The question: does the patient pay the $49 async-prescription fee on top of the $500 device, or does SofPulse absorb it? Show one bundled price, make the whole thing HSA-eligible, and lead with the after-tax number. Absorbing margin to spare the patient ~$35 in real dollars is the wrong trade.
Decision brieflisten
IThe math that settles it
HSA dollars make the marginal Rx nearly free to the patient.
Both the device and the async Rx + LMN are HSA/FSA-eligible once the Letter of Medical Necessity is issued. So the patient pays the full $549 with pre-tax dollars — and the marginal cost of adding the Rx is only what they would have paid in tax on $49.
Patient's tax bracket
Device alone, effective
Device + Rx ($549), effective
What the Rx actually costs
22% bracket
$390
$428
~$38
30% blended
$350
$384
~$34
35% bracket
$325
$357
~$32
Effective cost = pre-tax price × (1 − marginal rate). The async Rx sells standalone at $49 for patients sourcing the device elsewhere; inside a device purchase it folds into one price. Absorbing $49 of margin to save the patient ~$32–$38 is a structurally bad trade.
IIThe two options
Bundle vs. absorb, side by side.
Recommended
Bundle it — one price, prescription included
The patient sees a single number — “$549, prescription and LMN included” — and the entire amount is HSA/FSA-eligible once the LMN is issued. No separate “+$49 Rx” line at checkout.
For
+One clean price converts far better than an itemized cart with a surprise fee
+The whole $549 is pre-tax — effective cost lands ~$370, and the Rx adds only ~$32–$38 after-tax
+Zero margin sacrificed — the Rx is funded inside the bundle, not discounted away
+Matches how every DTC telehealth brand (Hims, Ro) prices: care + product as one number
Against
−$549 sticker is higher than $500 before the HSA framing is shown — so the page must lead with the after-tax number
Alternative
Absorb it — SofPulse eats the $49
The patient sees a clean $500; SofPulse (or the channel) covers the $49 async-Rx cost out of margin so the prescription reads as “free.”
For
+Cleanest possible headline number ($500, Rx free)
+Removes any sticker objection at the very top of the funnel
Against
−Sacrifices ~$49/unit of margin — ~10% of a $500 device — to save the patient only ~$35 after-tax
−At 3-year scale (8,400 units) that is ~$410K of foregone margin
−Trains the channel to discount; hard to claw back later
−Unnecessary: HSA already makes the marginal Rx cost nearly invisible
IIIRecommendation
One price, prescription included, HSA-first.
01Show a single bundled price — “$549, prescription + LMN included” — never an itemized “+$49 Rx” line at checkout. Drip pricing is where DTC carts die.
02Lead every surface with the after-tax number (~$370 effective), not the sticker. The HSA framing is the conversion lever, not the discount.
03Keep the $49 standalone Rx as its own SKU for patients sourcing the device elsewhere — that channel stays itemized.
04Hold “absorb” in reserve as a time-boxed launch promo only if conversion testing proves the $549 sticker suppresses the top of funnel. Don't make it the default — it costs ~$410K in margin over the 3-year ramp.
Confidential. Effective-cost figures assume the device and async Rx are HSA/FSA-eligible with a physician-issued LMN; this is a positioning analysis, not tax advice. Modeled at a $500 device and a $49 async Rx. Not indexed. Not for distribution.