Will an HSA/FSA Marketplace Send You Customers?
The strongest argument for a card-rail partner is the marketplace traffic. Here is how to read that claim, and what it is worth against a rev share.
7 minute read
Short answer
The marketplace is the best argument Truemed makes, and it deserves a straight answer rather than a dismissal. Their pitch to brands is that they send you customers: they cite over a million monthly visitors and say partners see around 13% of their HSA/FSA revenue come from the marketplace.
Read that number carefully. It's 13% of HSA/FSA revenue, not 13% of revenue. If HSA/FSA is a few percent of your total sales, the marketplace share of your business is a fraction of a fraction, and you're paying a rev share on all of it plus everything you sourced yourself.
Burst runs a marketplace too, at shop.getburst.com, where customers browse eligible products by brand, category, and condition. It is newer and smaller than Truemed's, and it is not what you pay for. Burst is $100 a month with no percentage of revenue, live in 30 minutes with no integration, and it files the customer's claim.
To offer it this week, start at getburst.com/self-serve.
(Reading this as a customer, not a brand? You can get a letter for your own purchase directly from Burst.)
How to read the 13% claim
Truemed's own framing is that partners see about 13% of their HSA/FSA revenue attributed to the marketplace. Every word in that sentence is doing work.
It's a share of HSA/FSA revenue, which is itself a slice of your sales. It's attributed, which means it counts customers who touched the marketplace on the way to you, including ones who would have found you anyway. And it's an average across partners, which means the brands with the most recognizable names are carrying it.
Run it on your own numbers. If HSA/FSA is 5% of your revenue and 13% of that comes from the marketplace, you're talking about roughly 0.65% of sales sourced by the partner, while the rev share applies to the other 99.35% too.
What a marketplace is actually good for
Two things, and they're real. Discovery for brands nobody has heard of yet, and a trust signal for customers who are nervous about whether a purchase qualifies.
Two things it isn't. A substitute for your own demand generation, and a reason to accept terms you wouldn't otherwise. If you already have traffic, the marketplace is a small incremental channel priced as a percentage of everything.
What you get, and what it costs, side by side
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 | $100 a month, month to month, no contract |
Customer letter fee | Not published | Not published | $20 one-time, paid by the customer or by you |
If no letter is issued, or the claim is denied | No published guarantee | No published guarantee | The $20 is refunded automatically |
Business types accepted | Partner application | Partner application | Any business, no application |
Contract | Set in their sales process | Set in their sales process | Month to month |
If the marketplace matters more to you than the terms, that's a legitimate call. Make it with the arithmetic in front of you rather than off the headline number.
Why Burst is the best HSA/FSA option for a brand
Burst files the claim. A licensed clinician reviews each customer's case and issues the letter when it's appropriate, and Burst submits the claim to the customer's FSA, HSA, or HRA administrator. The customer does no paperwork. With Truemed and Flex, the customer does all of it.
The customer's fee is refunded if it doesn't go through. No letter, or a denied claim, and the $20 comes back automatically. Neither Truemed nor Flex advertises a comparable guarantee. Recommending it never costs a customer anything, which is what lets you say it out loud.
The price is published. $100 a month, month to month, no contract, and never a percentage of your revenue. You know the cost before you talk to anyone.
It converts demand you already paid for. Every brand has customers who wanted to buy and didn't, or bought less. Reimbursement moves those without acquiring anyone new, and without a percentage coming off the top.
See how it works or go live now.
What does it look like for a customer?
A customer orders the way they always have, then follows your Burst link to a two-minute intake about the condition they're managing. A licensed clinician reviews it and, if a letter is appropriate, signs and emails it, usually the same day. Their subscription or payment plan keeps running as it is. Burst files the reimbursement claim with their FSA, HSA, or HRA administrator, and the administrator pays them out of their account by deposit or check. No letter, or a denied claim, and the $20 fee refunds automatically.
One timing rule. The letter has to be dated on or before the order it covers, so put the link on the product page, where the hesitation happens. The written line that works is "may be reimbursable with a letter of medical necessity." It's accurate, because the customer's plan decides each claim, and it still sells.
The arithmetic, worked
Take a brand doing $4M a year with 5% of revenue currently coming through HSA/FSA, so $200,000.
Card-rail partner with a marketplace | Burst | |
|---|---|---|
Revenue the partner sources | About 13% of $200,000, so roughly $26,000 | Listed on shop.getburst.com, which is newer and smaller |
What you pay | A rev share on HSA/FSA revenue, set in their sales process | $1,200 a year, flat |
Applies to | All of it, including the revenue you sourced | Nothing; the fee doesn't scale with revenue |
Who files the customer's claim | Nobody; the customer is left to file | Burst files it for the member |
Plug your own numbers in. The answer depends entirely on how much HSA/FSA revenue you already have, and the more you have, the worse a percentage looks.
How to run the comparison yourself
Sign up at getburst.com/self-serve. About 30 minutes, and you don't have to commit to anything to do the math.
Decide who pays the $20 one-time letter fee: customers, or you as part of the offer.
Put your Burst link on the product page and in the order confirmation, then measure letters requested against the traffic you already have.
Keep your checkout exactly as it is while you test. Nothing has to be unwound.
Nothing stops you finding out what your own traffic converts at before you agree to a percentage of it.
Frequently asked questions
Does Truemed's marketplace actually send customers?
It sends some. Their published figure is that partners see around 13% of their HSA/FSA revenue attributed to the marketplace, alongside a claim of over a million monthly visitors. That's a share of HSA/FSA revenue, not of total revenue.
Does Burst have a marketplace?
Yes. shop.getburst.com lists hundreds of brands, browsable by category and condition, and each item links to the letter flow. It is newer and smaller than Truemed's, and Burst doesn't charge a percentage of your revenue for it.
So is a marketplace worth a rev share?
Depends on your numbers. If you have little traffic and no brand recognition, discovery has real value. If you already have demand, you're paying a percentage of sales you sourced yourself to acquire a small incremental share.
Can I do both?
That's a question for their agreement, not ours. Worth asking what their terms say about exclusivity before you sign.
What does Burst cost?
$100 a month, month to month, no contract, and never a percentage of your revenue, plus a $20 one-time letter fee per customer. Neither Truemed nor Flex publishes merchant pricing.
Can a customer be reimbursed for an order placed before we signed up?
No. The letter has to be dated on or before the order it covers.
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 $20 fee is refunded to whoever paid it.
More on this: What Truemed, Flex, and Burst Cost a Merchant, How to Switch From Truemed to Burst, How to Promote HSA/FSA Acceptance to Customers, and Truemed Alternatives for Your Store, Gym, or Spa.
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