OK, who started the rumor that Obama was going to pass a law that...

[Frustratedlady]

you have to go to the dr. to get any over-the-counter meds? We have a neighbor who is hyperventilating over what she just heard. She is a Tea Bagger and loves O'Reilly. Her front yard is full of RW signs.

Anyone have any idea if this came from FOX or wherever else it might have started?

She just had stents a couple months ago, so this is not good for her blood pressure.

[slackmaster]

1. It looks like you started it, just now.

:hi:

We have a neighbor who is hyperventilating over what she just heard.

Uh-huh. Some neighbor of yours. Right.

[emulatorloo]

2. Probably the same person that said Obama is going to mandate circumcision and outlaw sport fishing.

[TheCowsCameHome]

7. ..or confiscate your fish and circumcise them just for sport.

Where the hell do these rumors come from?

[emulatorloo]

14. LOL

The internets mostly, Limbaugh and Beck repeat them.

One of my favorites was the HCR was going to mandate sex change operations.

[elleng]

15. They come from LYING REPUGS, who do ANYTHING for POWER.

[TheCowsCameHome]

3. Tell her to turn off FOX before she blows a stent.

that's her biggest problem right there.

[karynnj]

4. I think it's a complete misunderstanding of the pre-tax medical accounts

change. These are the employer provided accounts that let you use pretax money for medical costs. If you want, for example, to buy Claritan - which is OTC - you would need a doctor to "prescribe it". You will still be able to buy anything you want that is OTC without a prescription.

[vaberella]

11. That's great news. n/t

[Frustratedlady]

13. Thanks! She hears what she wants to hear. Sorry if I wasn't clear...

as I'm heading out the door and threw the question in too quickly to make much sense.

[66 dmhlt]

18. Well, she may actually be partially correct.

If you have a FSA (Flexible Saving Account), beginning 1/1/11 you will need a prescription for OTCs if you plan on using your FSA money to pay for them.

Starting January 1, 2011, you will not be able to use these spending accounts to pay for most over-the-counter drugs and medicines unless you have a doctor's prescription.*

Source:
http://www.cigna.com/our_plans/medical/fsa/fsa_health.html

[Frustratedlady]

21. She is on Medicare, so this wouldn't affect her, right? n/t

Thanks for your input.

[mdmc]

26. that is correct

you can use your tax free account to buy OTC meds, but you will need a script.

Glad DU got it right in this thread:toast:

[elleng]

16. Part of the new law, which is so complex that it lends itself to misunderstandings, I guess.

New to me, fer sure!

[karynnj]

23. I missed it through all the many threads here and watching HELP and Finance committee hearings

I saw it in a power point presentation that the company my husband works for got from their industry association on the plan - where they were explaining changes.

So, yeah - it's complex and it has many many provisions.

[Frustratedlady]

20. Thanks. You are probably right.

[MousePlayingDaffodil]

5. I believe the reference . . .

. . . is to the supposed new requirement (which, I believe, may start as early as January 2011) that, in order to purchase non-prescription, over-the-counter medications using pre-tax money from one's Health Savings Account ("HSA") or Health Care Spending Account ("HCSA") , one will have to have some sort of authorization from a medical provider.

If this is indeed a new requirement, it is a change from how HSAs and HCSAs worked previously.

[JoePhilly]

6. Tell her she needs a new tin foil hat ... her's is clearly past the expiration date.

[gkhouston]

8. This is probably a distortion of some discussion about whether sudafed-type meds

(which are currently OTC, but you have to sign for them at the pharmacist's counter) should be sold only by prescription. I'm not aware that the discussion has reached the point of actual legislation, nor do I think it has anything to do with Obama or with any other meds other than pseudoephedrine.

[stopbush]

9. Obama doesn't pass any laws. Congress passes acts that the president

signs into law.

Saying that "Obama will pass a law" gives the impression that he is a king issuing fiats.

[TexasProgresive]

12. After 8 years of b*sh one might think that. n/t

[Turbineguy]

10. Dontcha know?

he's a dicktater. he does what he wants.

[struggle4progress]

17. I heard Obama is going to force all us white folk to wear blackface!

Also, he stole my toothbrush

[LiberalFighter]

19. Tell her that Big Pharma is sponsoring the shows that she hears it from.

Big Pharma would love to have every medication to be prescribed so they can make more money.

[Frustratedlady]

22. She probably heard it from Bill O or Beck...she worships them...n/t

I will pass along the info to another neighbor. Once she mentioned those two names, I no longer talked to her unless it was about the weather. She is in orbit at the moment.

I wonder if those guys realize how seriously people take their comments and that it actually harms some people? Seriously. As long as their ratings are high, they don't care.

[Beaverhausen]

24. Why don't you ask her where she heard it? Make her prove it to you.

[mdmc]

25. Starting 1-1-2011

You will need a medical doctor to prescribe over the counter medication if you want to you a tax free medical savings account to purchase the OTC medication.

perhaps that is where the rumor started..