Hospital Care: FSA Eligibility

What is hospital care?

Hospital care is the service provided to patients who are admitted to a hospital for the diagnosis, prevention, or treatment of a disease. Hospital care may involve an overnight stay, meals, or other associated costs including visits with medical doctors, nurses and staff. Hospital care may be required when initial symptoms of an illness are assessed as requiring further testing that can only be performed in a hospital. Some forms of testing may require hours, days or weeks of observation during which time hospital care is required (World Health Organization).

Hospital care may also be required after the treatment of an injury, such as a car accident or fall. After treating an injury, a doctor will determine if it's safe and appropriate to return home, or if hospital care is required. It's very common to require hospital care after surgery.

Medical conditions that require hospital care include cancer, serious infections by bacteria or a virus, digestive disorders, heart disease, and any disease that requires surgery to treat or alleviate.

Hospital care is eligible for reimbursement with a consumer-directed healthcare account. Hospital care is fairly expensive. Hospitals are required to provide hospital care in any emergency or life-threatening setting. Emergency rooms in hospitals are set up to provide hospital care for injuries and medical conditions that require immediate attention. Hospital care is normally provided by a variety of medical professionals including doctors, nurses, physicians' assistants, surgeons, and more.

Hospital care may be specialized based on the needs of an area. Examples of specialized hospital care include a children's hospital, trauma center, rehabilitation hospital, geriatric hospital, veteran's hospital, psychiatric center, or a diseased-focused hospital such as a cardiac or oncological center.