“Finding out that because the "initial default setting for my employer" is pay-by-check there is no way AT ALL to get them to change it to direct deposit unless I wait for the FSA company to approve the payment and cut the check and then call to have them reissue the payment as a direct deposit.”
One recurring medical bill turned into three FSA claims, a chatbot that doesn’t read, a hold queue and three paper checks to carry to the bank. None of that friction is accidental. Every hour the patient spends on paperwork is an hour the FSA company doesn’t pay its own staff to spend. The cost got moved, not removed.