Flex Administrators VISA Card
How does the Flex Administrators VISA Card Work?
Your Flex Administrators VISA card is accepted at all medical (hospitals, doctor’s offices, dental offices, vision services and pharmacies) as well as some dependent care providers who accept VISA. Instead of paying for your expense out of pocket, you can simply swipe your Card and payment will be made to the provider directly from your Flexible Spending Account.
Seems too easy. What’s the catch?
While the card allows for payment to the provider at the time of service without the need to pay out of pocket and then wait for reimbursement, it does not make your FSA account completely paperless.
While the IRS allows you to use tax-free funds to pay for your expenses, they also require documentation that proves you used the card for an eligible expense. There are expenses when documentation will not be required: 1) For any charges on the account that are a prescription copay 2) A pre-programmed medical copay (based on your employer’s group medical plan), 3) An item purchased from an IIAS location (provider who has gone through the process of listing all of their expenses as eligible in or ineligible expenses such as Over-the-Counter Items). This is mostly seen at large retailers such as Walgreens, Walmart, Rite-Aid, Target and Amazon; however, some smaller providers have also gone through this process. Please visit https://sig-is.org/ for additional information.
Flex Administrators, Inc. will contact you via email for any documentation that must be submitted. Documentation must be submitted within the time frame specified in the email that you receive.
Why do you still need to see documentation when you can see that I swiped the card at an eligible provider?
Due to the tax-free nature of FSA accounts, the IRS mandates that we verify that expenses that are paid for with the card meet the following criteria:
- Was an eligible expense (items such as teeth whitening and warranties are not eligible expenses)
- That the expense was INCURRED within the Plan Year (not just paid for in the Plan Year)
- That the expense was incurred by the participant or eligible dependent of the participant.
What happens if I don’t submit the requested documentation?
Flex Administrators, Inc. will request any necessary documentation by email. If the documentation is not received by the time frame specified in the emails, your Flex Administrators VISA card will be deactivated and your FSA account will be frozen. You will be able to reactive your card by submitting the required documentation.
I lost my documentation or I know it wasn’t an eligible expense. How do I reactive my card?
You have two options to reactive your card if this happens:
- You can log in to your account online and choose to repay the expense.
- You can submit a claim for expenses that you incurred and paid for out-of-pocket with a personal credit card, checking account or cash. Once those expenses have exceeded the amount owed back to your card, your card will be reactivated and your account unfrozen.
I paid for something out-of-pocket. Can I still get reimbursed since I didn’t use my Flex Administrators VISA Card?
Absolutely! All you will need to do is submit a claim via the Employee Portal, submit a claim via the Flex Administrators Mobile mobile App, or complete a Request for Reimbursement Form, attach the itemized receipt and submit to Flex Administrators, Inc. for processed. Most claims are processed within 2 business days and your reimbursement will be sent to you.