Love the idea of an electric bike but not up for spending $1,000 or more on a half-decent model? Ebikes have come down in price as they’ve risen in quality since I began covering them five years ago, but they’re still pricey machines.
You know who could help you with some of that price tag? No, not mom and dad. Uncle.
Uncle Sam. America. Big Brother… no, not yet? You use pre-tax dollars from your Flexible Spending Account (FSA) or Health Savings Account (HSA) to shop for discounts on eligible ebikes.
How to get that reimbursement
Certain bike brands take a more active role in walking you through the process through partnerships with a third-party company (often Truemed) that specializes in connecting people with licensed medical providers to facilitate their buying of health and wellness products through their FSA/HSA benefits.
The licensed provider—say, Truemed—sends you a health survey. Your answers determine whether the provider will see your ebike as a medical necessity.
If the company accepts that an ebike would help you and your condition, you’ll get a Letter of Medical Necessity within a day or two, which you can submit to your FSA/HSA benefits provider.
Truemed says reimbursement usually takes from two to four weeks. What kinds of conditions could qualify you for acceptance? Truemed doesn’t say exactly, but it obliquely references a few on a page referencing its partnership with Ride1Up.
They include conditions involving bones and joints, brain and nervous system, cancer, digestive health, heart, hormonal and endocrine systems, kidneys, urinary health, mental health, metabolic health, respiratory health, sleep quality, and women’s health.
That’s a wide net, to say the least. Truemed’s exact wording is “Curious if you qualify? Ride1Up has been shown to positively impact the following categories,” which sort of implies that checking the boxes in one of these areas is what gets you that Letter of Medical Necessity.
Then in turn, you can trade in that magical letter for cash back, like if JP Morgan merged with Willy Wonka.
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