Many employers offer a flexible spending account, which allows you to receive some tax advantages for medical related costs in most cases. Some offer what is called a Health Savings Account (HSA), and others offer a Flexible Spending Account (FSA). One negative about the FSA is that if you do not use the money you contributed each year, you lose the money for that year. In most cases, the deadline to receive services or incur medical related costs is December 31st. However, some employers also offer you a grace period, allowing you to spend your FSA money up thru March of the following year. For example, if you contributed during 2011, in some cases, you would have until March 2012 to spend your 2011 contributions. Again, check with your employer to see if they do this. So, if you've got some extra money left in the account, it may not be a bad idea to go ahead and get any issues you have dealt with this year instead of losing the money. There are also several things you can purchase that do not require a prescription (i.e. a thermometer) and also get reimbursed.
Be sure and check your account as soon as possible, so you can prepare yourself for next year. If you know you are going to have some major medical costs coming up, hopefully you also planned for that during your Open Enrollment period. There's no way to tell exactly how much you'll need, but do your best to anticipate anything coming up. This includes your normal prescriptions, co-pays related to regular visits, etc. I hope this helps you in your planning for health costs in the upcoming year and in the future.
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