Some Medicare Advantage (Part C) plans provide a flex card for expenses like food, utilities, and medical transportation. To qualify, you must be eligible for Medicare and enrolled in a participating Part C plan.
If you’re eligible for Original Medicare (parts A and B), you have the option of signing up for Medicare Advantage (Part C).
This is an alternative to Original Medicare. Though private insurers manage Part C plans, they offer the same benefits as Original Medicare.
Some Part C plans also offer extra benefits. One benefit may be a flex card, which works like a prepaid debit card and is often linked to a flexible spending account (FSA).
Read on to learn whether you’re eligible for a flex card, how to apply for one, and how to use it.
Not everyone enrolled in Medicare can have a flex card. Original Medicare doesn’t offer a flex card, and only certain Part C plans offer this benefit.
To get a flex card, you need to be enrolled in a Part C plan that offers this benefit. To qualify for part C, you must already be enrolled in Original Medicare (parts A and B).
Original Medicare eligibility is primarily on your age and begins at age 65 years. In addition, you need to be a U.S. citizen or a legal permanent resident for a minimum of 5 continuous years. But you can qualify at a younger age if you receive certain disability benefits or live with certain medical conditions.
Once you’re enrolled in Original Medicare, you can choose to replace this traditional plan with a Part C plan.
If you’re considering enrolling in Part C based on the benefit of getting a flex card, it’s a good idea to visit Medicare.gov, explore the available plans in your area, and check whether they offer a flex card as part of their benefits.
After enrolling in a Part C plan that offers a flex card, you may need to contact your plan to enroll in this benefit. This may involve filling out an application. In other cases, you may receive a flex card automatically. How this works depends on your specific plan.
Typically, your plan will load your flex card with a predetermined allowance every month that you can use for certain eligible expenses. These may include:
- groceries
- utilities
- medical transportation
- over-the-counter medications or other products, such as first-aid supplies or vitamins
- medical copays
- vision and hearing benefits
- certain home improvements
That said, what you can use your flex card for depends on the rules of your specific Part C plan.
Generally, the flex card can help you pay for expenses that you would otherwise have to pay for out-of-pocket. But you may want to be aware of some potential risks.
The government may, in some cases, count your flex card allowance as income or assets when determining your eligibility for other benefits. For instance, there have been some reports of people not receiving other benefits due to having a flex card.
This may include benefits such as:
- rental assistance
- the Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE)
- Supplemental Security Income (SSI)
It’s unclear whether this is consistently the case. For this reason, representatives from the U.S. House have been lobbying to formally exclude the flex card from counting as income or assets by the government.
Another factor to be aware of is scams related to flex cards. People have reported receiving scam phone calls or messages about flex card eligibility.
You should sign up for a flex card only when you enroll in a Part C plan and only directly through your plan website or via the official phone number. If you get a phone call advertising a flex card, hang up and call your plan back on its official number.
Typically, your flex card is loaded annually, and you have the full calendar year to use this amount for eligible benefits. How much you get to spend depends on your plan.
For example, Memorial Hermann offers Medicare Advantage plans with flex cards loaded with $1,000 per year for vision and hearing benefits, $75 to $200 per quarter for over-the-counter products, and $50 to $255 per quarter to put toward grocers.
That said, when considering whether such an allowance is financially worthwhile, you also have to consider the cost of your overall plan.
Part C premiums, deductibles, and coinsurance vary depending on your plan. According to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), the average monthly premium for Part C plans is around $17.00 in 2025.
In addition, to be enrolled in a Part C plan, you still have to pay the Part B premium. That said, some Part C may cover your Part B premium. For 2025, the Part B premium starts at $185 per month, depending on your income.
Some Part C plans include extra perks like a flex card and a prepaid debit card linked to a flexible spending account. You can receive the flex card only if you’re enrolled in a Part C plan that offers this benefit.
In this case, your plan will add a monthly allowance to your flex card for eligible expenses like food and over-the-counter drugs.
However, there is a possibility that the government may consider this allowance as income or assets, potentially reducing your other benefits. Additionally, you need to consider your Part C costs.