With the end of 2009 nearing, drugstore.com is pointing customers with "use it or lose it" balances remaining in flexible spending accounts to its online FSA Store for savings on thousands of items.

The online retailer said the store is offering more than 3,000 FSA-eligible nonprescription items — many on sale, and some with instant coupons — to help customers with the accounts stretch their dollars and get the most out of their balances.

BELLEVUE, Wash. — With the end of 2009 nearing, drugstore.com is pointing customers with "use it or lose it" balances remaining in flexible spending accounts to its online FSA Store for savings on thousands of items.

The online retailer said Tuesday that its FSA Store, which can be accessed at www.drugstore.com/fsa, is offering more than 3,000 competitively priced, FSA-eligible nonprescription items to help customers with FSAs stretch their dollars and get the most out of their account balances.

Many products are on sale, and some offer high-value instant "click and save" coupons, according to the company, which also is highlighting low prices on contact lenses through its VisionDirect.com site as well as its pharmacy offerings on the main drugstore.com site.

The FSA Store displays all products eligible for the pretax health care account in one easy-to-search destination, drugstore.com noted. The site also streamlines the process by managing the required financial substantiation. All FSA debit cards are accepted, and customers who need receipts for reimbursement can print an FSA-only receipt for any time period by accessing their online account.

Most FSA plans require account holders to use all of their health care dollars by the end of the calendar year, and other plans give members until March 15 to do so. The accounts can be used for medical expenses, prescription drugs, contact lenses and certain nonprescription products. Drugstore.com said there are about 35 million FSA participants nationwide.

"While Congress debates health care reform and whether nonprescription products will continue to be FSA-eligible in the coming years, participants can still use their FSA funds for this plan year and take advantage of this important benefit," David Lonczak, vice president and chief marketing officer at drugstore.com, said in a statement.

The FSA Store reflects drugstore.com’s efforts to create one-stop shopping destinations for certain product categories. Dedicated online stores include Beauty.com and VisionDirect.com, and the retailer last month launched SexualWellBeing.com for sexual wellness products.