Other voices - let them be heard!

[Steph N]

Ruth -
what a HUGE HONOR you have! And SO important for so many. Most of us here on this board are not old enough for Medicare and not sick to the point where we qualify for Medicaid/disability.
We are ALSO in a tough spot and have a burdon to pay for the health insurance and some part of the treatment and incidental pills we have to take along with the chemos and other drugs.
By the time those of us in ONGOING treatment pay our deductibles and stop loss amounts year after year (not to mention all the doc visit, tests not covered and prescription co-pays) we are out several thousand dollars per year. So, there goes the kithen remodel, the new car, the nice trip, the new clothes or the retirement and college funds. We know we have to be treated and must budget with this in mind, instead of what we would like to get for our grandchildren. Or we do send them to camp and go without something ourselves. Life in general is very expensive in large metropolitan areas where the treatment is the best. We can barely afford to stay, but are afraid to go away from our top clinics and excellent level of care. It is even harder for those with young children to still support and raise.
Cancer is a catastrophic illness and is very expensive to treat. I will hit my one million limit on my health insurance well before I am 65 at the present rate of ongoing treatment. I will have to go on disability or go totally broke.

[Ruth]

Steph,

Thank you! You bring up a very valid point and one that I am planning on using next week. The costs of a cancer diagnosis are catastrophic in some cases even with the absolute best insurance because there are costs that are not covered. Loss of income from work is a huge problem.

I hesitate to bring this up but a great concern of the advocate group & my local oncologists is that many insurance companies use the government guidelines for their reimbursement rates. Will this cut trickle down into HMO's and private insurers? Will these cuts make the private insurers lower their rates and put more of the burden of the costs onto the patient? Will the co-pay's/premiums increase dramatically to the patients that have insurance? Someone has to help pay for the losses. Will it be us? Can the pharmacutical companies help out? Do we want them to cut the costs of the drugs at the expense of them losing research dollars?

It is a huge problem that I certainly don't have answers to. So, I will just try to do my little part and hopefully help the ones that need the help the most.
Thanks again Steph...I can't agree with you more.
Peace, Ruth

[Steph N]

Ruth -
You pose many good questions:
"Will this cut trickle down into HMO's and private insurers? Will these cuts make the private insurers lower their rates and put more of the burden of the costs onto the patient? Will the co-pay's/premiums increase dramatically to the patients that have insurance? Someone has to help pay for the losses. Will it be us? Can the pharmacutical companies help out? Do we want them to cut the costs of the drugs at the expense of them losing research dollars?"

Here is a good link to an article in the latest AARP Bulletin. So, at the same time as there are some cuts to go into effect, there is a move to make buying from Canada legal. Apparently the Canadians are even more strict on their oversight than we are. (Al from Canada, what say you??)

In the latest issue of the AARP Bulletin is a good article, which is NOT available in the online version, about a book by Marcia Angell who is an industry analyst. "The Truth About the Drug Companies: How They Decieve Us and What to Do About It" is published by Random House. Her interview is very revealing as to the fact that WE AMERICANS foot the bill for the rest of the world by paying many times more than charged elsewhere. The industry is bigger than our government and the industry won't stand for the changes we need. Big pharma often has more lobbiests than we have members of congress - and they give big money to campaigns. So, Congress wrote into the new Medicare law a provision that EXPLICITLY forbids Medicare from regulating drug prices in any way. Drug companies can charge what they want. Our representatives in Congress have REALLY LET US DOWN!! Where is Ralph Nader when we need him??
The facts are shocking when they are known. THERE ARE NO LOSSES - look at the annual reports that are available online!! I know you will do your best to speak for us against this travesty against humane and sensible medical treatment.