Harry and Ginny have a great marriage. Their personalities arecompatible in every way. However, their gene combination seems tobe susceptible to dark environmental influences, primarilyautoimmune disorders. Their oldest daughter Katie has beendiagnosed with Celiac disease—a type of autoimmune disorder—thismeans that Katie can’t eat the protein gluten, which is found inwheat and barley. Oats are also typically off limits for Katie eventhough they do not contain gluten, however, oats are stored in thesame grain silos as wheat because they have different harvestseason and the wheat dust contaminates the oats. Gluten triggersthe body’s immune system to attack the villi in the intestinaltrack. The villi absorb the nutrients from food, this leads tochronic malnutrition. There is no cure for Celiac disease. Thedoctor has prescribed a strict gluten free diet since for Katie.Even food that is processed in the same plant as wheat is processedin must be avoided. Gluten free alternative breads, cereal, andflours are very expensive. This results in many individuals withceliac disease to each low-carb diets with high fruits andvegetables and protein.

Harry and Ginny’s second son, Jacob, has Type 1 Diabetes,another autoimmune disorder where the immune system attacks anddestroys insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas, making itimpossible for the body to produce insulin. Jacob must injectinsulin into his body each time he eats food so that his body canprocess carbohydrates (any food derived from grains as well assimple sugars and fruits). The doctor has prescribed insulin forJacob and has also prescribed a relatively low-carb diet includinghigh amounts of fresh fruits, vegetables, and some protein.

In the current tax year, total insulin and doctor visit costswere $3,800 for Jacob, after any insurance benefits. Harry andGinny believe that their grocery bill is twice as high as itotherwise would be ($1,500 more) because of the diet that they tryto maintain for Jacob (fresh fruits, vegetables, and proteins, lowcarbs).

The most expensive thing for Katie is just the high food pricesbecause she cannot eat wheat. So a loaf of bread for Katie costsapproximately 6 times more than a loaf of bread for the rest of thefamily. Harry and Ginny estimate that they spent an additional$1,000 on Katie’s certified gluten free food during the year, butdon’t have any receipts.

What if any expenses can Harry and Ginny claim is itemizedmedical expenses?

What if any expenses can Harry and Ginny claim reimbursement forfrom their Health Savings Account?