{
  "id": "RL32656",
  "type": "CRS Report",
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      "id": 409302,
      "date": "2012-06-13",
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      "title": "Health Care Flexible Spending Accounts",
      "summary": "Health care Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs) are benefit plans established by employers to reimburse employees for health care expenses such as deductibles and copayments. FSAs are usually funded by employees through salary reduction agreements, although employers are permitted to contribute as well. The contributions to and withdrawals from FSAs are tax-exempt.\nHistorically, health care FSA contributions were forfeited if not used by the end of the year. However, in 2005, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) formally determined that employers may extend the deadline for using unspent balances up to 2\u00bd months after the end of the plan year (i.e, until March 15 for most plans). The Tax Relief and Health Care Act of 2006 (P.L. 109-432) allows individuals to make limited, one-time rollovers from balances in their health care FSAs to Health Savings Accounts (HSAs). \nAccording to the Bureau of Labor Statistics National Compensation Survey, 39% of all workers in 2010 had access to a health care flexible spending account. When viewed by firm size, 56% of workers in firms with more than 100 workers had access to a health care FSA. The accounts were not as common for workers in small businesses. In establishments with fewer than 100 employees, 20% of the workers could choose to participate in an FSA. Not all employees offered an FSA chose to participate. According to a 2010 Mercer Survey, 37% of employees offered an FSA chose to participate and the average annual contribution was $1,420. In 2003, FSAs became available to federal employees for the first time. In September 2008, about 240,000 federal employees had health care FSAs.\nThese other points might be noted about health care FSAs:\nFSAs are limited to employees and former employees.\nThe IRS imposes no dollar limit on health care FSA contributions, but employers generally do.\nFSAs generally can be used only for unreimbursed medical expenses that would be deductible under the Internal Revenue Code, but not for health insurance or long-term care insurance premiums.\nEmployers may impose additional restrictions.\nThe Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA; P.L. 111-148), some provisions of which are amended by the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 (P.L. 111-152), modified the definition of qualified medical expenses to exclude over-the-counter prescriptions (not prescribed by a physician) as a qualified expense effective 2011. In addition, ACA limits the annual FSA contributions to $2,500 beginning in 2013.\nOn June 7, 2012, the House passed H.R. 436, the Health Care Cost Reduction Act of 2012, which would allow up to $500 of unused balances in health FSAs to be distributed back to the account holder after the plan year ends and to allow over-the-counter prescriptions to be a qualified medical expense (thus repealing the provision introduced in ACA). The bill has been sent to the Senate for its consideration. Similar bills in the Senate have been referred to the Senate Finance Committee (S. 1368 and S. 1404). This report discusses these bills in greater detail. \nThis report will be updated for new data or as legislative activity occurs.",
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      "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc87290/",
      "id": "RL32656_2012Jun05",
      "date": "2012-06-05",
      "retrieved": "2012-07-03T07:51:21",
      "title": "Health Care Flexible Spending Accounts",
      "summary": "Health care Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs) are benefit plans established by employers to reimburse employees for health care expenses such as deductibles and copayments. FSAs are usually funded by employees through salary reduction agreements, although employers are permitted to contribute as well. The contributions to and withdrawals from FSAs are tax-exempt. This report discusses two recent bills, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) and the Health Care Cost Reduction Act of 2012, both of which limits contributions to FSAs and redefines over the counter (OTC) drugs,",
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      "id": "RL32656_2012Jan11",
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      "id": "RL32656_2008Oct08",
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      "id": "RL32656_2007Mar13",
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