BELLEVUE,
Washington--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 30, 2004--drugstore.com,
inc. (NASDAQ: DSCM), the leading online retailer of
health, beauty, vision, and pharmacy products, has
been chosen to provide an online flexible spending
account (FSA) store for Motivano. Motivano is a
leading provider of electronic FSA, HRA, HSA, and mass
transportation debit card accounts and employee
incentive and recognition programs. The new
online store, which features medications and
over-the-counter products (OTC) eligible for FSA
reimbursement, automatically tracks the purchases and
manages the substantiation process of FSA-eligible
products utilizing a Motivano-issued SmartFlex card.
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"The
drugstore.com™ FSA store makes is quick and easy for
plan participants to take advantage of the substantial
cost savings offered by FSA programs," said Jeff
Kimmell, vice president and general manager, pharmacy
services at drugstore.com, inc. "Our online
FSA store clearly identifies FSA-eligible products and
provides an inexpensive and automated system for FSA
administrators to substantiate FSA claims."
"By
working with drugstore.com, inc., we have created a
solution that completely eliminates out-of-pocket
expenses at the time of service, so participants no
longer have to wait for approval and reimbursement,"
said Mark Keck, executive vice president of
Motivano. "Because employees have easier
access to their funds and may initiate the purchase at
their convenience, the risk of losing unused funds at
year-end decreases."
More
than one million employees nationwide whose benefit
plans are administered by Motivano's partners and
who participate in the FSA program can shop at the
drugstore.com™ FSA store. When a cardholder
shops online at the FSA store with their SmartFlex
card, eligible and ineligible products are
automatically separated and put into separate baskets
during the check out process. FSA-eligible
purchases are then automatically applied to the
SmartFlex card, and customers are asked to provide
another form of payment for ineligible products.
All FSA-eligible products are tagged with an easily
identified FSA icon, eliminating any confusion about
which types of OTC purchases are eligible for
reimbursement.
Background
on FSAs
FSAs
allow consumers to take pre-tax dollars from their
paycheck and deposit those dollars in an FSA with
their employer. Consumers then either submit
receipts, or use an automated program like
Motivano's SmartFlex card, to be reimbursed for
health-related expenses up to a specific amount set by
the employer under IRS regulations. FSAs are
financially advantageous for consumers because pre-tax
dollars are used to pay for health care-related
expenses. For example, a person in a 33 percent
tax bracket would save $660 in federal taxes if he
received $2,000 in reimbursement through a FSA.
Nearly 23 million Americans in the private sector have
access to an FSA, according to the Department of
Labor's Employer Compensation Survey.
The
value of FSA programs was greatly enhanced in
September 2003 when the IRS added certain OTC
medicines to the list of products eligible for
coverage under FSA programs (IRS Revenue Ruling
2003-102). Under the new IRS regulations, OTC
products are reimbursable if they are used to
alleviate or treat personal injuries or sickness and
are generally accepted as falling within the
categories of medicines or drugs.
About
drugstore.com, inc.
drugstore.com,
inc. (NASDAQ: DSCM) is the leading online health,
beauty, vision, and pharmacy solution in the
world. The drugstore.com™ online store
provides a convenient, private, and informative
shopping experience that encourages consumers to
purchase products essential to healthy, everyday
living. The online store offers thousands of
brand-name personal health care products at
competitive prices; a full-service, licensed retail
pharmacy; and a wealth of health-related information,
buying guides, and other tools designed to help
consumers make informed purchasing decisions.
Consumers can personalize their shopping experiences
with shopping lists, e-mail reminders for replenishing
regularly used products, and private e-mail access to
pharmacists and beauty experts for questions.
drugstore.com,
inc. has been awarded the Verified Internet Pharmacy
Practice Sites (VIPPS) certification by the National
Association of Boards of Pharmacy (NABP) as a fully
licensed facility exercising competent, safe pharmacy
practices in compliance with federal and state laws
and regulations.
About
Motivano
Founded
in 1999, Motivano is the leading provider of
electronic FSA, HRA, HSA and mass transportation debit
card accounts as well as employee incentive and
recognition programs. Over 100 partners distribute
Motivano's products and services, and over 1,000
corporate and government clients and two million-plus
employees use their services. In 2003, Motivano
was ranked the 30th fastest growing technology company
in the UK by The Sunday Times. Offices are
located in New York, Tampa and London. For more
information, visit www.motivano.com
or call 1-866-636-8700.
©
Business Wire, 2004 - 03/30/2004 08:01
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