When Others Mess Up Your Budget

GRRRR!!!!

Right now, as G-man and I are trying to work on our issues, we are each seeking professional help individually, as well as as a couple.  We pay a $20 co-pay each visit.  So just for these three weekly visits, we are shelling out $60.

Bossy gets occupational therapy weekly, at another $20. 

For those who are not math saavy...that is $80 a week....or between $320-$400 a month (depending on how the month runs), just on co-pays. 

We signed up with our flexible spending plan during open enrollment, which automatically takes roughly $145 per pay check out.   The way our plan works is as soon as a claim is paid by the insurance company, we are credited our remaining amount.  In the ideal world, we pay the co-pay, and fairly quickly we are reimbursed.

At this point, we are shelling out money much faster than it is being replenished.  If it takes the doctor's office longer to send in the claim, or to settle the claim....it takes longer for us to be reimbursed.  And this cycle is starting to cause problems.

We need that money back.  We have bills to pay.  We are already paying out almost $300 a month into the account.  If we didn't have the FSA, we would already have the money to pay (in theory).  Of course, then we don't get the tax benefit.  But right now the equation isn't balanced.

I know shortly we will get a huge reimbursement, and it will all be ok.  But right now, I have had to "borrow" $200 from our savings account to get us to tomorrow (my payday), which will go back by the end the week.  But we need to go grocery shopping.  We need to pay the water bill.

In short....we need our money back!!!

Those people wait until the end of the year and then submit their receipts....good for you that you can do that.  But we can't.  When you spend as much out of pocket as we do on medical, we just can't do that.  (we spend almost 15% of our gross income on medical alone).

So dearest doctors....please figure out your billing issues.  We need our money!!!!