I anticipate the bill for the birth being more than $3k (the individual OOPM for the plan). The other plan's OOPM is $4k, but the difference in premiums will be about $80 for the rest of 2017.
When my baby is born I am eligible to change plans. I think I should probably choose the same plan with the lowest OOPM for the same reason. The baby will probably incur medical charges. I have no idea what to expect exactly, everyone I ask has a completely different experience when it comes to getting charged for having a birth ranging from paying nothing to paying their OOPM.
Does this make sense?
And on to the FSA. I can contribute up to $2600 annually, but only $500 will roll over and I lose the rest if I don't use it. When exactly do I have to use it? If we birth in October and I don't get any medical bills until January 2018, do I lose everything in my FSA? I'm fairly confident we will incur $2100 worth of charges in 2017, but I don't know when I'll actually get the bill and how that all works.