HSA & FSA Gym Memberships
Your Chicago Strength membership can be paid with pre-tax health dollars. Here is exactly how it works, and why it runs through invoices rather than your HSA or FSA card.
Your Chicago Strength membership can be paid with pre-tax health dollars. Here is exactly how it works, and why it runs through invoices rather than your HSA or FSA card.
You can put your Chicago Strength membership through your HSA or FSA, but not by swiping the card at the gym. We do not accept HSA or FSA cards as a payment method. What you do instead: qualify through Truemed for a Letter of Medical Necessity, pay for your membership the normal way, then send us a note for your invoice and submit that invoice along with your letter to your HSA or FSA administrator. They apply the payment against your account.
For a lot of members that turns pre-tax dollars into gym dues. Truemed estimates savings averaging around 30 percent depending on your tax bracket. The whole qualification process runs on Truemed's site and takes a few minutes.
Step by step
Start at our Truemed qualification link. It is a short health survey. An independent licensed healthcare provider reviews your answers. Chicago Strength does not see your medical information and plays no part in the decision.
If you qualify, that provider issues a Letter of Medical Necessity, which you download from your Truemed dashboard. It states the condition being treated and recommends structured exercise for a defined period. Truemed reports most letters are issued within hours.
Sign up or keep paying with your regular card or bank account. Nothing about your membership changes and there is no separate rate. Do the survey before or right around when you start paying, since expenses paid before a letter exists are not always accepted.
Email [email protected] and tell us which months you need. We send an itemized invoice or receipt showing the gym, the amount paid and the dates of service. That is the piece your administrator wants from us.
Log into your HSA or FSA administrator's portal, start a reimbursement claim, and upload both documents: the Letter of Medical Necessity and your Chicago Strength invoice. Payouts typically land in two to four weeks.
Federal rules let HSA and FSA money go toward expenses that treat, mitigate or prevent a diagnosed medical condition. Exercise is one of the better documented interventions for a long list of them. Truemed cites obesity, prediabetes and Type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, arthritis and joint problems, chronic back pain, and depression or anxiety among the conditions that commonly support a letter.
General fitness on its own does not clear the bar. The letter has to connect gym access to treating something specific, which is exactly what the licensed provider is evaluating when they read your survey.
Any of them. Monthly unlimited, the intro month, the prepaid terms, class packs and personal training are all just expenses you paid to Chicago Strength, and we can invoice any of them. Monthly members usually submit receipts as the months go by. See membership and pricing for what each option costs, and note that a letter covers a set period, so keep claiming the months that fall inside it.
HSA and FSA plans are not identical. HSAs pair with high-deductible health plans and the money is yours to carry forward; FSAs are employer-sponsored and often expire at year end, which makes an FSA balance in November or December a good reason to get this moving. Your administrator has the final say on any claim, and some ask for more documentation than others.
Chicago Strength is a gym, not a tax advisor or a medical provider. This page explains how our members typically use the Truemed process and is not tax, legal or medical advice. Eligibility depends on your own health circumstances and your specific plan. Questions about your plan belong with your administrator or a tax professional; questions about a letter belong with Truemed.
Quick answers
Yes, in most cases, but not by swiping your HSA or FSA card at the gym. Chicago Strength does not accept HSA or FSA cards as a payment method. Instead you qualify through Truemed for a Letter of Medical Necessity, pay for your membership normally, then submit your Chicago Strength invoice along with that letter to your HSA or FSA administrator for reimbursement.
A gym membership is not automatically an eligible expense the way a prescription is. The IRS treats it as eligible only when a licensed provider documents that exercise is treating a specific medical condition. That documentation is the Letter of Medical Necessity, and it has to exist before your plan will cover the expense, which is why the process runs through reimbursement rather than the card.
A Letter of Medical Necessity, often shortened to LMN, is a document from a licensed healthcare provider stating that physical activity is part of treating a diagnosed condition. Truemed runs a short health survey, an independent licensed provider reviews it, and if you qualify they issue the letter. It names your condition, recommends structured exercise, and covers a set period of time.
The health survey takes a few minutes. Truemed reports that most letters are issued within hours, and its guidance for gym memberships describes review typically finishing within one to two days. Once your reimbursement claim is filed, plan administrators generally pay out in two to four weeks.
Email [email protected] and ask for an itemized invoice or payment receipt for your membership. Include the months you need it to cover. We will send documentation showing the gym name, what you paid, and the dates of service, which is what your administrator needs alongside your letter.
Both are commonly reimbursed. Monthly members typically submit receipts as they go, and prepaid or intro packages are submitted as a single expense. Your Letter of Medical Necessity covers a defined period, so keep submitting receipts for membership months that fall inside that window.
Truemed cites conditions where exercise is a recognized part of treatment, including obesity, prediabetes and Type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, arthritis and joint problems, chronic back pain, and depression or anxiety. The licensed provider makes that determination, not Chicago Strength.
No. Whether a letter is issued is up to the reviewing licensed provider, and whether a claim is paid is up to your plan administrator. Plans differ in what they accept and what documentation they want. If your claim is denied, your administrator can tell you what was missing.
Pre-tax dollars, real coaching
The Truemed survey takes a few minutes. If you qualify, your membership can come out of pre-tax health dollars.
Check If You Qualify See Membership Options