Instacart streamlines FSA, HSA shopping experience
New features aim to expedite spending
December 7, 2022
Instacart’s seemingly ever-expanding digital offerings now include functionality that makes it easier for consumers to shop for flexible spending account (FSA) and health savings account (HSA) eligible items.
The delivery company says the new app feature will help users spend their FSA funds prior to expiration.
Shoppers click into the app’s new “FSA and HSA” pop-up feature, where Instacart has aggregated FSA- and HSA-eligible items.
Approximately 40,000 qualifying items now contain labels to help users more easily identify those items. Following checkout, customers can submit receipts of eligible purchased items to their benefit providers for reimbursement. Instacart does not currently accept FSA or HSA cards for payments.
“Each year, millions of U.S. households set aside pre-tax dollars with plans to pay for health-related expenses or buy health items throughout the year,” the company said in a statement. “For many Americans, every December there is an end-of-year race to make the most of these use-it-or-lose-it funds before they expire.”
Not all FSA funds expire at the end of the year, with some health plans providing a grace period while others allow individuals to carry over some unused funds into the following year.
The move to streamline FSA spending is the latest enhancement to the company’s Instacart Health Initiative, which was launched in September and focuses on health-related products, partnerships, and research.
That move is part of Instacart’s larger “Health Policy Agenda,” which is about access to health foods and a larger focus on improving overall health outcomes.
That includes modernizing food assistance programs to increase the availability of affordable, nutritious food in underserved urban and rural areas and providing access to health-tailored groceries and food prescription programs, among other initiatives.
Just last week, Instacart announced a partnership with digital health company Good Measures’ “Good Food Prescription program,” which generates shopping lists for participants in accordance with the meal plans created based on an individual’s health profile and food preferences.
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