Can you buy a compression or diabetic sock with your HSA or FSA? Is it an eligible expense?
The short answer is yes, you may, as long as you obtain a Letter of Medical Necessity
We’ve partnered with Truemed to allow you to use your Health Savings Account (HSA) or Flexible Spending Account (FSA) at Dr. Johnny's. This means you can buy our products with pre-tax dollars, resulting in net savings of 30-40%.
The standard rule is that a sock is not FSA/HSA eligible, meaning you cannot use these accounts to pay for it directly. However, a sock purchase may be eligible if you obtain a Letter of Medical Necessity from a medical provider. Eligible expenses with an FSA/HSA usually include medically necessary treatments and equipment.
So to use your FSA/HSA to pay for a sock, it must qualify as a medical expense. Generally, a Letter of Medical Necessity (LMN) from a healthcare provider is required to justify the health benefits and necessity of a sock for treatment or therapy. Since diabetic socks, compression socks, and other wellness products are now considered very beneficial tools for physical health, FSA and HSA cards are now being accepted as health and medical expenses as long as they are accompanied by a LMN.
Dr. Johnny's has partnered with Truemed to help you obtain a Letter of Medical Necessity so you can use your FSA/HSA funds to purchase your socks. HSAs and FSAs were created for you to spend tax-advantaged dollars on products and services that can treat or prevent medical conditions and Truemed is making it easy to do just that.
How does Truemed work?
The process is simple - follow these steps based on whether you have sufficient funds on your FSA/HSA debit card.
Your FSA/HSA debit card has enough funds for the full purchase amount
- Add items to your cart and checkout
- Select Truemed - Pay with FSA/HSA as payment option
- Follow the steps and enter your HSA or FSA card details
- Fill in a short and secure eligibility form
- Complete your purchase
Your HSA/FSA debit card does not have enough funds for the full purchase amount
- On the product page, click on the "Get pre-qualified" link and complete the details
- Once approved, you will be issued a Letter of Medical Necessity (LMN) for your purchase
- Once you receive your LMN, use your credit card to complete the purchase on our website
- After your purchase, follow the reimbursement instructions sent to you to submit your receipts and LMN to your HSA/FSA provider.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Truemed?
Truemed partners with health and wellness brands like Dr. Johnny's to enable qualified customers to use FSA/HSA funds on health and wellness purchases. Truemed partners with a network of medical practitioners who can issue Letters of Medical Necessity to qualifying customers, thereby saving customers money on health and wellness purchases.
Truemed is backed by best-in-class investors, including functional medicine pioneer Mark Hyman and founders from Thrive Market, Eight Sleep, and Levels.
Why should I use FSA/HSA funds to purchase a Socks?
Using your HSA/FSA funds on eligible products, like socks, can result in significant savings. These accounts use pre-tax dollars, which means you could save up to 30-40% on average on your purchases at Dr. Johnny's by using TrueMed.
How does using my FSA/HSA save me money?
HSA/FSA accounts were created so individuals could use pretax money to pay for expenses incurred in the prevention or alleviation of a disease. Because HSA/FSA uses tax-free money, you’re getting more purchasing power for your dollars. Rather than pay taxes on your income and then spend it on health items, you can use pre-tax funds to invest in your health.
An individual can contribute up to $3,850 pretax to their HSA per year, or $7,750 for a family (plus an additional $1000 if you are 55+). Individuals can contribute up to $3,050 pretax to their FSA per year (with an additional $500 in employer contributions allowed). Almost every individual will save between $1,000 and $2,000, depending on their state and tax rate.
I don’t have an FSA/HSA. Can I still benefit from Truemed at Dr. Johnny's?
Unfortunately, Truemed’s services are for individuals who have HSA or FSA accounts (or plan to fund one during open enrollment). We encourage you to ask your employer for information on HSAs or FSAs.
What is a Letter of Medical Necessity, and how is this compliant?
The items contained in a Letter of Medical Necessity (“LMN”) are now qualified medical expenses in the same way a visit to the doctor’s office or pharmaceutical product is.
Since we are facing a chronic disease crisis in the US, there are thousands of studies showing food and exercise are often the best medicines to prevent and reverse disease.
Exercise qualifies as a qualified medical expense with an LMN. Food, supplements, and other wellness purchases qualify as medical expenses if they treat or prevent an illness, and a doctor substantiates the need.
Your Truemed LMN satisfies all IRS requirements to make your wellness spend fully reimbursable.
Truemed also offers a guarantee that they will pay the full amount you should have saved if any HSA/FSA purchase outlined in our LMNs is rejected. Please email info@drjohnnys.com if you have any questions or need assistance.
How long does a Letter of Medical Necessity last?
Letters of Medical Necessity are valid for 12 months before they need to be renewed.
What are HSA and FSA accounts anyway?
Health Savings Accounts (HSA) and Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA) are tax-free accounts that can be used to pay for qualified medical expenses. These accounts are usually set up and managed by an HSA or FSA administrator, and you should have access to said HSA/FSA administrator through your employer (ask your HR department).
HSAs are typically associated with a high-deductible health plan, and funds do not expire.
FSAs are independent of your health plan, and funds elections occur in October-November each year for the following calendar year. FSA funds expire every calendar year.
Unfortunately, HSAs and FSAs are not available outside of the US, and self-employed individuals (who do not have an HSA from a previous employment) do not qualify for HSAs or FSAs.
Can I use my HSA or FSA card at checkout?
Absolutely - you can use your HSA card, but your FSA card will likely not transact successfully. In either case, complete the Truemed intake survey and acquire a Letter of Medical Necessity.
We strongly encourage simply transacting with your normal credit or debit card, and submitting for reimbursement as outlined above for the greatest likelihood of success.
Please reach out if you have any questions about using your HSA/FSA or would like additional information about the process.
How long does HSA or FSA reimbursement take?
I don't have enough funds in my HSA/FSA account to reimburse the entire purchase. Can I still use Truemed?
Yes. You can still submit for partial reimbursement.
For example: if you purchase an eligible item for $200 but only have $140 in your account, you can reimburse $140 of your purchase with your tax-free funds (with the remaining $60 paid for as normal).