You can apply a portion of your HSA & FSA money toward purchasing 23andMe’s Health + Ancestry Service.
Up to $117 of the purchase of the Health + Ancestry Service or the stand alone 23andMe Health Service may be eligible for reimbursement from a Flexible Spending Account (FSA) or Health Savings Account (HSA), according to an IRS ruling.
Eligible Expense
The Internal Revenue Service ruling came out in 2019 allowing customers to use their FSA/HSA funds for a portion of the cost for their Health + Ancestry Service.
In the United States, FSAs and HSAs both allow you to set aside a certain amount of your pre-tax income each year for qualified medical care expenses. Qualified medical care expenses may include such things as co-pays for doctor’s visits, prescription medications, glasses, and sunscreen.
You can check with your FSA/HSA administrator for eligibility.**
23andMe Health + Ancestry Service or 23andMe’s Health Service
The health reports that are part of 23andMe’s Health + Ancestry Service, as well as the stand alone 23andMe Health Service, includes more than 10 health predisposition reports.* These include both reports that meet FDA requirements for Genetic Health Risks, and reports powered by 23andMe research. Among them are reports for conditions such as Type 2 Diabetes (powered by 23andMe research), Celiac Disease, Age-Related Macular Degeneration, and Parkinson’s Disease; as well as more than 40 carrier status reports* for conditions like Cystic Fibrosis and Sickle Cell Anemia. Customers also receive wellness reports on sleep movement, muscle composition, and genetic weight.
In addition, 23andMe’s health-related services include recommendations for taking healthy actions, as well as a lifestyle dashboard that compares your diet and activity to other 23andMe users. Although not part of what is reimbursable, the service also includes a place to track lab results, and an area where you can see insights from 23andMe research. You can also connect, message, and share with friends and family, if you wish.
You can learn about 23andMe’s other product offerings here. Customers interested in the 23andMe Health Service may purchase these service through Amazon or through the FSAStore.com / HSAStore.com.
FSA v. HSA
The eligibility for and terms for these two types of account are different. Although what is an eligible medical expense covered under both FSAs and HSAs is the same.
For instance, FSAs are a benefit offered through an employer and have a lower contribution limit.
In the past, money in FSA plans couldn’t be carried over into the next year, so employees had to “use it or lose it.” That is, if they didn’t spend the funds they had set aside in a given year, they would lose those funds. But during the pandemic, a grace period was created. This allowed individuals to use 2020 FSA funds through the end of 2021 and from 2021 through the end of 2022. HSAs, on the other hand, are available to individuals enrolled in a high-deductible health plan (HDHP). That money can roll over from year to year.
You can find out more about the two types of accounts here.
To learn more about 23andMe’s new Health Service, visit the FSAStore here or go to Amazon here.
*The 23andMe PGS test includes health predisposition and carrier status reports. 23andMe health predisposition reports include both reports that meet FDA requirements for genetic health risks and reports which are based on 23andMe research and have not been reviewed by the FDA. The test uses qualitative genotyping to detect select clinically relevant variants in the genomic DNA of adults from saliva for the purpose of reporting and interpreting genetic health risks. It is not intended to diagnose any disease. Your ethnicity may affect the relevance of each report and how your genetic health risk results are interpreted. Each genetic health risk report describes if a person has variants associated with a higher risk of developing a disease, but does not describe a person’s overall risk of developing the disease. The test is not intended to tell you anything about your current state of health, or to be used to make medical decisions, including whether or not you should take a medication, how much of a medication you should take, or determine any treatment. Our carrier status reports can be used to determine carrier status, but cannot determine if you have two copies of any genetic variant. These carrier reports are not intended to tell you anything about your risk for developing a disease in the future, the health of your fetus, or your newborn child’s risk of developing a particular disease later in life. For certain conditions, we provide a single report that includes information on both carrier status and genetic health risk. For important information and limitations regarding each genetic health risk and carrier status report, visit 23andme.com/test-info/.
**Up to $117 of the Health + Ancestry Service may be eligible for reimbursement based on a purchase price of $199. Check with your specific FSA/HSA benefits coordinator and/or your tax professional for confirmation on the specific requirements for reimbursement including eligibility, usage, procedures and qualifications.
