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Good lists of medical supplies to stock up on? Help me spend $1000 by Friday! :-) - Page 2  

post #21 of 33
10/8/08 at 10:13am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Equuskia View Post
invest in making homebith kits and then selling them?
GREAT idea!
post #22 of 33
10/8/08 at 11:00am
I'm pretty sure the rules are that you must spend by then end of the employment. I don't want to see her lose that money.

I came up with a second list, going through this page: http://www.cigna.com/our_plans/medic...sa_health.html

It's a lot of general care stuff that might not apply to your immediate family, but maybe could use in a community setting or barter.

Allergy – Topical, OTC (children, adult), eye drops
Birth control (looks like this is covered now)
Eye drops (like Visine)
Braces – Knee, wrist, etc.
Gauze bandages
Cold and flu remedies
Antibiotic cream
Rubbing Alcohol (?)
Hydrogen peroxide (?)
Insect repellant
First aid kits
Nasal wash systems (i.e. Neti Pots)
Syringes – oral, other
Hot pads
Q-tips, Cotton balls
Pill cutter
Shampoo, medicated
Sports Gear, Protective
Sports mouthguard
Sunscreen
Stethoscope
Toilet seat covers
Special foods - The costs of special foods and/or beverages - even if prescribed - that substitute for other foods or beverages which a person would normally consume and which satisfy nutritional requirements (such as the consumption of bananas for potassium), are not deductible. However, prescribed special foods or beverages are reimbursable if they are consumed primarily to alleviate or treat an illness or disease, and not for nutritional purposes. Special foods and beverages are reimbursable only to the extent that their cost is greater than the cost of the commonly available version of the same product. Claim submission should include the normal cost of the item.

I couldn't find it on the list, but I think masks would be good to have for first aid supplies.

Also, remember you can claim any mileage from previous appointments, if you haven't claimed that.

If you are buying from Walgreens, CVS or a lot of other chains, they have a code on the receipt that indicates that something is FSA eligible. Just run down the receipt and make sure it's all eligible. Or, hang on to the receipt and return stuff if you are not reimbursed.
post #23 of 33
10/8/08 at 11:27am
This is weird, but could you buy giftcards to the Rx places? Then if you have to fill an rx anytime soon, you can pay with them with the cards???
post #24 of 33
10/8/08 at 11:35am
Are you pregnant or have other medical bills you know are coming up in the near future? I think you can prepay those. What about just getting an eye exam? I don't think you need to actually buy glasses or contacts. I think an exam on it's own would count. Need some sort of durable medical supply? I think those would qualify.
post #25 of 33
10/8/08 at 12:29pm
Dental work is all I can think of that hasn't been mentioned. Got any impacted teeth that ought to come out?

And I'm really sorry about the layoff.
post #26 of 33
10/8/08 at 12:32pm
I'm sorry your dh got laid off.

I would focus on supplies you could sell for cash on ebay, or items that stores would accept returned without receipts for cash.
post #27 of 33
10/8/08 at 12:57pm
This site has a good list
post #28 of 33
10/8/08 at 3:03pm
That gave me a good idea - you could make first aid kits and give them as Holiday gifts. Stuff like that is always handy - good teacher gifts or co-workers or in-laws you don't know very well!
post #29 of 33
10/8/08 at 3:04pm
Careful with meds and vitamins - many expire in rather quickly. It wouldn't make sense to stock on more than you would use in the next 1-2 years.

I think the idea of buying supplies and making kits you could sell isn't bad. It's your money...home birth kits, emergency kits, etc.
post #30 of 33
10/8/08 at 6:18pm
I know I'm just paranoid, and some of this comes from living in the great white north, but I'd stock up on anything you need to treat a badass case of the flu -- antihistimines, painkillers, fever reducer, whatever it is that your family takes when they're sick. You know, just in case we have an epidemic and we're all stuck in our homes for the duration. Or a bad snow storm, which is much more likely.

And actually, I WOULD buy a stethescope and a blood pressure cuff and even an otoscope if you have someone around who can help you learn to use them.

You might also see if you can find a copy of "Where there is no doctor" and see what they recommend.
post #31 of 33
10/8/08 at 7:22pm
Get the approved FSA list from your insurance provider, as they vary by company.

I know vitamins was not covered by my FSA unless it was doctor perscribed.

I had a couple hundred dollars I needed to spend and stocked up on guaze, band-aids, espon salt, hydrogen peroxide, rubbing alchol, iodine, etc but I carefully cross checked my approved FSA list.

However, then I did something really stupid... the date on my recipt was on the very bottom at the end with several stupid marketing "offers", so I tore of the bottom part and thu the date as well so didn't get reimbursed ... dumb, dumb, dumb, but my fault not theirs.
post #32 of 33
10/8/08 at 10:11pm
Thread Starter 
Thanks for all the great suggestions!!

I looked for "Where there is no doctor" and found that the Hesperian foundation, who publishes the book, also has the complete book online in PDF format. Chapter 23 has a suggested list for a home and community medicine kit.

http://www.hesperian.org/publications_download.php
post #33 of 33
10/9/08 at 12:00am
Someone I know had a v. similiar situation. She went to Sams Club and spent it all on Nicotine patches (b/c it was an easy way to spend a lot of money quickly,) waited a couple of weeks, and then returned them for credit on her debit card.

I thought it was a really bad idea. I thought Sams would insist on putting it back on the same card. They didn't.

Her plan was to sell the patches on ebay if it didn't work out.
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