Flex Spending Rules: Breast Pumps Out, Acne Cream In

Wednesday, October 27th, 2010

Thanks to health care reform, individuals can now take care of personal health needs with IRS-sheltered flex accounts. Unless they’re breast-feeding moms.

The IRS states breastfeeding doesn’t have “enough health benefits to qualify as a form of medical care,” according to The New York Times–which means you won’t be able to use your new tax-free flexible spending account for breast pumps.

Basically, it comes down to whether breastfeeding is considered preventative care, or just nutrition. The flexible spending accounts are tax-free and, according to the Times, could apply to denture tape, acne cream, and the replacement of grass with astroturf for parents of children with allergies.

Advocates for seeing breastfeeding as preventative care point out that the antibodies in breast milk prevent disease, “including one recent study that found it could prevent the premature death of 900 babies a year.”

Breast pumps, which could cost $500-$1000, are a loaded topic because they are instrumental in enabling new moms to juggle care for their babies and go back to work.

What do you think about breast pumps not being covered under health care?