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Talking Points: Paulsen's FSA Roll Over Bill

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO0 -- Millions of Americans have flexible spending accounts that allow them to use pre-tax dollars for out-of-pocket medical expenses.

A flexible spending account (FSA) gets taken directly out of one's paycheck. There is a $5,000 limit per year, and people can use it for items including uncovered medical and dental expenses, orthodontics and eye glasses. But if they have any money left over at the end of the year, they lose it.

Minnesota Congressman Erik Paulsen has introduced a bill to allow people to roll over the money if they don't spend it.

"You should be able to carry it over to the next year," he said. "This is the direction we should be going in to really save health care dollars. There is bi-partisan support for this."

Paulsen is optimistic about his bill, but he says any law that changes health care takes time.

"I am going to keep aggressively moving forward," he said. "It's the way to go."

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