Sleep Schedules
Batelle has recently started accepting Health Savings Accounts (HSA) and Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA) for our sleep training program at the point of checkout. This means you can get all the paperwork, compliance, and sign-off from your HSA/FSA provider within minutes. By using one of these health savings accounts to pay, customers save 30-40% of the program cost.
The short answer is yes – you can now pay for Batelle with an HSA/FSA, thanks to our new option for getting an instant Letter of Medical Necessity.
Sleep training is not covered by default by HSA/FSA providers. However, an IRS rule allows Medical Practitioners to write a formal letter (called a Letter of Medical Necessity – LMN) that makes health and wellness purchases eligible for HSA/FSA funds. Usually, it would be your responsibility to get a Letter of Medical Necessity, typically from your pediatrician. This process can take weeks, if not months, and can be expensive. For sleep-deprived parents, it is understandable that this can be a daunting task.
So – we provide a solution to this problem. We’ve partnered with TrueMed to help facilitate these payments, taking the burden off you entirely. You can now be authorized for HSA or FSA in a matter of minutes and use your HSA or FSA debit card to make payment.
“You can now be authorized for HSA or FSA in a matter of minutes”
The process is very straightforward and should take no more than a couple minutes.
“It’s about time that sleep – particularly pediatric sleep – starts to take its proper place in the healthcare hierarchy.”
Batelle is incredibly excited to be offering this new payment option to customers. But more than that, it’s about time that sleep – particularly pediatric sleep – starts to take its proper place in the healthcare hierarchy.
The days of glamorizing lack of sleep are numbered. Sleep is essential for healthy growth, health, and well-being. What drug or therapy can decrease cortisol concentration, stress levels, and disease risk while improving metabolism, mental health, and physical performance overnight?
Moreover, children’s sleep issues are fundamentally a healthcare problem – for both parent and child. If a child has disrupted sleep, at least one caregiver has also disrupted sleep. (This is why we call it a “contagious problem”). Numerous studies show the effect of poor sleep in children on health outcomes: babies with persistent sleep problems are three times more likely to show signs of mental health issues by age 4; moms whose children wake up frequently are three times more likely to have postpartum depression.
The purpose of these spending accounts is to encourage consumers to set aside (pre-tax) money that they can spend on their health and well-being. While we are starting to see healthcare providers taking a more preventative stance on health, HSA and FSA spending still have much catching up to do. Although the IRS regulations governing health and flexible saving accounts cover “prevention or alleviation of a physical or mental defect or illness,” if you go onto the FSA Store or HSA Store, the vast majority of products there are remedial or corrective rather than preventative.
Having pre-qualified expenses is useful but limiting. A staggering 44% of FSAs were forfeited in 2019. Why? Two reasons: uncertainty about what to spend money on to add tangible value to one’s life and health, and the purchase and redeeming process can be complicated.
We’ve tried to alleviate these challenges as best we can. Using your HSA/FSA/HRA, you can now invest in your health, sleep, and well-being using your preallocated, tax-free funds with Batelle.
Not sure what a HSA even is? Do I need one? How do I set it up? We recommend a platform like Penny Finance.
Led by Wall Street veteran Crissi Cole, Penny Finance is on a mission to empower women with the financial tools and education they need to pay off debt, start investing, and retire with wealth.
As the first personalized and tech-powered financial mentor, Penny delivers tailor-made money plans, instant insights, and easy-to-understand financial education.
They even have a module just for moms, answering questions like “when do you need a 529 account for your kids?” and how to increase your family’s financial security.
We’ve got discounted access for you to the Penny membership with code BATELLE50 at checkout (half off a month or year).
Prevention is better than cure. The FSA or HSA stores, where most eligible purchases occur, cover hundreds of diverse products. There are a lot of beneficial products here; however, there is a much greater focus on remedial and corrective measures rather than products or services that aid prevention. It has been demonstrated that investing in prevention generates a greater return than money spent further downstream.
Perhaps it’s just a matter of time before the FSA/HSA industry catches up. Still, parents/consumers should have greater independence on what they can spend their money on with these accounts. Rather than limiting spending to hardware products, increasing the options to include digital health products and services that disproportionately improve health outcomes could allow for greater returns on investment.
We’re on a mission to get behavioral products listed on the HSA and FSA Stores. In the meantime, you can use your account to purchase sleep training through the Batelle checkout with your account debit card instantly.
If you’d like to speak to one of our consultants to learn more, please book a consultation below.
