Flexible Spending Acciunt Refunds

[chapeau]

This is a new one for me. I just received 2 separate checks in the mail for $15 each. They're from our local health system. $15 is my copay for doctor’s office visits, but there’s absolutely no explanation whatsoever with them, although there is a number I can call for more information. I’m assuming these are refunds for copays that shouldn’t have been charged. I’m not sure what to do with them. I’ve had a flexible spending account for years, so I’m not sure if this is actually “mine”, or if it should go back to my FSA.
I have receipts for every FSA expense, mostly scanned in at this point.
Should I just cash the checks and not ask questions, or should I call next week and at least find out what year these are from?

[Knee Deep in Water Chloe]

Just cash them.

[wvugurl26]

Do you have paperless reimbursement with the FSA? Some of the insurance companies available to me participate. Insurer sends your FSA the EOB and your portion is refunded to you automatically.

When I first started I signed up for that option. My FSA and dental ended up processing in separate pay periods. I got an error message that it couldn't be processed. I shrugged and submitted paper receipts. My health insurer doesn't participate.

A couple years ago I got a message that a FSA claim was denied as being a duplicate. A good 4 years after sign up the paperless stuff started working for dental. I had already submitted the receipt myself. I went in and turned off that option after that.

[Deleted]

You are supposed to send the $$$ back to the FSA administrator.  This happened to me a couple of years ago.  

That said, it was so complicated that if I got a small check again ($30 in my case), I would just cash it.  And I consider myself the ultimate rule follower!

[wvugurl26]

After my account got locked once I didn't attempt to fix any errors. I just held back enough claims to cover the amount in case of any audit later. It's just easier.

[chapeau]

I guess I’ll call tomorrow and find out what the checks are from. My employer just got FSA spending cards last year, so if the refunds are older, I’m not worrying about it. If they’re from this year I’ll see what I’m supposed to do.

Thanks everybody!

[Tennesseer]

While this post has nothing to do with a flexible spending account, it is about contacting a check issuer.

My employer had and still has a 'Bravo Zulu' program.  It's a program which acknowledges something good or out of the norm performance an employee did.  Some times there is only a letter of appreciation and some times a letter plus a check.

Several weeks before I retired, I was cleaning out my briefcase and found two old BZ checks I had never cashed.  As the checks were several years old and the check had a notice on them good for 90 days only, I contacted our payroll department and asked if the checks could be reissued.  Payroll said "Sure."

Payroll also told me there were two additional BZ checks from several years back amounting to $450 never cashed.  My guess is one of my managers ordered the checks but for some reason never awarded them to me.  Payroll asked me if I wanted them.  I said "Sure" too.

In my case it paid to ask. 

[GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl]

😳

I got a check for several hundred dollars recently from a periodontist. My FSA does not have a card, we submit receipts. I suspect my dental insurance paid more than the estimate and so they refunded me the $$ since I had paid it (before submitting it to FSA). Didn’t give it too much analysis then and simply deposited it. Oops! I’m not too worried. I will exhaust my FSA long before the Plan year is up, and then some.