Using a HSA for homebirth supplies

[LeighPF]

I love my HSA and an wondering if I can use it to pay for my home birth supplies, specifically the birth kit and tub rental (from my midwife). I can not find anything recent on this.

[womenswisdom]

I believe that you cannot purchase any medical supplies without a prescription if you want to use your HSA. You used to be able to buy things like OTC meds, bandages, etc. and that changed, I think, at the beginning of this year.

[LeighPF]

So I finally just looked it up

You can not get OTC drugs with out a perscription and use a HSA (starting Jan 1 '11)

Publication 502 says (updated Dec 10, '12)

"Medical expenses are the costs of diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment, or prevention of disease, and the costs for treatments affecting any part or function of the body. These expenses include payments for legal medical services rendered by physicians, surgeons, dentists, and other medical practitioners. They include the costs of equipment, supplies, and diagnostic devices needed for these purposes."

"You can include in medical expenses the cost of medical supplies such as bandages."

"You can include in medical expenses the cost of breast pumps and supplies that assist lactation."

"You can include in medical expenses the amount you pay to purchase a pregnancy test kit to determine if you are pregnant."

[GISDiva]

Ooo, thanks for posting that.  I hadn't even considered that yet, we're fairly new to the HSA thing.  Shoot, I could have used it for the pregnancy test, who would have thought...

That's awesome that you can use it for breast pumps and such.

[skyblufig]

You can use a health flex-spending account to pay for home birth supplies as long as your health care provider writes a prescription for whatever you need. Worked fine for us. 

Jen