Health and wellbeing services can be expensive and typically aren’t covered by insurance, which can make them inaccessible to many people. But with Truemed, you can use tax-free Health Savings Accounts (HSA) and Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA) to pay for these services.
Table of Contents
- What is Truemed?
- Truemed Background
- What Does Truemed Cover?
- How Does Truemed Work?
- How to Use Truemed
what is truemed?
Truemed is a company that enables health and wellness merchants to accept HSA and FSA funds. This means customers can use pre-tax dollars for wellness services, like fitness memberships, nutrition, and supplements, and even massages and acupuncture.
A person’s diet and exercise regimen are often integral parts of their overall health outcomes and can count for HSA/FSA spending with a Letter of Medical Necessity from a provider outlining how a particular intervention can reverse or prevent disease. Truemed makes this process seamless.
This service can also drive new customers and boost retention for wellness professionals by unlocking 30% savings for their clients, on average.truemed background
Truemed is an American company founded by Justin Mares and Calley Means in 2022. Before founding the company, Mares and Means specifically met with White House and Capitol Hill representatives to make sure their business was going to be compliant with the US government.
Truemed’s mission is to make health care more accessible and affordable. The official company motto is “to help more people afford true medicine: products and services that keep you healthy, not just treatments after you’re sick.”
The “true medicine” that Truemed promotes is anything that helps prevent illness and improve health. However, most of these services aren’t traditionally considered medical needs that can be paid for with tax-free HSA/FSA funds.
By connecting these services to tax-free funds, Truemed hopes to help people afford these services.
what does truemed cover?
Truemed allows you to use HSA and FSA funds to cover things like:
- Fitness facilities, studios, and memberships
- Nutrition supplements, grocery stores (including Whole Foods), and meal delivery services.
- Saunas and cold plunges
- Acupuncture clinics and acupuncturists
- Massage therapist and massage studios
- Sleep improvement services
- Vision, dental, and hearing services
- Preventative services like stress management programs, chronic condition programs, smoking cessation programs, and weight loss programs/services
Truemed also currently partners with merchants across a variety of wellbeing categories including fitness, nutrition, stress management, condition management, and healthcare. Some noteworthy partners include Athletic Greens, Daily Harvest, Momentous and 24 Hour Fitness.
Want to help people keep their health and wellness in a good position? Learn more about our Certified Wellness Coach course to get all the expert-backed insight into this growing field.
how does truemed work?
HSAs and FSAs are accounts that allow you to use pre-tax dollars for qualified healthcare expenses.* If an expense like fitness isn’t listed as qualified, you’ll need a doctor to give you a Letter of Medical Necessity saying that the expense is needed to treat or prevent a certain illness or condition in order to use the funds in those pre-tax accounts.
Truemed connects clients with virtual providers to get this letter more easily. In order to get the letter, customers answer questions about the product or service they want to purchase, and the provider will check if they’re eligible to use funds from an HSA or FSA.
*There are annual contribution limits for HSA and FSA. The Internal Revenue Services (IRS) sets specific annual limits for HSAs. In 2024, the HSA contribution limit is $3,850 for individuals and $7,750 for families. The limit for FSAs is typically established by an employer and is capped at a lower value than HSAs.
how to use truemed
for wellness professionals
If you’re a fitness or wellness professional interested in getting started partnering with Truemed to let your clients use their HSA/FSA funds, here’s what you do:
1. Check if your business is eligible
If you are an NASM-certified professional, you can sign up for a Truemed account here.
If you have another kind of business or brand in wellness, nutrition, and fitness, visit Truemed.com to see if you’re eligible.
2. Share the news with your clients
Once you enroll, you’ll receive a unique health survey link that you can share with your prospective and current clients via text, email, or in person.
When they receive the survey link from you, they’ll take a four-minute health survey. If approved, they can start using tax-free spending on your services.
Sharing this survey costs you nothing, as the wellness professional, and will only charge the client $30 if they are approved – they will not be charged if it is determined that they are not eligible.
For customers
1. Check if the product or service you’re interested in is eligible
Visit the Truemed website to see if they integrate with the product you want to use your HSA/FSA funds to pay for. The website gives detailed instructions on how to qualify for HSA/FSA spending for that product.
If you want to use Truemed on services that aren’t listed, ask your wellness professional if they’re signed up with Truemed (and send them this post if they don’t!).
2. Take the Truemed survey to qualify for HSA/FSA spending
Once you identify the specific Truemed survey for the product or service you’re interested in, you’ll simply complete the 4-minute health intake form.
If you’re working with a wellness professional and it is determined that their services can help prevent or reverse an identified health condition, then you’ll be pre-approved for HSA/FSA reimbursement. A Truemed medical provider will review the information remotely and email you a Letter of Medical Necessity (the official document affirming your eligibility). At that point, you can use your tax-free spending and you’ll be compliant to reimburse those approved expenses - just as you would with any other health expense.
Become a Certified Personal Trainer!
If you want to dive into professional fitness and help clients, consider becoming a Certified Personal Trainer with NASM. This course will prepare you to work with clients and be a proponent of happier, healthier lifestyles. You can even use Truemed to help your future clients pay for your services!
