Reimbursement of Nutritional Supplements
Health Savings Accounts and Flexible Spending Accounts
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Nutritional Supplements, vitamins and other products labeled 'natural medicines' cannot be included as medical expenses for tax credit or reimbursement unless a professional healthcare provider or medical practitioner recommends these products as treatment for a specific medical condition. However, some Health Savings Accounts (HSA) and Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA) allow generous reimbursements under certain circumstances.
A number of Health Savings Accounts (HSA) and Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA) allow individuals to pay for doctor recommended nutritional and dietary supplements with pre-tax dollars. By using these accounts, you can save 20% to 30% of the final costs of supplements. However, in most cases, HSAs and FSAs require a signed letter from a prescribing healthcare provider or medical practitioner outlining your diagnosis and stating that the recommended supplement may be useful in improving your health.
What you can do
Before talking to your doctor, check your health insuranve policy to determine if your HSA/FSA account may cover the costs of supplements. If your HSA/FSA allows reimbursement, visit your doctor to discuss integrating nutritional and dietary supplements into your plan of care. Most HSA/FSA require your doctor to write (and sign) a letter including your diagnosis and his/her recommendation of specific supplements for that health reason.
Take these steps to see if you can be reimbursed for natural supplements:- Visit your prescribing healthcare provider to discuss integrating natural/dietary supplements into your plan of care.
- Your provider must write and sign a letter including your diagnosis and his/her recommendation of specific supplements for your health reason OR
- Use this form to assist your prescribing healthcare provider with providing the information necessary to determine if your HSA/FSA account may be used to cover the cost of supplements.
Please note that some insurance carriers and HSA/FSA administrators ask that the message from the healthcare provider come to them on office letterhead or a prescription pad to validate that it indeed originated from the prescribing provider. Therefore, if you choose to use the sample form, you may want to ask your provider to staple a piece of their office letterhead to the form.
US Tax Code
For more information on information about reimbursement of nutritional supplements, medical and dental expenses, including the health coverage tax credit (IRS publication 502), click here.
You can also download an article published in Managed Care Magazine (Cover Dietary Supplements? Some Plans Say Yes).
Order Online or Order by Mail |
| | Order Toll Free 1-(800)- 497-6114 ( 9:00am / 6:00 pm Pacific Time) |