Prediabetes Management: 7 HSA/FSA-Eligible Tools for Your A1C Plan

The good news

An A1C of 5.9 is a head start

Prediabetes is easier to see and act on than it used to be. Dexcom's Stelo, an over-the-counter glucose sensor, shows what a meal or a walk does to your glucose, and a Concept2 RowErg turns the 150 active minutes a week into low-impact cardio for the whole body. The standout tools, like that rower or a Withings Body Comp scale, are premium buys, which is exactly where the pre-tax dollars in your HSA or FSA help.

Here is how it often goes: a lab result flagged at 5.8 or 5.9, a doctor who suggests eating better, and a recheck in a year. There is often no plan and no equipment. And if you have an FSA, there may be a balance that expires in December.

You are far from alone. The CDC counts 115.2 million American adults with prediabetes, more than 2 in 5, and 8 in 10 of them don't know they have it. Knowing is the head start. This guide covers what actually moves the number, which tools your HSA or FSA can pay for, and where an LMN comes in.

The plan first

What actually brings an A1C down

The evidence comes from a lifestyle program, not a gadget. In the NIH's Diabetes Prevention Program trial, people with prediabetes aimed for 7% weight loss and 150 minutes of activity a week. That cut their chances of developing type 2 diabetes by 58% compared with placebo.

The CDC's targets are the same two numbers. Lose 5% to 7% of your body weight, about 10 to 14 pounds for a 200-pound person. Get at least 150 minutes a week of brisk walking or similar activity. The ADA adds two sessions of strength training a week. The ADA also notes that prediabetes doesn't lead to type 2 diabetes automatically, and that for some people early treatment returns glucose to the normal range.

Every tool in this guide serves one of those targets. It measures your glucose, your weight or your blood pressure, or it makes walking and strength work easier to fit in. None of them lowers A1C on its own, and none replaces the lab test: the ADA's Standards of Care call for testing people with prediabetes for diabetes at least once a year.

The plan does the work: 5% to 7% weight loss and 150 minutes a week. The tools make it measurable and easier to keep.

How your benefits pay

Monitors are covered as they are. Equipment, with an LMN.

Measuring devices are the easy part. Publication 502 covers "devices used in diagnosing and treating illness and disease", and its own example is a blood sugar test kit. The meter and the blood pressure monitor here need no paperwork.

The glucose sensor has a newer rule. On September 23, 2026, the IRS added a wearables question (Q15) to its nutrition and wellness FAQ: a sensor is a medical expense when you buy and use it primarily for a specific disease, and your "diagnosis, abnormal test results, or risk factors" count toward that. Diagnosed prediabetes, with an A1C of 5.7% to 6.4%, is that kind of fact, so a Stelo you buy and use to manage it fits. Buying one out of curiosity doesn't: "a generalized desire to monitor or improve health is not sufficient."

A scale, a treadmill, dumbbells and a rowing machine are also everyday purchases, so Publication 502 counts them only when used primarily to treat or prevent a condition. An LMN establishes that: your diagnosis, the equipment your clinician recommends, and what it does for your plan. "Exercise more" on its own is general health.

Monitors qualify for your diagnosis as they are, equipment with an LMN. You don't have to keep track of which is which: the Caeli extension shows, on the product you're looking at, whether your benefits cover it, and handles the LMN when one is needed.

The picks

Seven tools, one for each part of the plan

These picks cover glucose, weight, blood pressure and activity, from the budget fingerstick meter to the splurge, a Concept2 rower. The first three need no paperwork; the last four need an LMN.

Editor's pick

HSA/FSA eligible

Dexcom Stelo Glucose Sensor, 2-Pack — Seeing what a meal or a walk does to your glucose

Dexcom's Stelo is the over-the-counter continuous glucose monitor the FDA cleared in 2024 for adults who don't use insulin. It sits on the back of your upper arm for up to 15 days, waterproof, and sends readings to a phone app. The app shows the spikes after meals that a single A1C averages away. The ADA's standards name prediabetes as a use for over-the-counter CGMs. It has no alarms, and by Dexcom's own figures about 1 in 5 sensors doesn't last the full 15 days. Dexcom replaces those.

