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Qualified medical expenses

Qualified medical expenses (QME) are designated by the IRS. They include medical, dental, vision and prescription expenses.

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Amounts paid for certain personal protective equipment (PPE) are now treated as qualified medical expenses

Personal protective equipment such as masks, hand sanitizer and sanitizing wipes purchased for preventing the spread of COVID-19 is now treated as a qualified medical expense (IRS Notice 2021-7).

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COVID-19 updates

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  • Certain over the counter (OTC) drugs and medications, as well as menstrual care products, are now considered qualified medical expenses, without the need for a physician prescription. You may use HSA or FSA funds to pay for these products.

    • For FSAs, you can use your account funds to purchase these products starting today. Use your Optum Bank payment Mastercard® as you normally would for these purchases. Individual merchants, like pharmacies and convenience stores, must update their point of sale (POS) system to now recognize these products as eligigle health care expenses for FSA. If their system is not updated and the sale doesn’t process, you can pay out of pocket with the option to reimburse yourself with account funds. As a reminder, keep your itemized receipt or explanations of benefits, which are needed to verify each purchase so you can be reimbursed. To submit a claim for reimbursement, sign in to your account and select "File a Claim" from the I want to section. 
    • For HSAs, you may use your debit card as you normally would since no claim reimbursement process is required. Please retain copies of your receipts as needed for tax purposes.
    • Both provisions for OTC and menstrual products apply to amounts paid or expenses incurred on or after January 1, 2020, and are ongoing without an expiration date. 

    For more information, visit here.

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QME Search Tool

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Filter by account type and expense type to learn about qualified medical expenses. The examples listed here are not all-inclusive, and the IRS may modify its list at any time. Consult your tax advisor or see IRS publication 502 or IRS publication 969 for more information.

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Find out what you can buy with your health account.

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