Important Update

The Eligible Products List website is now available for your use. Thank you for your support and patience while the website was down during the upgrade.

If you experience any issues or have questions with the new process, please contact the SIGIS help desk at help@sig-is.org or (925) 275-6605.

HOW THE NEW PROCESS TO ACCESS THE EPL WORKS:
A Member can use their SIGIS Members Area Login to access EPL via a link located within the Members Area of the SIGIS website. The link is located on the "My SIGIS" tab under the "Announcements" section on www.sig-is.org.

  • All existing Member Contacts who have a SIGIS Members Area Login, now have automatic access to the EPL list. Please click on the EPL List hyperlink from the SIGIS Members area.
  • For members that had an EPL login, but did not have a SIGIS Members Area Login, we have set you up as a SIGIS Member Contact from your EPL information. (**If we were not able to do so, you have received a separate email with instructions so we may help you with this).
    • To obtain your SIGIS Members Area Login, you must go to: contact details and select "Password Request". This will take you to a screen where you will enter your email address. Your SIGIS Members Area Login will be emailed to you.
  • If you did not have either a Members Area or an EPL login, and wish to access the EPL list, you must first be listed as a company contact within the SIGIS Membership database. You may be added as a new contact by having the primary contact for your company send an email to help@sig-is.org with the new user’s: name, title and email id.
    • Once you are listed as a contact within the Membership database, you can request your SIGIS Members Area Login through the SIGIS website.

      Go to: contact details and select "Password Request". This will take you to a screen where you will enter your email address. Your SIGIS Members Area Login will be emailed to you.

NOTE: You will no longer be able to use your current EPL Login to access the Eligible Products List.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR REQUESTING FTP ACCESS TO THE EPL!

FTP Access to the EPL remains unchanged, your existing FTP account ID’s and passwords remain the same. We have however updated the process for new FTP access requests. Organizations that wish to request FTP access to the EPL may now do so by having a member contact send an email to help@sig-is.org.

If you have any questions please send an email to help@sig-is.org.

Change Indicator Definitions
A - Hamacher Resource Group Added Eligible Item
S - SIGIS Member Submitted Eligible Item
D - Deleted Ineligible Item
NULL - Currently Eligible Item
A, S, and NULL indicated items are eligible. D indicated items are ineligible.

IRS requirement
The IRS has issued rulings that apply to certain categories of merchants that sell healthcare/medical items. The rulings state that these merchants must be able to electronically identify qualified medical items it sells, at the point of sale, through what the IRS calls an Inventory Information Approval System, or IIAS.


What is the SIGIS Eligible Product List
The SIGIS Eligible Product List is a list of eligible healthcare/medical products that qualify for purchase with an FSA or HRA payment card. The list has been reviewed and modified by the SIGIS List Working Group, a group of benefit plan administrators.
Merchants who wish use the SIGIS standard and process IIAS transactions must use the SIGIS Eligible Product List to identify their inventory so that eligible products can be identified and processed at the point of sale in accordance with the SIGIS specification.


What is SIGIS?
A group of companies involved in supporting Flexible Spending Account (FSA) and Health Reimbursement Arrangement (HRA) debit card transactions formed a working group called the “IIAS Standards Interest Group” to establish a voluntary industry standard to meet IRS requirements for operating an IIAS by the mandated deadline of January 1, 2008. The working group has now incorporated as the Special Interest Group for IIAS Standards (SIGIS) to manage the standards on an on-going basis.
SIGIS is composed of a broad range of participants, including retailers, card issuers, third party plan administrators (“TPAs”), merchant acquirers, processors, financial institutions, trade association groups, software vendors, and payment card networks.


List details
The SIGIS Eligible Product List will be made up of product records described as follows:


Name DataType Size
UPC Text 11
GTIN Text 14
Description (product name) Text 42
Fine Line Code (FLC) Text 4
Category Descriptor Text 100
Subcategory Descriptor Text 100
Finest Category Descriptor Text 100
Manufacturer Name Text 50
Change Date Text 10
Change Indicator Text 1 (A - HRG Added Eligible Item;
S - SIGIS Added Eligible Item;
D - Deleted Ineligible Item;
NULL - Currently Eligible Item)

The List will include nationally distributed, regular stock items. The List will be available in several file formats, including fixed length, .xls, XML, CSV delimited, and pipe delimited. The List will be updated and published on a monthly basis.

The List, as defined, will typically not include private label items as well as the following types of items:

• Items specially created for an individual retailer
• Local, regional or specialty items
• Certain bonus items (2 ounces free)
• Buy One Get One (BOGOS) Free
• Other in-and-out types of packaging with limited availability or distribution.

Members Request to Access Eligible Products List

The SIGIS Members Area password will also allow the member access to the Eligible Products List. If you are a SIGIS member and would like to request access to the Eligible Product List or have forgotten your password, please fill out the Password Request.