HSAs Aren’t Just for Doctor’s Bills: HSA Eligible Items You Might Be Overlooking

What Can an HSA Be Used For Beyond Doctor’s Visits?

Most people use their HSA for the basics: doctor visits, medications, and routine care.

But there are plenty of unexpected ways to make your HSA work harder for you.

Here are some creative ways to leverage your HSA that you may have yet to consider.

1. Maintaining Eye and Dental Health

You may already use your HSA to help you pay for dentist appointments and eye exams – but there could be other HSA-eligible items you can take advantage of, too.

For instance, if you wear contacts, you can use your HSA for initial and replacement lenses and lens cleaning solutions. If you wear glasses, ask your provider about using your HSA for prescription sunglasses or lens adjustments.

When maintaining dental health, you can use your HSA for replacement crowns, fillings, and even braces.

2. Women’s Health Services and Products

An incredible number of HSA-eligible items fall under the women’s health category.

You could use your HSA to pay for maternity and pregnancy expenses (from pregnancy tests to fertility tracking monitors and breastfeeding supplies).

According to the latest health savings account rules, you might also be able to use your account to pay for birth control and contraceptives, lactation consultants, hormone replacement therapies, IVF medications, and more.

You can even use your HSA to help you pay for crucial menstrual supplies, like tampons, pads, and menstrual cups. Some retailers even allow you to pay directly with your HSA account card, so tracking receipts is easy.

3. Medical Travel and Transportation Aids

If you need help with transportation and mobility, there are a few different HSA-eligible items you can explore.

First, if you need to travel outside Colorado to see a specialist for a specific condition, you could get help with fuel, flight, and accommodation costs.

If you don’t need to travel “out of town” but still need help getting around on a daily basis after an injury, your HSA could help you pay for crutches, walking sticks, or wheelchairs.

If you have a long-term disability, you might even be able to get help paying for vehicle modifications (like hand controls or specialist ramps).

4. Covering Medical Expenses for Dependents

New health savings account rules have emerged, allowing users to combine their HSAs with their health sharing program.

This means you could use your account to assist in paying for the medical costs incurred by a child, a spouse, or an aging parent.

Notably, anyone whose treatment you pay for with an HSA will need to be listed as a dependent on your tax return—even if they have individual or family coverage through their health plan.

A combined HSA and health sharing account could make paying for treatments, medications, and medical supplies much easier.

5. Diabetes and Chronic Condition Management

Finally, an HSA can also help you pay for various treatments and products for chronic condition management.

As an example, if you have a serious mental health condition, your HSA could help pay for counseling.

If an injury or illness has affected your mobility, you could use your account to pay for physical therapy and rehabilitation. Diabetes supplies, such as test strips, glucose monitors, syringes, and similar products, are also included in most lists of HSA-eligible items.

You might even be able to take advantage of HSA MEC coverage to access screenings from specialists if you know you’re at a higher risk of developing a chronic condition – based on your family’s medical history.