Baby Care Costs

Baby care costs can be cut using your Flexible Spending Account (FSA).  Your newborn baby is a bundle of joy, and an unending source of deductible expenses.

A healthcare flexible spending account allows you to pay for a litany of extra well baby care expenses with pre-tax dollars.  You'll be amazed at the amount of qualified expenses you might have for your health baby.  

You will have extra expenses at your pediatrician, over-the-counter children's and pediatric medications, plus items for mom.  Cut these costs using your FSA.

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends a checkup at 2 weeks, followed by visits at 2, 4, 6, and 9 months, 12, 15, and 18 months, and 2 years.  That is a minimum of seven vists during your baby's first year, assuming there are no extra visits for colds, ear aches, etc.  Each visit will generate a co-pay or co-insurance bill, which can be funded with pre-tax dollars using a healthcare FSA.

You may find yourself stocking up on a variety of special formulations for your infant, many of which can be purchased using pre-tax dollars from your Healthcare Flexible Spending Account.  The recent healthcare reform legislation place additional burdens on eligibility for some of these items.  Any over the counter medications may need a doctor's prescription.  Look for items such as: 

• Diaper rash ointments
• Toilet seat covers
• Orajel
• Vaporizers
• Children's Aspirin, Advil, Tylenol
• Infant Mylicon, Antigas formulations
• Polysporin
• Pedialyte
• Pediatric cough medications
• Pediatric cold medications
• Pediatric allergy medications
• Character bandaids, bandages, etc.
• Thermometer

Mom may require a variety of extra visits to the OB-Gyn for portpartum care.  Again, each visit will generate a separate co-pay or co-insurance payemnt, which can be funded with pre-tax dollars paid through a healthcare flexible spending account.

Many women experience postpartum depression, and may seek extra counseling.  Check your insurance policy to see if these sessions are covered.  Once again, co payments and co-insurance become important to understand.  Amounts paid for counseling to treat a specific medical or mental illness can be paid for using a healthcare flexible spending account. 

Some other expenses have created a storm of controversy: breast pumps and supplies have been ruled ineligible for FSA use.  They are not considered medical devices despite the overwhelming evidence showing improved health for your infant.