As the outbreak of COVID-19 affects every sector of the economy, Washington, D.C. came together to provide funding and regulatory relief to address the crisis. The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act moved quickly through Congress on overwhelming bipartisan support and was signed into law by President Trump on March 27.
The $2.2 trillion CARES Act—which is the largest stimulus in U.S. history—represents the third piece of legislation passed by the federal government in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Contained in the new law is one provision which affects TASC participants:
- HSAs, FSAs and HRAs will again be able to pay for or reimburse for over-the-counter (OTC) drugs and medicines. These no longer require a prescription or physician’s note.
- In addition, expenses for menstrual care products will be treated as qualified medical expenses.
This provision is effective for amounts paid and for reimbursement of expenses incurred after December 31, 2019.
Merchants Must Prepare
A few things are needed for participants to have a consistent experience.
- The Special Interest Group for IIAS Standards (SIGIS) needs to update and distribute the list of eligible OTC products and menstrual care products used by Inventory Information Approval System (IIAS) merchants.
- SIGIS distributes the eligible product list monthly and expects to have a large number of updates made by the next scheduled release on April 15, 2020.
- Once the updated eligible product list is released, IIAS merchants need to update their Point of Sale (POS) systems to account for the updated list.
- IIAS merchants also need to update their POS systems for any private-label items that are newly eligible.
With the CARES Act changes, merchants may be in a position to approve OTC drugs and medicines and menstrual care items by late April. However, each IIAS merchant will make the updates to their point-of-sale (POS) systems according to their own timeline. This means participants may be able to purchase a newly-eligible OTC item at one store and have an identical transaction declined at a different store.
What Participants Can Do Now
As we wait for merchants and IIAS to make these changes, participants who experience a situation like the one described above and pay out-of-pocket as a result can request a reimbursement (via web or mobile) now.
They can also request a reimbursement for any of these out-of-pocket expenses they incurred on or after January 1, 2020.
TASC Cards Are Ready
Hundreds of thousands of TASC participants are already enjoying one-card convenience and hassle-free reimbursements. And TASC Card transaction approval rates are among the highest of benefit cards in the industry! These CARES Act changes do not require any updates at TASC or with our card processor. Once SIGIS has established a comprehensive listing of OTC and menstrual care items, participants can purchase these wherever they are sold using their TASC Card.
To learn more about how TASC is responding to COVID-19 and the innovative collection of Emergency Response Benefits created to help employers and their employees, call our response line at 833-433-1002.
The TASC Card is issued by MetaBank®, N.A., Member FDIC, pursuant to license by Mastercard International Incorporated. Mastercard is a registered trademark, and the circles design is a trademark of Mastercard International Incorporated.
