Friday, October 15, 2010

A prescription for disaster

Anyone could have told the American public what was coming and many people did. But no one was listening, especially those in Washington who rammed through the new health care law under Pelosi and Obama.

Remember when Nancy said, "we need to go ahead and pass this bill, so that we can see what's in it?"

Well now we know what's in in and this is going to be interesting, once these realities settle in on people.

New Rules Coming for Payments Out of Health Savings Accounts

Under the new health care law, consumers using workplace pre-tax health savings accounts will soon need a doctor's note to pay for Tylenol and an estimated 15,000 other over-the-counter drugs.
Starting Jan. 1, employees who use flexible spending accounts (FSAs), health saving accounts (HSAs), or health reimbursement arrangements (HRAs) to pay for common medications such as pain relievers, cold medicines, antacids and allergy medications will need prescriptions. The new rules don't apply to insulin.
The new rules will also prohibit the use of FSA or HRA debit cards provided by administrative plans for over-the-counter purchases because the IRS says there's no way to prove the drugs were prescribed.
The IRS says any money removed from HSA accounts to pay for medical expenses not bought with a prescription will be included as taxable income and subject to an additional tax of 20 percent.
Robert Zirkelbach, a spokesman for America's Health Insurance Plans, the industry lobby that voiced support for the overhaul but has been accused by some of the law's proponents of trying to undermine it, said the law creates "unintended consequences."
I especially like that part about the law creating unintended consequences. Maybe that is what happens after you pass legislation that you don't have a clue about.

A doctor's prescription for Tylenol, just so you can claim the deduction eh..... Something tells me that there are going to be a lot of scripts for pain killers come January.

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