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You can use your flexible spending account (FSA) money to buy thousands of healthcare products, including allergy medicine, fertility tests, knee braces, blood pressure monitors, and more. Here’s a sampling.
A flexible spending account (FSA) is a popular healthcare savings option offered by some employers. These accounts are attached to health insurance plans and allow you to build funds you can use for medical and healthcare expenses.
The money in an FSA isn’t subject to income tax, and tax-free spending can save families significant healthcare costs. The downside? The money in an FSA doesn’t roll over from year to year like it does with a health savings account (HSA). So if you have an FSA, you need to use those funds before the year ends.
Fortunately, there are a wide variety of useful and well-rated FSA-eligible items to choose from. The list is extensive and includes practical healthcare items like first aid supplies and sunscreen and home medical devices like blood pressure cuffs and breast pumps.
But it’s not exhaustive. And it can be tricky to know exactly what is covered and what isn’t, even under approved categories. For example, some health trackers, like the Oura Ring are eligible, but others, including Fitbits, are not.
Read on to learn more about FSA accounts and to find a handful of FSA-eligible items you can add to your shopping cart right now.
Pricing guide
The items in our list of FSA-eligible products can range from a few bucks for bandages to more than $1,000 for some home medical devices. We use dollar signs to indicate general prices.
You can spend FSA funds on nearly all OTC medications and healthcare items, including pain relievers, first aid supplies, allergy support, eye care products, and cough and cold medicine. Even OTC hearing aids are eligible.
Select skin care products
Some medicated and preventive skin care products are FSA eligible. These include sunscreens, lotions and cleansers, acne products, and some lip balms.
You can use your FSA funds to buy products designed to eliminate pain and discomfort, including heated pads, cold wraps, knee braces and sleeves, self-massage tools and rollers, TENS muscle stimulators, and more.
Erectile dysfunction (ED) support
Products and services that treat ED are FSA eligible. The services below are subscription based, and prices will also vary on the medications you receive.
Medical alert devices
Your FSA funds can go toward the purchase of a medical alert device and service that will connect you with emergency providers if you’re unable to reach the phone to call for help.
Women’s health
A range of women’s health and wellness products are FSA eligible, including menstrual products, OTC yeast infection treatment, and many of Healthline’s Women’s Wellness Awards winners, including at-home fertility testing and tracking, prenatal vitamins, and nursing support.
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You can use FSA monies with an FSA debit card provided by your employer, or through reimbursement for out-of-pocket expenses. To be reimbursed, you’ll need to fill out a form and provide receipts and information about the product or service to your FSA administrator — usually a third-party provider contracted by your employer.
It’s always advisable to consult your FSA administrator or individual insurer’s guide about how to use your FSA funds before you buy.
HSAs and FSAs are similar health savings options. You can use both account types to save tax-free money on the healthcare essentials you need.
However, there are some differences between the two account types. One of the biggest? Money in an HSA can build up over the years, but money in an FSA doesn’t carry over from year to year. This means you’ll need to spend your FSA money before the new plan year begins or you’ll lose the money.
FSA funds can be used for thousands of healthcare items, but there are limits. For instance, although you can use FSA money for mouthguards and denture cleaners, you can’t use it for toothbrushes or toothpaste.
Similarly, parenting essentials like breast pumps and baby monitors are FSA eligible, but items such as baby bottles and diapers are not.
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) provides guidelines of medical and healthcare categories eligible for FSA purchases.
But it does not address specific products within those categories. The actual distribution and approval of FSA expenses is administered by your employer’s health insurance plan. So that’s the best place to look for a list of eligible items.
The general categories for FSA-eligible expenses includes:
home healthcare
OTC medications
baby and child supplies
skin care
eye care
oral care
foot care
digestive health
first aid supplies
sexual health medications and products
menstrual products
incontinence supplies
smoking cessation
No. An Apple Watch is not considered a medical device eligible to be purchased with FSA funds.
FSA funds are a great way to save money on a wide range of everyday healthcare items.
FSA-eligible categories include OTC medications and health devices, select skin care products, pregnancy products and fertility tests, menstrual supplies, pain relieving devices, and more. You can find many of these items in designated sections online at Amazon, Target, and Walmart, among other retailers.
Be careful before you buy, however. Some companies promote their products as FSA eligible without making it clear that they require an LMN from a physician. Check your company’s FSA guidelines if you have questions about any product’s or service’s eligibility.
How we reviewed this article:
Healthline has strict sourcing guidelines and relies on peer-reviewed studies, academic research institutions, and medical journals and associations. We only use quality, credible sources to ensure content accuracy and integrity. You can learn more about how we ensure our content is accurate and current by reading our editorial policy.
