Make Fitness Equipment FSA-/HSA-Eligible
Are you getting 150 minutes of aerobic exercise each week? That’s the recommendation for adults of the American Heart Association, which is based on the Physical Activity Guidelines of Americans, 2nd Edition, published by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. Regular exercise is known to help lower risk of heart disease, stroke, diabetes, blood pressure, several types of cancer and much more. But the very benefits that 70+ million Americans enroll in to help support their wellness and reduce the cost of healthcare currently does not cover fitness programs or equipment to help improve their long-term health outcomes.
What is currently eligible?
Today, FSAs and HSAs can help Americans ward off pain and soreness from physical activity in the form of over-the-counter medicines, drug-free pain relief devices, athletic braces, kinesiology tape and more – but directly paying for gym memberships, fitness equipment, exercise classes and other fitness-focused items is currently ineligible for FSA/HSA spending.
According to IRC 213(d), which determines what is/isn’t eligible with FSAs/HSAs, qualified medical care is the “amounts paid for the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment, or prevention of disease, or for the purpose of affecting any structure or function of the body.” Even when faced with the positive benefits of regular exercise and how it can help reduce the risk of many long-term medical conditions, the IRS does not consider this to be a qualified health expense.
How to take action
If the goal of an FSA or HSA is to help reduce the cost of medical care and cover expected health expenses, there’s no better investment that account holders can make than by becoming more physically active and building an exercise routine that can help improve their overall wellness. People who exercise at least at minimum recommended levels can save hundreds or thousands of dollars per year in healthcare costs, according to a 2016 study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association.
H.R. 5138, the Bipartisan HSA Improvement Act, would expand the definition of qualified medical care to include certain amounts paid for “physical activity, fitness and exercise” and is only one of several bills which have been introduced with the same common goal.
Making fitness expenses FSA-/HSA-eligible is a smart choice for the American healthcare system and a positive step for the financial wellness of American families. Lend your voice to this pivotal issue by contacting your member of Congress today to support this expansion of FSA and HSA eligibility.