Ask Congress to Eliminate a New Restriction that Requires a Prescription to Receive FSA Reimbursement for Over-the-Counter Medications
Included in the March-passed health care bill is a provision that requires you to obtain a doctor's prescription in order to be reimbursed by your flexible spending account (FSA) for over-the-counter (OTC) medications such as allergy medicine and cough syrup. Non-drug OTC items will still be eligible without a prescription. (Read more about how this will affect your FSA here.) The new policy is set to go into effect next year, on January 1, 2011.
You will still be able to use your FSA for many other things such as prescription medications, doctor office visits, medical procedures, and non-drug OTC items, but the new requirement will place an unaccustomed burden on FSA participants and doctors. This OTC restriction will require FSA participants to visit their doctor and obtain a prescription before they can use their pre-tax dollars to pay for OTC purchases. Requiring participants to obtain a physician's prescription will lead to additional office visits and force physicians to waste valuable time writing prescriptions for medicines that were previously shifted to OTC for the specific purpose of reducing overall health care costs.
With the OTC restriction scheduled take effect in less than eight months, the time to contact President Obama and your members of Congress is now. Click the link below to read more and to create a message to send to President Obama and Congress.
