Calcium

[Guest Darla K]

Are Calcium Pills eligible for reimbursement?

[oriecat]

I would generally consider calcium to be a nutritional supplement, in the same vein as vitamins. Those are still excluded, right?

[Kirk Maldonado]

If the person has osteoporosis and the doctor certified that the person needs them, then they might be covered.

[Guest JerseyGirl]

This is another circumstance where the answer is *maybe*. If the plan allows for the reimbursement of Over-The-Counter products (and not all of then do – check the docs!), and the participant has as part of their documentation for the claim a letter from their physician stating that they are recommending the use of calcium for the treatment of a specific medical condition, then it would be an eligible expense. Most of the claims we see for dubious OTC products do not include the proper documentation from the doctor. As a result we deny it with a request for additional information so that we can reconsider and possibly reverse the denial. 9 times out of 10, it never comes up again for that particular participant, and that 1 in 10 resubmits the claim with a note from their doctor that allows us to then reimburse it.