What Are FSA Eligible Eye Care Expenses?

What Are FSA Eligible Eye Care Expenses?

Did you know, if you have an FSA, you could be saving a packet on your eye care expenses? An FSA (or flexible spending account) is a great employer-sponsored healthcare benefit that allows you to contribute some of your regular earnings towards qualifying medical, dental or indeed optical expenses that you may incur. The good news is that any money that you pay into your FSA is deducted directly from your earnings before they are subjected to payroll taxes, helping you to lower your tax liabilities as well as have a nice pot of money from which to pay many of your important expenses.

Looking after our eyes properly should be a priority and having an FSA makes this task much more manageable. This is because there are a variety of important eligible eye care expenses that can help you to maintain healthy, functioning eyes and enjoy clear vision. These include the following:
 

Comprehensive Eye Exams

The American Optometric Association recommends that everyone undergoes fairly regular comprehensive eye exams. These exams are more than simple eye tests to determine how clearly you can see. They are also used to check the health of your eyes. This is important since many underlying conditions that can affect the eyes don’t present with any discernible symptoms until there is significant damage done to them. Comprehensive eye exams can also be used to detect general health problems such as diabetes and high blood pressure.

Exactly how often you will need to have an eye exam will depend on your individual circumstances and whether or not you have a refractive eye error that requires you to wear prescription lenses. This is because prescriptions can change over time.
 

Eye Surgery

Nobody likes to think that they will need to have surgery, especially surgery that affects your eyes. However, there are some traumas and conditions that can only be resolved using a surgical procedure. For example, a detached retina requires surgery to reattach it, while cataracts can only be treated by replacing the existing clouded lens with an artificial one. In addition to these types of procedures, FSA can also be used for laser vision correction procedures such as LASIK and PRK. These treatments can make it possible for many patients to enjoy a clear vision with less or no reliance on prescription eyewear.
 

Glasses

Nearsightedness, farsightedness, astigmatism, and presbyopia are all common reasons for patients to need prescription lenses (or laser vision correction). Glasses remain the most popular solution for correcting refractive eye problems that cause blurred vision. Unsurprisingly, glasses can be quite expensive. In addition to the lenses themselves, you will have to think about the cost of the frames, cleaning kits, cases, and even repairs. Fortunately, these elements of conventional glasses are FSA eligible.
 

Contact Lenses

Contact lenses are a very popular alternative to glasses, and like glasses, they come with some considerable costs. These include the lenses, carry cases, cleaning pots and solutions and more – all of which quickly add up! You also need to have contact lens exams that check the fit of your chosen lenses to make sure that they are working well for you. Fortunately, contact lenses and their associated equipment are covered by FSA too.
 

Eye Drops

Eye drops are one of the most common types of treatment given for problems with the eyes. There are numerous different types, from artificial tears to help combat dry eye syndrome to steroid or antihistamine eye drops to help patients to manage the effects that allergies have on their eyes. The good news is that the cost of most types of eye drops are covered by FSA.

If you have further questions about eligible eye care expenses using FSA, or if you would like to schedule an appointment, please get in touch by calling our knowledgeable team at Lifetime Vision and Eye Care in Miami Gardens, FL today.