Posted on 10/14/2010 6:42:43 AM PDT by kristinn
Nancy Pelosi warned us we’d have to pass Obamacare to find out what’s in it. And what we’re finding we don’t like at all.
Higher insurance premiums are hitting families hard. Medicare Advantage has been decimated. Millions will be forced into government-run Medicaid where long lines and rationing await.
If we like our insurance -- too bad.
Beginning January 1, 2011, more than 15,000 over-the-counter (OTC) health care items will require a prescription (and that means a doctor’s visit) for tax-free reimbursement.
Under Obamacare, OTC drugs cannot be reimbursed tax-free from Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) or Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs) without a government bureaucrat-required permission slip.
(Excerpt) Read more at humanevents.com ...
Do we have managers in the House who will draft the impeachment articles? Do we have the votes to move those articles to the Senate? Do we have the votes in the Senate to execute the impeachment order?
Obama reminds me of Liberty Valence.
www.alldaychemist.com
Read the whole thing.
I’m stocking up on OTC medicines I regularly use now while I can still use my HSA to pay for it.
And yet, somewhere in the back of my mind I keep hearing this hopey-changey voice that says, “90 percent of Americans will see NO tax increases.” Must have been hallucinating.
No ... no ... and no ...
My point exactly.
Maybe I'm living in a dreamworld---does anyone know how things will change? Will we be able to just do business as usual?
“Beginning January 1, 2011, more than 15,000 over-the-counter (OTC) health care items will require a prescription (and that means a doctor’s visit) for tax-free reimbursement.”
Good! My insurance never paid for over the counter meds for crying out loud! Enough of this cr*p!
What does insurance have to do with it? Currently you can use your HSA or FSA monies to purchase OTC drugs. If you want to continue purchasing OTC drugs with your HSA or FSA monies, you will need a prescription. Imagine having to get a prescription from your doctor for Ibuprofen....
HSA’s and FSA’s can also be used for dependent child care. Friends of mine use theirs for the expenses incurred by their disabled daughter: specialized day car, expensive wheel chair, etc. Right now the amount of money deferred into these accounts is set by employers. An employer can allow each employee to deduct, tax-free, $15,000 if he wanted to. Now obamacare sets the cap at $5000. This is devastating for families that rely on this tax-free money (that they earned!) to take care of dependent family members.
So include them in your medical deductions.
Perhaps you don’t know what HSA’s or FSA’s are. I have an FSA. My employer allows me to deduct up to $1000 into this account. This is money that I have earned, it is $1000 from my salary. This decreases my tax burden by $1000 each year. From this account, I purchase Tylenol, Benadryl, Neosproin, Pepto, etc., as well as pay for doc, er, x-ray, surgery, and prescription co-pays. Since I have no dental or eye coverage, I swipe my FSA card for these visits as well. I can use my FSA for eye glasses, contacts, sunglasses (prescription), cavity fillings, etc. Again this is my money from my salary, I’m just using it pre-tax.
not to mention the increased costs caused by all of those physicians having to take time out of their day to write scripts for Dulcolax and Advil
The FSA doesn’t reduce your tax burden by $1000, it reduces your taxable income by $1000, saving you 250-330, I imagine. But it is a good deal if you have known medical expenses.
Frankly I'd rather find ways to deal with the outcome of this abomination of this health care legislation for a bit and let those who voted for Obama and helped stack Congress with those who backed him to the hilt suffer the consequences of their foolishness. IMHO it would be worth the inconvenience, etc. just to make sure they feel the full impact of what they did.
I know it's not practical approach, but it should would be my action of choice if I had the power to make it happen.
Until those who make these things happen have the full weight of their bad decisions fall directly on them they will just continue their foolish ways.
I really don't understand your post. I have an FSA as well. I was simply pointing out that beginning in January, we can no longer purchase OTC drugs with our HSA or FSA monies unless we first get a prescription from a doctor.
Is that not your understanding?
You can itemize Ibuprofen and Nyquil?
Don’t mean to sound snide, but have you ever done your own taxes? Your medical deductions have to reach a certain threshold to be used. Your medical deductions must reach 7.5% of your AGI.
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