Partnering with Truemed

How Truemed Works

Truemed enables your customers to use their Health Savings Account (HSA) or Flexible Spending Account (FSA) funds toward purchases from your store. This page covers what Truemed does, how HSA/FSA payments work, and what the experience looks like for your customers.

What is Truemed

Truemed is a health payments platform that connects merchants with qualified customers who want to use pre-tax HSA/FSA dollars on health-related products and services. Truemed partners with independent licensed healthcare providers who evaluate each customer’s eligibility and, when appropriate, issue a Letter of Medical Necessity (LMN). The LMN is the documentation required to make a purchase reimbursable under IRS rules.

Truemed serves two functions for merchants:

  • Payment processing. Truemed can process HSA/FSA card payments directly at checkout (Shopify, WooCommerce, BigCommerce, or API).
  • Reimbursement support. For subscription orders or non-integrated storefronts, Truemed provides the clinical evaluation and LMN so customers can pay with a personal card and submit for reimbursement afterward.

Truemed also operates a consumer-facing marketplace at truemed.com that educates shoppers on eligible health categories and partnered merchants. Purchases don’t happen on truemed.com. Instead, the marketplace drives qualified traffic to your site, where transactions occur. This gives your brand additional visibility to customers who are actively looking for ways to use their HSA/FSA funds.

How HSA/FSA payments work

HSA and FSA accounts hold pre-tax money set aside for qualified medical expenses. Because the funds are pre-tax, customers effectively save a percentage equal to their marginal tax rate, typically around 30% on average.

Products not automatically classified as medical expenses (like fitness equipment, supplements, or sleep technology) require a Letter of Medical Necessity from a licensed healthcare provider. Truemed handles this: customers complete a clinical intake form, an independent provider reviews their responses, and if the customer qualifies, an LMN is issued.

The customer journey: payment integration

For merchants with Truemed’s checkout integration, customers can pay directly with their HSA/FSA card:

  1. The customer sees an HSA/FSA eligibility widget on your product page.
  2. At checkout, they select Truemed as their payment method and are redirected to Truemed’s secure checkout.
  3. They complete a health survey and enter their payment details.
  4. An independent licensed provider reviews the intake. If the customer qualifies, an LMN is issued and the payment is captured. If they don’t qualify, the order is canceled with no charge.

The customer journey: reimbursements

For merchants using Truemed’s post-purchase reimbursement product (common for subscriptions or non-integrated storefronts):

  1. The customer checks out with their regular credit or debit card.
  2. On the order confirmation page (or via confirmation email), they complete Truemed’s health survey. This must happen on the same day as the purchase.
  3. If the customer qualifies, an independent provider issues an LMN, generally within 24-48 hours.
  4. The customer submits their LMN and receipt to their HSA/FSA administrator for reimbursement. The LMN is valid for 12 months and can be reused for future purchases of the same products.

Next steps

See What Is Required to Get Started for onboarding requirements and platform setup.