One of the many complicated elements of healthcare in the United States of America for elderly people is the flex spending cards that are part of Medicare.
They are essentially like pre-paid debit cards that Medicare beneficiaries can use to get durable medical equipment as well as other types of medical expenses.
They are not a benefit that provides any extra funds or access than normal but are available on some specific Medicare Advantage plans which are offered by private insurance companies.
There are often a lot of misleading adverts for flex cards. Some may claim that the card will have up to 2,880 dollars from Medicare to be spent as you please. In practice, they do not have that much money on them. The average amount in 2023 is 500 dollars.
There are different Medicare plans out there so it is important to shop around and decide what really suits your needs best.
Flex card eligibility
In order to get hold of a flex card, you must be a member of a participating Medicare plan. You must live within the service area of a plan that offers a flex card and enroll during a Medicare enrollment period. This could be your Initial Enrollment Period or annual enrollment.
The main advantage to having a flex card is that you have a pre-paid debit card with which to make eligible purchases. It is an easy way to get supplemental benefits or to reduce enrollee cost sharing on covered benefits.
The downside is that they are only offered by Medicare Advantage plans, not Original Medicare. Very few Medicare Advantage plans actually offer them, and as mentioned the amounts are generally lower than advertised.