anyone use medical reimbursement plan for homebirth expenses?

[Leslie06]

Through my husband's job we have a medical reimbursement plan... this is the plan created by the IRS where you can have money from your paycheck put into a health care account before taxes in order to use for medical expenses.

We have quite a bit in there for this plan year & are of course are wanting to use it up. I have called our plan administrator & they have no clue if they can reimburse for homebirth expenses & told me they'd call me back after they found out from the IRS.

So I am just wondering if anyone has successfully used their health care reimbursement plan to pay for homebirth fees & if so, was there anything special you had to do? And if anyone has any links to IRS policy on this, I'd appreciate them! I looked but couldn't find them.

TIA!

[dogmom327]

Is it an flexible spending account or a healthcare savings account? I'm hoping to use my FSA.

[Leslie06]

Yes! That is exactly what I'm talking about.

[fallriverfox]

We're trying really hard and I think that it will go through. We paid the midwife the whole fee up front, but they wouldn't reimburse until after the baby was born (which was day before yesterday). So we'll re-submit and it sounds like it shouldn't be a problem now.

[CallMeMommy]

I talked to both my HR department and my insurance company and was told I could NOT get reimbursement from flex spending. I had an unlicensed DEM, though, so licensure may make a difference.

[dogmom327]

Originally Posted by CallMeMommy

I talked to both my HR department and my insurance company and was told I could NOT get reimbursement from flex spending. I had an unlicensed DEM, though, so licensure may make a difference.

Ugh. I'm in the same boat so that doesn't sound good.

[billikengirl]

It depends on what kind of account it is. The FSA (you contribute the $$ pre tax) can be used for a legal midwife and all kinds of other things. The eligibility of expenses is determined by the IRS.

If it's an HRA (the employer contributes the $$), like at my husband's work, the health plan (in our case Blue Cross Blue Shield of Tennessee, booooooo) determines which expenses are eligible for reimbursement. And in our case, since our policy has a specific exclusion for home birth, no HRA funds will be reimbursed for the birth part. Perhaps some for the prenatal care.

[dogmom327]

Originally Posted by billikengirl

It depends on what kind of account it is. The FSA (you contribute the $$ pre tax) can be used for a legal midwife and all kinds of other things. The eligibility of expenses is determined by the IRS.

When you say "legal midwife" you mean legal to practice in the state right? I only ask because in Oregon, DEM's practice legally without a license (licensing is voluntary) but insurance won't reimburse a non-licensed midwife. So I can't run my midwife through insurance but I was really hoping to run the charges through my FSA account so I could at least save the taxes.

[billikengirl]

Originally Posted by dogmom327

When you say "legal midwife" you mean legal to practice in the state right? I only ask because in Oregon, DEM's practice legally without a license (licensing is voluntary) but insurance won't reimburse a non-licensed midwife. So I can't run my midwife through insurance but I was really hoping to run the charges through my FSA account so I could at least save the taxes.

Here's where I got my info. This is Cigna's interpretation of the IRS guidelines. (Edited to add: I like that Cigna mentions Birth Tubs and Doulas too!)

http://www.cigna.com/our_plans/medic..._health.html#A
Medical services - Only legal medical services are reimbursable. Amounts paid for illegal operations or treatments, regardless of whether they are rendered by licensed or unlicensed practitioners, are not reimbursable.

[momto4kids]

We have used our FSA plan twice now to pay for homebirth expenses & are planning on using it this time around as well. One thing you will need is a letter from your MW explaining what items are necessary for your birth (they even payed our birth pool expense)......

Dana

[MoonJelly]

Originally Posted by Leslie06

Through my husband's job we have a medical reimbursement plan... this is the plan created by the IRS where you can have money from your paycheck put into a health care account before taxes in order to use for medical expenses.

We have quite a bit in there for this plan year & are of course are wanting to use it up. I have called our plan administrator & they have no clue if they can reimburse for homebirth expenses & told me they'd call me back after they found out from the IRS.

So I am just wondering if anyone has successfully used their health care reimbursement plan to pay for homebirth fees & if so, was there anything special you had to do? And if anyone has any links to IRS policy on this, I'd appreciate them! I looked but couldn't find them.

TIA!

Just Google "FSA eligible expenses" and that should give you some standard lists. The list I have has several categories that I believe I can make use of. There "covered" and "potentially covered" expenses. The latter just means you need a midwife or doctor's note.

Definitely supplies would be covered under medical supplies. And you are allowed to submit co-pays and amounts for medical care that weren't covered by insurance. Personally, I wouldn't go about throwing around the word homebirth more than necessary and instead just submit just as you would any other health care expense or co-pay.

I am also not afraid to push back on the FSA managing company because really what I claim is really between me and the IRS.

[Eman'smom]

Our CNM was covered for our homebirth, the supplies would have been too, but since we've more than used all our money this year I didn't both to submit such a small expense.

[dogmom327]

On the practical side, it seems like it shouldn't be an issue. If I don't have chiropractic coverage or if my coverage runs out, I can use my FSA account to pay for treatment. In this case, I don't have coverage for a DEM/CPM so I'd think it'd work the same way...that's my rationale anyway.