NPA Urges IRS to Embrace Dietary supplements as Certified Medical Bills

The Pure Merchandise Affiliation (NPA) urged the Inside Income Service (IRS) to modernize IRS Publication 502 to develop “certified medical bills” to incorporate dietary and dietary dietary supplements that carry U.S. Meals and Drug Administration (FDA)-authorized well being claims or structure-function claims.

This replace would permit customers to make use of their Well being Financial savings Accounts (HSAs), Versatile Spending Accounts (FSAs) and Well being Reimbursement Preparations (HRAs) with out first acquiring a prescription.

Daniel Fabricant, PhD, president and CEO of NPA, despatched a letter to the IRS advocating for a revision to IRS Publication 502.

“At present, IRS guidelines prohibit customers from utilizing HSA, FSA or HRA {dollars} for dietary supplements until they first receive a prescription. The prescription requirement provides no scientific profit and as a substitute creates expensive and pointless boundaries to supporting Individuals’ well being, forcing customers to schedule physician appointments solely for permission to purchase extensively out there, FDA-regulated merchandise which can be used day by day to assist immune well being, coronary heart well being, cognitive operate and extra,” Fabricant wrote.

In keeping with Part 213(d) of the Inside Income Code (IRC), “medical care” consists of quantities paid for “the prognosis, remedy, mitigation, remedy or prevention of illness, or for the aim of affecting any construction or operate of the physique.” NPA argues dietary dietary supplements apply to those parameters.

NPA proposed the next replace to Publication 502: “You possibly can embrace in medical bills the price of ‘dietary dietary supplements,’ as outlined in 21 U.S.C. 321(ff)(1), supplied that such merchandise are labeled with an FDA-authorized well being declare, bear statements describing how they’re supposed to have an effect on the construction or operate of the human physique, or embrace statements characterizing the documented mechanism by which the product maintains such construction or operate.”

“This modest change would modernize a Twentieth-century rule to replicate Twenty first-century science and shopper well being conduct, with out altering the underlying statute or regulation. Permitting Individuals to make use of their HSA, FSA, or HRA {dollars} for scientifically substantiated dietary supplements and not using a prescription would promote preventive care, scale back pointless well being system burdens, assist well being fairness by bettering entry and reinforce private duty in managing well being,” Fabricant wrote.

For extra info, go to www.npanational.org.