November Office Update

November 2017 Clarendon Vision Office Update – Meet our new staff, new frame line, and remember to use your healthcare benefits!
There have been some fun new things happening at Clarendon Vision this month. We have new staff members to introduce you to, a great new line of frames we want you to see, and some end of the year healthcare planning to recommend.

Use your 2017 Healthcare Benefits
As 2017 is drawing to a close, now is the time to make your appointments! Be sure to take advantage of your flexible spending arrangement (FSA) dollars, which can be used for qualified medical expenses.

The details of HSA and FSA plans can be found in IRS publication 969. If you need a basic explanation of the difference between HSA and FSA plans, this article from nerdwallet breaks it down well.

The key when planning for the end of the year is that, in general, Flexible Savings Arrangement dollars (FSA) go away if they are unused. As the NerdWallet article explains:

“With some exceptions, FSAs are “use it or lose it,” and you forfeit any unused balance.”

FSA dollars can be spent on eye exams, eyeglasses, contact lenses, etc. For more information read IRS publication 502 that details qualified expenses.

From that publication:

Contact Lenses

You can include in medical expenses amounts you pay for contact lenses needed for medical reasons. You can also include the cost of equipment and materials required for using contact lenses, such as saline solution and enzyme cleaner.

If you have more detailed questions about what is allowable, please consult your tax advisor.

Be sure to call us at (630) 323-7300 or make an appointment online to get in during the 2017 calendar year. We still have appointments available in December. And remember to consider vision needs when you are making your healthcare selections for 2018. Annual health insurance enrollment is going on right now on healthcare.gov through December 15, and with most employer-sponsored plans during the month of November.

New Clarendon Vision Staff
In addition to making sure you know about flexible spending arrangements, we also wanted to introduce you to our two new staff members at Clarendon Vision. Please join us in welcoming Bea and Aniel to our vision family.

Beatriz Lopez Conde (Bea)
Bea is a vision therapist at Clarendon Vision Development Center. She was born in Spain and came to the United States in 2017. She earned a Master in Clinical Optometry and Vision Therapy from SAERA, Spain, where she had a project about learning disabilities and vision published. She also has an Expert postgraduate degree in Pediatrics Optometry and Vision Therapy and a Bachelor in Optometry and Optics from the University of Granada, Spain.

She loves helping children so they can improve academically and in their day-to-day activities. In her free time, Bea enjoys travelling and cooking for her family and friends.

Aniel Sanchez
Aniel will be responsible for setting up appointments, answering phones, and may be one of the first faces you’ll see in the office. Currently she’ll be in on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays but these days may shift as her academic responsibilities change.

Aniel is a student at Kishwaukee College. She will graduate in Spring 2018 with her Associates in Science. In the fall of 2018 she plans to enroll in nursing school in the area. Aniel grew up in Brookfield, IL and attended LTHS high school, where she was in the class of 2014.

Aniel loves to shop and hang out with friends and family and to see movies. With two little brothers this means she has seen all the latest animated and superhero movies!

New Frames in the Office
And lastly, one way you can spend your FSA dollars in 2017 is on new frames for you or other family members. You have to check out our new Ovvo Optics frames, made from surgical steel and titanium, they can withstand all kinds of stress. Our display in the office has a real pair of Ovvo Optics frames holding a 45 pound weight! These lightweight frames can handle whatever your active lifestyle requires. Our optician Rita Drew can fill you in on the details, stop in soon to check them out.

Here at Clarendon Vision we have been providing vision guidance and vision therapy since 2002. With so many years in practice, we’ve developed our expertise in numerous ways to bring the best vision possible to you or your child. If you’d like to schedule an appointment, please contact us at (630) 323-7300 or request an appointment online.