Price

$99

Est. tax savings ~$30

Checkout with Caeli

HSA/FSA eligible

OneTouch Verio Reflect Blood Glucose Monitoring System — Checking your glucose without a sensor, or double-checking one

A fingerstick meter is the cheaper way to learn your numbers and the cross-check for a CGM. The ColorSure range indicator shows where each reading falls. The OneTouch Reveal app logs results and shares them with your care team. A 90-day average target covers roughly the same window as an A1C.

Price

$40

Est. tax savings ~$12

Checkout with Caeli

HSA/FSA eligible

Omron Evolv Blood Pressure Monitor with Storage Case — Watching the heart risk that comes with prediabetes

Prediabetes raises cardiovascular risk, and the ADA suggests screening for and treating the risk factors. Evolv is a one-piece upper-arm cuff with no tube. It fits arms from 9 to 17 inches and flags an irregular heartbeat. It sends readings to OMRON Connect so you can share them with your clinician.

Price

$66

Est. tax savings ~$20

Checkout with Caeli

HSA/FSA with LMN

Withings Body Comp Black — Tracking the 5% to 7% weight target

Weight is the number the prevention plan is built on. Body Comp syncs it to the Withings app over Wi-Fi or Bluetooth and adds body fat, visceral fat and muscle mass. Treat those as trends. It supports up to 8 users, and the baseline metrics need no subscription.

Price

$230

Est. tax savings ~$69

Checkout with Caeli Get LMN

HSA/FSA with LMN

Costway 2.5HP Under Desk Treadmill for Home and Office Remote Control LED Display White — Getting walking minutes into a desk job

An under-desk treadmill turns part of a workday into the CDC's 150 minutes. It runs from 0.6 to 4 mph on a quiet 2.5HP motor and comes with a remote and an LED display. It's for walking, not running. It removes the weather excuse, not the walking.

Price

$150

Est. tax savings ~$45

Checkout with Caeli Get LMN

HSA/FSA with LMN

BowFlex Results Series 552 SelectTech Dumbbells — The ADA's two strength sessions a week

A dial sets each dumbbell anywhere from 5 to 52.5 pounds, so one pair replaces 15 sets of weights. That makes a home strength routine possible without a rack in the corner.

Price

$479

Est. tax savings ~$144

Checkout with Caeli Get LMN

HSA/FSA with LMN

Concept2 RowErg — The splurge: low-impact cardio for the whole body

The indoor rower that rowing programs and races use as their standard. Each stroke is low-impact cardio toward the 150 minutes, and Concept2 says it works every major muscle group. The included PM5 monitor logs every session to the free ErgData app. It takes users up to 500 pounds and splits into two pieces for storage, no tools needed.

Price

$990

Est. tax savings ~$297

Checkout with Caeli Get LMN

The setup

What the meter uses up, and the program behind the plan

A meter needs strips and lancets for every reading, and those are HSA/FSA-eligible too, with no paperwork.

HSA/FSA eligible

OneTouch Verio Test Strip, 50 ct. — The meter's running cost

OneTouch Verio test strips, 50 to a box. Each fingerstick reading uses one, so budget for them alongside the meter.

Price

$70

Est. tax savings ~$21

Checkout with Caeli

HSA/FSA eligible

OneTouch Delica Plus Lancet 30g - 100 ct. — The fingerstick itself

Fine 30-gauge OneTouch Delica Plus lancets, 100 to a box, for the other half of every meter reading.

Price

$20

Est. tax savings ~$6

Checkout with Caeli

The tools work best inside a program, and the one the 58% came from is easy to find. The CDC's National Diabetes Prevention Program runs for a year, in person or online. Its Medicare version (MDPP) is free under Part B for eligible members, and some employers and insurers cover it, so check your plan. If you pay yourself, Publication 502 counts weight-loss program fees when the program treats a disease a physician has diagnosed, such as obesity or hypertension. Prediabetes isn't on that example list, so ask your plan administrator first.

Good to know

Two details worth knowing

For equipment bought because of a condition, Publication 502's strict reading counts only "the excess of the cost of the item in a special form over the cost of the item in normal form". In practice most administrators process the full price against a valid LMN. Your plan administrator can tell you how they treat it. None of this is homework, though: the Caeli extension shows, on the product you're looking at, whether your benefits cover it, and handles the LMN when one is needed.