Is Airborne HSA/FSA Eligible? Yes, Here's How!

What Is Airborne

Airborne is the immune support supplement brand behind those yellow bottles of gummies and tubes of fizzy tablets. The lineup covers gummies, chewable tablets and effervescent tablets that dissolve in water. Every one is sold for immune support, but the mix of vitamins, minerals and botanical ingredients changes from product to product.

For your HSA or FSA, it helps to know exactly what's in each formula. Airborne's Assorted Fruit Gummies list 750 mg of vitamin C per three-gummy serving. Its current Zesty Orange Effervescent Tablets pack 1,000 mg of vitamin C into each tablet, plus vitamin D and zinc.

Both are vitamin and mineral supplements. To pay with your HSA or FSA, get a Letter of Medical Necessity linking your Airborne formula to your health condition. So start with the nutrient your provider recommends, then pick the Airborne product that has it.

Why Airborne Qualifies for HSA/FSA

Airborne qualifies when a medical practitioner recommends it as treatment for a specific health condition. Your LMN is that recommendation, in writing. IRS Publication 502 defines medical expenses to include the costs of “diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment, or prevention of disease.”

Its Nutritional Supplements entry counts supplements as medical expenses when they are recommended by a medical practitioner as treatment for a specific medical condition diagnosed by a physician.

Three of the common conditions a provider can put in your letter match nutrients in Airborne's current formulas:

• Vitamin C deficiency, including scurvy. Cleveland Clinic explains that scurvy results from vitamin C deficiency and that your provider may recommend a vitamin C supplement. Airborne's gummies and tablets supply vitamin C.
• Zinc deficiency. Cleveland Clinic describes oral zinc supplements as treatment for zinc deficiency. Airborne's Zinc+ Orange Chewable Tablets have 24 mg of zinc per tablet, so your provider has a specific formula to name in your letter.
• Vitamin D deficiency. MedlinePlus describes vitamin D supplements as a way to address a deficiency. Airborne's current Zesty Orange effervescent formula and Citrus Chewable Tablets each list 38 mcg of vitamin D per adult serving.

Don't see yours? If your provider recommends an Airborne formula for a different condition and documents it in your LMN, it qualifies the same way.

How to Get Airborne Covered With a Letter of Medical Necessity

There are two routes to a Letter of Medical Necessity for Airborne:

• Through Crates, typically in under 24 hours. You'll spend 2 to 3 minutes completing the online health assessment, which a licensed provider reviews. If you qualify, you'll get an Airborne letter that's valid for 12 months and renews each year.
• Through your own doctor, a few days to a few weeks. Book a visit, say you want to buy Airborne with HSA/FSA funds, and ask them to document how a vitamin or mineral supplement helps prevent, manage, or reverse your condition. The letter your doctor writes needs to be signed and dated, and the visit can involve a copay.

How to Buy Airborne With HSA/FSA Funds

Get your letter before you buy, and then any store works. Here's how to get your HSA or FSA funds back:

1. Get your Letter of Medical Necessity first. Go through Crates or your own doctor, as above.
2. Buy Airborne anywhere. Use your personal card for your gummies or tablets, online or in store. Save the itemized receipt showing what you bought and the amount paid.
3. Get your funds back. Use Crates one-click reimbursement and the claim is filed for you, or upload the letter and receipt yourself. For an HSA, keep both with your tax records, as Publication 969 explains.

Which Airborne Products Qualify

Every Airborne product below qualifies with an LMN. Airborne is a vitamin and mineral supplement, so it qualifies through your letter, as the IRS explains for nutritional supplements.

Want the full ingredient lists? See Airborne's Elderberry, Kids and Electrolyte Replenisher pages.

For the bigger picture on supplements, our vitamins and supplements eligibility guide covers the rules. And if your provider recommends vitamin D, our vitamin D eligibility page goes deeper on that one.