335. Justin Mares, Co-Founder & CEO of Truemed
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In this episode of Fit Insider, host Joe Benary sits down with Justin Mares, co-founder and CEO of TruMed, to explore how existing tax policies can be leveraged to transform lifestyle interventions into legitimate healthcare expenses. Mares explains how TruMed enables consumers to use HSA and FSA funds for preventive health tools like gym memberships, Peloton bikes, supplements, and medically tailored meals through a clinically validated 'letter of medical necessity' process. The conversation dives into why the current U.S. healthcare system fails to incentivize prevention, despite overwhelming evidence that lifestyle changes can treat or reverse chronic conditions like obesity and type 2 diabetes. Mares argues that using pre-tax dollars for these interventions isn't a loophole but a necessary shift to align financial incentives with long-term health outcomes. He highlights TruMed’s growing impact—driving 12–18% of Peloton’s sales through HSA/FSA use—and emphasizes the company’s mission to build data-driven proof of efficacy for wellness products, ultimately pushing the health industry toward evidence-based, preventative care. The episode closes with a vision of TruMed as a bridge between wellness and healthcare, aiming to create a system where lifestyle medicine is treated with the same clinical rigor as pharmaceuticals.
HSA and FSA funds can legally be used for lifestyle interventions like gym memberships, Peloton, supplements, and medically tailored meals if a clinician issues a letter of medical necessity.
TruMed’s platform reduces friction by enabling users to apply for medical necessity letters via a quick health survey and use their HSA/FSA cards directly at partner retailers.
The U.S. healthcare system is structurally misaligned with prevention—spending $400,000 on average to manage type 2 diabetes over a lifetime, but offering no financial incentives to prevent it.
Merchants like Peloton see 15% conversion lifts and 30–50% higher average order values when customers use HSA/FSA funds via TruMed, unlocking new customer segments.
TruMed is building a data infrastructure to track real-world outcomes of lifestyle interventions, aiming to prove their clinical efficacy and legitimacy in the healthcare system.
…and 3 more takeaways available in PodZeus
The Power of HSA/FSA for Preventive Health
“If you're working to treat, reverse or prevent a chronic condition, there's tons of good research and evidence that spending your HSA or FSA funds to address that condition and spending it on a lifestyle intervention is a valid use of those funds.”
Why the Healthcare System Ignores Prevention
“The average American has one or more chronic conditions and the healthcare system does nothing to cure these conditions. All they do is manage them, put them on a pill, prescription, and then manage that person for the duration of their life at great cost.”
TruMed’s Business Model and Merchant Impact
“If you can make a product like a Peloton, a $2,000 product, 30% to 50% cheaper, depending on your tax rate, you're saving 30% to 50% using HSA funds, you're unlocking a new type of buyer.”
The Awareness Gap and Systemic Change
Mares discusses the massive awareness gap—only a fraction of eligible Americans use their HSA/FSA accounts—and outlines TruMed’s mission to educate consumers and employers about the power of these funds for prevention.
Building Evidence for Lifestyle Medicine
“We're starting to run studies showing like, hey, for the treatment of prevention of obesity, how effective is a Peloton intervention? What are sort of like the changes that you're seeing?”
“The healthcare system does not recognize or realize that [lifestyle interventions] are healthcare interventions yet. And so like how do we build the infrastructure and the tools that allow our merchants... to be treated with and be part of a healthcare system that I think just fundamentally needs to route hundreds and hundreds of billions of dollars towards these lifestyle interventions.”
“The world that I think TruMed is working towards and wants to drive towards is a world in which someone has a bunch of risk factors around heart disease or obesity... and yes, you can go to a doctor and you can get on a statin. But also there's an evidence base... that says like, hey, also if you want to instead of going on a statin, instead of doing something else, you want to try an exercise regimen.”
“The average American has one or more chronic conditions and the healthcare system does nothing to cure these conditions. All they do is manage them, put them on a pill, prescription, and then manage that person for the duration of their life at great cost.”
Host
Guest
TruMed
organization
HSA
other
FSA
other
Justin Mares
person
Peloton
organization
Letter of Medical Necessity
other
eGym
organization
Eight Sleep
organization
Kettle and Fire
organization
Substack
other
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