Breastfeeding Equipment to be Allowed as Medical Tax Deduction and Reimbursed by Flexible Health Spending Accounts

In response to a request from Senators Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Tom Harkin (D-IA), and Representatives Sander Levin (D-MI) and Carolyn B. Maloney (D-NY), the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced they will reverse a ruling that denies equipment used to help women breast feed from being covered as a health care expense.  The previous ruling excluded breast pumps from coverage under flexible health spending accounts and made them non-deductible on tax returns.

Merkley, Harkin, Levin, and Maloney wrote to IRS Commissioner Douglas Shulman in November to call for the decision to be reversed.  Senators Merkley and Harkin were joined by 9 other Senators; 32 other House members joined Reps. Levin and Maloney.

In response to today’s decision, Senators Merkley and Harkin and Reps. Levin and Maloney released the following statement:

“Today’s decision is a huge victory for nursing mothers everywhere.  Modern medicine has documented numerous health benefits linked to breastfeeding, including a reduced risk of illness in infants and a reduced risk of cancer in mothers.  And because breastfeeding is so effective in preventing disease, it also happens to save billions in health care costs.  We thank the IRS for their careful consideration and quick response.”

A PDF of the complete House members’ letter to Commissioner Shulman can be found here; the Senate version is here. (They are identical.)

Additional Background

The cost of breast pumps will now be considered tax-deductible medical expenses under a ruling issued by the Internal Revenue Service Thursday.

The ruling, long sought by advocates, means that women will be able to use money set aside in pretax spending accounts to buy the pumps and related equipment, which can cost several hundred dollars. For women without flexible spending accounts, the cost of pumps will be tax deductible if their total medical costs exceed 7.5 percent of adjusted gross income.

Previously, the IRS considered breast pumps to be feeding equipment, not medical devices. However, the American Academy of Pediatrics argued that breastfeeding has many medical benefits for both mother and baby. Advocates hope that making breast pumps more affordable will enable more women to breastfeed longer.

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that women breastfeed their babies for at least a year.

"Unfortunately, due to financial restraints and work demands, not all women are afforded the opportunity to nurse their children, despite the proven health benefits," the academy said in a 2009 letter to IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman that was also signed by nine other medical groups. "In order to continue to breastfeed successfully, millions of mothers working outside the house require a breast pump."

Carley Roney, Editor-In-Chief of TheBump.com, raves about Hygeia's breastpump products.

Available for purchase HERE on GentleNurturing.com!

As reviewed on TheBump.com:

"Let's be honest, nobody really likes to pump. But Hygeia’s hospital-grade breast pumps just might take some of the annoyance out of the whole ordeal. To customize your pump for max comfort, the EnJoye comes with adjustable speed and suction controls. And bonus: It even has a closed milk collection section that separates the tubing from the bottle, which will help prevent any gross mold from forming as a result of leftover condensation. But how’s this for cool: It's even got a CARE button you can press when baby's in the room to record her cries for later. Then, when you’re pumping, simply hit the playback button, and your body's natural response to baby's cries will help stimulate your milk production. Yep, pretty awesome."

This is a very scary article and makes me think twice about putting a reverse osmosis system into my house and with enough interest, perhaps I can get an amazing deal for everyone. I'll start asking around and if you know someone reliable, send them my way.

—Leslye Adelman

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Pure, clean water.

That’s what the ads say. But what does the lab say?

When you shell out for bottled water, which costs up to 1,900 times more than tap water, you have a right to know what exactly is inside that pricey plastic bottle.

Most bottled water makers don’t agree. They keep secret some or all the answers to these elementary questions:

•     Where does the water come from?
   
•      Is it purified? How?
   
•      Have tests found any contaminants?

Among the ten best-selling brands, nine — Pepsi's Aquafina, Coca-Cola's Dasani, Crystal Geyser and six of seven Nestlé brands — don't answer at least one of those questions.

Only one — Nestlé's Pure Life Purified Water — discloses its water source and treatment method on the label and offers an 800-number, website or mailing address where consumers can request a water quality test report.

Nursing infants don't get much say when it comes to choosing what's on the menu. If you're breastfeeding, whatever you're selecting, so is your baby. When it comes to selecting caffeine, babies are sensitive, so mothers may need to cut down to make sure it doesn't cause any damage to their baby's health. After all, caffeine is a drug, and if it can jack you up before a big day at work, imagine how strong it is for a tiny little person.

Psychoactive sensation

It's well established that the drug caffeine is a popular sensation – but it's also a psychoactive one. This means it works by stimulating the nervous system, which is why it's so great at relieving fatigue. Unfortunately, new mums are probably the most tired of us all, and if mums are breastfeeding, too much coffee or energy drinks won't be worth it in the long run.

How much is too much?

Breastfeeding mums can still have the occasional cup of coffee, but should limit the amount of caffeine they consume to no more than 300 mg per day. This equates to 2–3 cups of filtered coffee per day, and should be even less if you're smoking, which has been shown to increase the health risks associated with caffeine.

The Mum-to-bub caffeine express

Caffeine is a smart drug; it can work its way into breast milk and right into your baby's mouth within 15 minutes of a cuppa. The concentration of caffeine in breastmilk actually peaks about an hour after you have consumed it.

The levels of caffeine in your breastmilk gradually lower in the next 14 hours. But even though the levels are lower, they will still be large enough to affect your baby. Tough gig, huh?

To drive awareness and build credibility of its eco-friendly and award-winning breastpumps, Hygeia has retained Denver PR and marketing firm, Red Jeweled Media. Red Jeweled Media will help Hygeia promote its breastfeeding products to new and expecting moms throughout the U.S.

"Hygeia is a company that deeply cares about helping breastfeeding mothers and nurturing the environment, which nicely complements the other eco-minded brands our firm represents, like FuzziBunz cloth diapers and Rockin' Green laundry detergent," says Jenny Finke, the founder of Red Jeweled Media. "I started Red Jeweled Media six years ago to help make innovative-but-lesser-known-products household names. I believe Hygeia is quickly becoming a force to reckon with in breastfeeding circles and we are going to bring awareness of this brand to moms everywhere."

Hygeia offers professional-grade breastpumps designed for long-term and frequent pumping by moms who choose to pump at home or on the go. It is the only breastpump the FDA cleared to be used by multiple moms when using their own personal accessory set.

Richard Weston, the CEO and founder of Hygeia, says that Hygeia breastpumps are an ideal choice to assist moms in reaching their breastfeeding goals -- even if/when they return to work.

Mothers who do not breastfeed their infants may be significantly increasing their risk of developing Type 2 diabetes, according to a study conducted by researchers from the University of Pittsburgh and published in the American Journal of Medicine.

Breast-feeding is already known to provide such important health benefits to infants that medical professionals universally recommend that all mothers who are capable of doing so breast-feed exclusively for at least the first month of life, and ideally quite a bit longer.

"Dr. Ruth Lawrence, author of Breastfeeding: A Guide for the Medical Profession, says that, depending on the mother's wishes, breast-feeding should continue for at least a year, along with other foods as they are introduced, and even longer if the mother feels it is best for her and her child," writes Phyllis A. Balch in the book Prescription for Nutritional Healing, 4th Edition.

"Our study provides another good reason to encourage women to breastfeed their infants, at least for the infant's first month of life," researcher Eleanor Schwarz said. "Clinicians need to consider women's pregnancy and lactation history when advising women about their risk for developing type 2 diabetes."