There are several ways that you may access your Health Savings Account to pay for qualifying expenses.

• You may elect to use either your debit card or checks to pay providers directly or,
• You may go on line at your custodial bank and use the bank's bill paying feature. With this feature, you may either pay a provider directly or reimburse yourself for expenses you have paid personally by making yourself the payee and the custodial bank will send you a check for whatever amount you request and then debit your account for that amount free of charge. You will receive a check in the mail payable to yourself in just a few days. It's fast ... it's easy ... and it's secure!

(Q) What if my medical service provider does not accept MasterCard/Visa?
(A) The FlexBank Administrators HSA provides you with most of the features of any of any traditional Custodial Bank checking accounts. This means that you can use online bill-payer or write a check or make a withdrawal to pay for qualified medical expenses.

Tips on using your Debit Card
If you so choose, you will be issued a Mastercard/Visa that can be either used as a debit card with a PIN (personal identification number) or as a credit card with your signature. The card will work either way. You should be aware that some merchants charge a transaction fee where there is a PIN used.

We have found that in some cases the merchant (usually pharmacies) will ask you to use your PIN when you present your card to make a purchase or they will ask if your card is a debit card or credit card. We suggest you indicate “credit” to avoid such charges. Have the merchant swipe your card as "credit" and then you simply sign the receipt.

NOTE: You should always be ready to pay for medical services in a form other than your debit/credit card. This is true because your card may be rejected even though you have money in your account. Example: Your prescription is $50.00. You have $49.00 in your account. The card will reject entirely. It will not allow the $49.00 with a cash payment of $1.00.

Card Limitations
Point-of-sale transactions may be either PIN based or signature-based.

(Q) Is my HSA a savings account or a checking account?
(A) Your HSA is an interest bearing checking account that maintains the features of both savings and a checking account. When accessing your account On-Line you should always select “checking”.

(Q) Does my card act like a credit card?
(A) No. Using a credit card is essentially making a short-term loan in the amount of the entire purchase price. You are then billed for the purchase within 30 days. Your card is strictly a Debit Card meaning you must have sufficient funds in your account to use your card.

(Q) How do I activate my card?
(A) If you are required to activate your card, instructions will be included in the package of information.

(Q) Canceling Your Card (A) Should your card be lost or stolen please contact FlexBank Administrators between 8 - 5 EST M - F at 937.299.5515 ~ 888.677.8373 or via e-mail. To contact us by e-mail, go to our web site at FlexBank.net and click on "Ask Us Questions" (NOTE: Do not send private information such as account numbers or SSN via email) - or email HSA@FlexBank.net. Your account may be charged a Lost Card fee. The bank reserves the right to cancel your debit card access at any time. You must return your debit card(s) upon demand.

(Q) Can I have more than one card?
(A) Yes. If you are opening an HSA with us and wish for someone else to have access to your account, please complete the section entitled “Power of Attorney”. You will receive an additional card for the person so designated in this section. The initial cards are free.

Traditional Checks

(Q) What if there are insufficient funds available in the HSA to make a payment for services rendered?
(A) HSA checks will bounce, debit card transactions will reject, and overdraft fees will be accessed where there are insufficient funds available. FlexBank provides two ways for the client to know their balance: free On-Line account access via internet and monthly statements from the custodial bank. Federal and state banking regulators prohibit banks from issuing HSA credit cards or making credit available to an HSA account such as checking account sweeps (sometimes called “ready reserve” or “personal reserve accounts”, etc.).

Must HSA trustees or custodians determine whether HSA distributions are used exclusively for qualified medical expenses?
No. HSA trustees or custodians are not required to determine whether HSA distributions are used for qualified medical expenses. Individuals who establish HSAs make that determination and should maintain records of their medical expenses sufficient to show that the distributions have been made exclusively for qualified medical expenses and are therefore excludable from gross income.

Remember, distributions should only be used for qualifying medical, vision, hearing or dental expenses.