How does the FSA prescription process work?

Update: As of March 2020 with the passage of the CARES Act, the OTC Rx requirement has been repealed and prescriptions are no longer necessary to purchase over-the-counter medicines with an FSA or HSA. Additionally, menstrual care products like tampons and pads are fully FSA-/HSA-eligible. Learn more here.


"Do I need a prescription for Advil? Why and how does that work for my Flexible Spending Account?"

Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA) and Health Savings Accounts (HSA) are among the most popular employee benefit add-ons available. Both can cover medical products and services, but there is one aspect of these plans that consumers find consuming: the reimbursement process for Rx items. A key adjustment to the reimbursement process of over-the-counter (OTC) medications with these accounts in recent years continues to cause confusion for a lot of people.

As of January 1, 2011, the IRS put into place regulations regarding the purchase of OTC medicines, and these could include pain relievers or antacids (basically any item containing an active medical ingredient).

OTC items now require a prescription from a doctor to be eligible for reimbursement with an FSA or HSA.

At first glance, that may sounds like a ton of extra work to purchase the products you and your family need, but the prescription process couldn't be easier at FSAstore.com! We make it easy for you to process the prescriptions and order the items you need.

How do I get started if I need to get reimbursed with an FSA? Can FSA Store help me process an FSA prescription?

Before your next doctor's appointment, be sure to check out the Eligibility List available to search through hundreds of products and services to find out their FSA prescription process for reimbursement. When you make a purchase of an OTC medicine, you or your doctor can mail or fax the prescription to our pharmacy partner. Be sure to plan ahead -- for products you use often, request multiple refills so you can re-submit an order quickly and easily in the future.

Last but not least, if you don't have a doctor's appointment on the horizon, FSAstore.com can contact your doctor directly. Simply provide us with your physician's name, address and phone number, and we'll handle the rest through our Rx Process!

With copies of these prescriptions, claim forms, receipts and anything else your benefits administrator needs, you'll be well on your way toward full reimbursement for your purchases.

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