4 ms·

Formula is literally the only thing some babies can eat particularly less than 6 months old. You cant just give them cow milk, or chocolate or bread or whatever

Formula is literally the only thing some babies can eat particularly less than 6 months old. You cant just give them cow milk, or chocolate or bread or whatever. Has to be formula if it cant be breast milk. Not all parents breast feed their babies for myriad reasons - some by choice, some not by choice. Formula is quite expensive in the UK - no idea how expensive it is in the states, but a 800g tin of powder might cost about £12/15USD. That makes about 4 litres of milk which might last a 100% formula-fed baby 2-7 days depending on how old/hungry they are. By comparison 4.54L (i.e. 8 imperial pints ... we still seem to sell milk in imperial sized bottles for unknown reasons) of cow milk is £2.18, so formula is roughly 5x or 6x as expensive. Is £12 for 2-7 days worth of food for your kid expensive? For people on HN probably not, but I do know that the formula in the supermarkets often have security tags on them (along with razors etc) so I am guessing a lot of people cannot easily afford the formula/can't afford to feed their kid literally the only thing they can eat. Sad stuff really - this is why I would expect it to be on these sort of discount schemes.

jedberg 6y ago
This Costco brand formula is about the cheapest you'll find in the US [0]. It's 5kg for $82 (or about $13 for 800g). So basically the cheapest we have is a little less than your average. Our cow milk is sold by the gallon (3.72L) and is about $4, so about the same ratio. [0] https://www.costco.com/kirkland-signature-procare-non-gmo-infant--formula-42-oz%2c-4-pack.product.100500042.html https://www.costco.com/kirkland-signature-procare-non-gmo-in...
Spivak 6y ago
> Formula is literally the only thing some babies can eat particularly less than 6 months old. You cant just give them cow milk, or chocolate or bread or whatever. Has to be formula if it cant be breast milk. I think the ideal compromise for this situation is that if this describes your situation you get a doc to sign off on it and then your FSA/Insurance should cover it as medical expense. Like it wont and it makes little sense for it to be excluded in the first place but I think we could find a compromise that satisfies everyone.
- jedberg 6y ago
  I think the point was more that whomever makes the list of acceptable items for the HSA is clearly out of touch and missing important things, and there shouldn't be a person in that role anyway.
- triceratops 6y ago
  > if this describes your situation you get a doc to sign off on it That's how it works for a lot of items. But still...why? Now you definitely need an FSA administrator to examine the letter of necessity - all this to save again, a measly few hundred bucks in taxes.
- mike22 6y ago
  > if this describes your situation you get a doc to sign off on it For those with feeding tubes, this is possible - insurance will often cover the special enteral formulas. But it seems (based on various Facebook group discussions) that the individual must be 100% tube fed to qualify.

jedberg 6y ago

This Costco brand formula is about the cheapest you'll find in the US [0]. It's 5kg for $82 (or about $13 for 800g). So basically the cheapest we have is a little less than your average. Our cow milk is sold by the gallon (3.72L) and is about $4, so about the same ratio. [0] https://www.costco.com/kirkland-signature-procare-non-gmo-infant--formula-42-oz%2c-4-pack.product.100500042.html https://www.costco.com/kirkland-signature-procare-non-gmo-in...

Spivak 6y ago

> Formula is literally the only thing some babies can eat particularly less than 6 months old. You cant just give them cow milk, or chocolate or bread or whatever. Has to be formula if it cant be breast milk. I think the ideal compromise for this situation is that if this describes your situation you get a doc to sign off on it and then your FSA/Insurance should cover it as medical expense. Like it wont and it makes little sense for it to be excluded in the first place but I think we could find a compromise that satisfies everyone.

jedberg 6y ago
I think the point was more that whomever makes the list of acceptable items for the HSA is clearly out of touch and missing important things, and there shouldn't be a person in that role anyway.
triceratops 6y ago
> if this describes your situation you get a doc to sign off on it That's how it works for a lot of items. But still...why? Now you definitely need an FSA administrator to examine the letter of necessity - all this to save again, a measly few hundred bucks in taxes.
mike22 6y ago
> if this describes your situation you get a doc to sign off on it For those with feeding tubes, this is possible - insurance will often cover the special enteral formulas. But it seems (based on various Facebook group discussions) that the individual must be 100% tube fed to qualify.