Who down with OTC?

[telerib]

You know what would really solve this increasingly bizarre and intrusive fad for passing legislation about birth control and insurance coverage?

Make most of them over-the-counter.

Is that such a crazy idea? You could still go and see a doctor if you were having trouble finding one that worked for you, just like you could go if OTC sinus remedies weren't fixing your cough or runny nose. We've successfully shown that yes, most of us know when we have a yeast infection and when it's something else (Hint: The Monistat didn't work) and so *those* medicines are OTC now. Can we maybe be trusted to be Big Girls about our birth control, too?

(I actually did find the text of that Arizona bill online. They really did strike out the language that prohibits employer discrimination against women taking the Pill, even if they pay for it out of their own pocket.)

Comments

[faireraven.livejournal.com]

You're absolutely right (and at that point you could get your doc to still write a script so that FSA covers it).

However, it still won't pass. Why? Because certain people believe that sex is of the debbil. There are those who will prevent it from going OTC for just that reason.

[cmccurry.livejournal.com]

Not seeing the problem with that idea myself. Now if the government would be so kind as to allow us to use Flex Spending Accounts to get OTC meds without a doctor's blessing...

[orlacarey.livejournal.com]

The problem being that if you can't get your doctor to write you a script you're stuck paying for it without your HSA. Why do I forsee this being an issue? Because I'm paying for "the purple pill" out of my own pocket even though I've had lots of doctors tell me I should take it.

[telerib.livejournal.com]

*Googles 'purple pill'*

Yikes, that's an expensive pill. I was wondering if there were non-prescription medicines that could get so pricey. I guess so. (Why on earth won't the doctor write you a scrip? O.o Bad doctor, no biscuit!)

I wonder if it could be jiggered such that some of the pills were OTC and some were by prescription? I don't know how they make that call, if it's strictly a safety thing or if it can be a cost/safety thing. So that say ethinyl estradiol and norgestimate (Ortho Cyclen) is OTC but ethinyl estradiol and levonorgestrel (Alesse) is not?

I dunno. I went off the Pill because of side effects, and I was tired of doing the "get the referral, make the appointment, waste 30-120 minutes waiting, see doctor for 10 minutes to get new prescription" dance every 3-6 months to find one that worked without screwing with me. So I'm personally resentful that there's a gatekeeper to those drugs.

[orlacarey.livejournal.com]

Actually I take the generic version (Omeprazole) which I get at Sam's Club. Still expensive but about 1/2 the price of Prilosec.

I don't know how they make the decision on what is OTC vs prescription. But I used to have a doctor give me Nexium (the secret is to say that the OTC stuff didn't help when asked if you tried it). The problem is that it seems like anything that you can get as a prescription like that ends up being one of the high tier drug so your co-payment is just as expensive if not more than the OTC drug. I'm convinced that the drug companies do that to discourage people getting doctors to give prescriptions as a money saving effort.

[orlacarey.livejournal.com]

http://m.jezebel.com/5895860/dare-to-dream-over+the+counter-birth-control?utm_campaign=socialflow_jezebel_facebook&utm_source=jezebel_facebook&utm_medium=socialflow

Who is reading your lj? :P