Is Truemed Worth It for Your Business?
What Truemed gets a merchant, what it costs, and the one question that decides it. A merchant-side comparison from Burst, which sells the alternative.
7 minute read
Short answer
Do your customers want to pay with an HSA/FSA card at checkout?
Most don't. They want to get reimbursed after they buy, with whatever card they already use.
If they do: Truemed builds that checkout. It works for high-volume online brands with engineering capacity, no recurring billing, and customers who specifically want to swipe an HSA/FSA card.Setup takes weeks: export your product catalog, complete Stripe onboarding, join an onboarding call, and wait for their team to categorize your products. Their terms aren't published and typically include a rev share.
Even then, the customer gets a letter. They still file the claim themselves.
If they don't (most businesses): Burst is free for merchants, no revenue share, live in 30 minutes. No integration. Burst files the reimbursement claim for the customer.
To offer it this week, start at getburst.com/self-serve.
(Reading this as a customer, not a business? You can get a letter for your own purchase directly from Burst.)
Why the answer is usually no
You bill recurring. Each renewal needs its own real-time eligibility check on card rails. Gyms, studios, and subscription brands run into this immediately.
You sell in person. Card-rail products are built for online checkout. A counter, a front desk, or a mobile service has nothing to integrate.
You generate your own demand. A rev share applies to everything, including orders you acquired yourself, and it grows as you do.
Your customers want the money back, not the card. Most people with an FSA or HSA balance care about being reimbursed, not about which card ran.
The one case where it can be worth it
A high-volume online brand, selling products customers already associate with pre-tax spending, to customers who specifically want to present the card at checkout, with engineering capacity that isn't competing with the roadmap, and no recurring billing to speak of.
That describes a real business. It describes supplements, recovery hardware and wellness devices sold one order at a time, which is the profile their case studies describe. If that's you, get the revenue share in writing, and ask what happens after the letter is issued.
If it isn't you, the integration adds a checkout step your customers were not asking for.
What each one gets you
Truemed | Flex | Burst | |
|---|---|---|---|
What it is | Card-rail HSA/FSA checkout, LMNs, partner marketplace | Card-rail HSA/FSA checkout, LMNs, partner marketplace | LMN and reimbursement platform, no checkout involvement |
Who files the reimbursement claim | Nobody; the customer is left to file | Nobody; the customer is left to file | Burst files it for the member |
Getting live | Sales call, then checkout integration, typically weeks | Sales call, then checkout integration, typically weeks | Self-serve, live in 30 minutes, no integration |
What it costs you | Not public; typically a rev share | Not public; typically a rev share | Free for merchants, no revenue share |
Customer letter fee | One-time letter fee, paid by the customer | ||
If no letter is issued, or the claim is denied | No published guarantee | No published guarantee | The one-time letter fee is refunded to the customer automatically |
Business types accepted | Partner application | Partner application | Any business, no application |
Contract | Set in their sales process | Set in their sales process | No contract |
Truemed and Flex work the same way as each other. The comparison that matters is between the card-rail model and the reimbursement model, not between the two vendors.
Why Burst is the best HSA/FSA option for a business
Burst files the claim. Clinician writes the letter. Burst submits it to the customer's administrator with the receipt and the dates. No paperwork for the customer.
No letter, no charge. Claim denied, money back. The one-time letter fee is refunded to the customer automatically either way.
Free for merchants. No contract, no revenue share.
Nothing about it scales against you. Fee, no contract, no partner application, and no percentage of revenue you generated.
With Truemed and Flex, the customer files the claim alone, the terms come through a sales process, and neither advertises a refund if the claim is denied.
See how it works or go live now.
What does it look like for a customer?
The customer pays you normally, then fills out a two-minute intake. A licensed clinician reviews it and, if appropriate, signs the letter, usually the same day. Burst files the claim. Their administrator pays them back by deposit or check. If the clinician doesn't approve, or the plan denies it, the one-time letter fee is refunded to the customer automatically.
One timing rule: the letter has to predate the purchase, so place the link before the purchase. The line that works on your site: "may be reimbursable with a letter of medical necessity."
The one thing to weigh most heavily
Whichever way you go, ask what happens after the letter is issued.
A letter is a PDF. Somebody still has to submit it with the receipt to the customer's plan administrator and answer if questions come back. With a card-rail product, that somebody is your customer, and not all of them finish. The ones who try and fail associate the failure with your brand, because you're who told them about it.
That's the difference this business actually turns on, and it's worth more attention than the pricing conversation.
How to decide without guessing
Sign up at getburst.com/self-serve. About 30 minutes, and you can test the alternative without an engineering ticket.
Get their full terms in writing, then run the lightest alternative against your own traffic for a month and compare real numbers.
Keep your checkout as it is while you test. Nothing has to be unwound.
Whatever you conclude, conclude it from your own numbers rather than either company's marketing.
Frequently asked questions
Is Truemed worth it for a merchant?
It depends on whether your customers want to present the card at checkout. Where they do, and you are a high-volume online brand with no recurring billing, that is the case Truemed's checkout is built for. Where they don't, you are paying for a sales process, a checkout integration that typically takes weeks and a revenue share set in their sales process, and your customer still ends up filing their own claim.
What does Truemed cost?
Truemed doesn't publish merchant pricing. Terms come through their sales process and typically include a rev share. Get the full number in writing before the call.
Is it worth it for a gym or studio?
Usually not, because recurring billing is where card rails offer limited support and dues are where a gym's HSA/FSA value sits.
Is it worth it for an in-person business?
Generally not. These products are built around an online checkout, so a counter or front desk has nothing to integrate.
What's the alternative?
Reimbursement alongside your existing checkout. Burst is free for merchants, no contract, no revenue share, live in 30 minutes with no integration, and it files the customer's claim.
Can I try the alternative without leaving?
Technically yes, because Burst never touches your payment. Check your existing agreement for an exclusivity clause first.
Is the letter a guarantee the customer gets paid back?
No. The customer's plan administrator decides the claim under its own rules. Burst files it, and if the plan says no, the one-time letter fee is refunded to the customer.
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