You may recall, as I do, that fateful evening one year ago today when I innocently began mowing my lawn. A fateful evening that ended with me in the hospital, and the next morning having small wires and mechanisms run up through my arteries and to my heart. The remains of this adventure are lodged there today, three little metal mesh devices.
And in pills.
Which brings us to prescriptions.
I tend to think that I have been served very well by Kaiser Permanente; even after watching Michael Moore’s “Sicko” — which I wholeheartedly recommend, it was eye-opening and very interesting — I still think Kaiser works quite well. Except that I have the means to pay a $300 premium every month in order to be looked after by them. At least, I have the means for at least the short term future.
Today I went to refill some of my prescriptions. The day after the heart attack I started taking Plavix, which was pretty damned expensive. But a few months later, a generic version arrived and saved me hundreds of dollars per refill — Kaiser only charged me $10. Sadly, last month, generic Plavix was taken off the market after a patent suit, and today my prescription cost a whopping $285. Now this makes the pricing of drugs even more incomprehensible than before: if the generic version was so much less (even with a Kaiser subsidy) how can they justify selling Plavix at such a huge markup? I can’t imagine being able to pay that much if my circumstances were just slightly different; and there are so many millions of people out there who simply can’t afford to buy medicine at all.
I’m a proponent of free, universal health care because I think it should be ubiquitous and free just like fire stations, police, and libraries. If we spend tax money on free books and movies for everyone, if we spent tax money on firefighting — saving people and property from fire — shouldn’t we also spend tax money on saving people from death and disease?
And perhaps a little less tax money on subsidizing enormous tax breaks for people who buy Hummers?
Tim — this whole situation is completely insane. “Only in America”… why is our country so freaking backwards, with so many people unable to afford to just LIVE? It’s clear that we have let “The American Way” lean too far toward the profit-makers. There’s more to life than making more and more money, especially when one i making money on the suffering of others.
Kirk — Oh, boy. I always take Michael Moore with a grain of salt; he, like anyone else, is espousing his personal opinions. That said, I almost always agree with his conclusions, if not his method of getting there. “Sicko” raises some very important questions and criticisms, and if it finally gets people to talk about the situation and demand that something is done, all the better. But I don’t think the powers that be will let our system change.
Like you I am in need of a dozen or so pills every day, or perhaps more truthfully, I should take a dozen pills a day but I can’t, I take half that. Why? Well that’s easy, I can’t afford them.
Worse, not only am I insured, I have double insurance I’m fully covered at work and I have secondary insurance through my husband and still I can’t afford it.
Out of the 6 or so pills I don’t take, the cost of one medicationafter both insurance companies have paid their part is $485 a month Another is $185 another is $205 and so it goes.
The Dr.’s and the pharmacy don’t bill the secondary insurance so I have to cover that out of pocket and file a claim with a check returning in 6-8 weeks. My trips to the pharmacy every two weeks result in $700-900 bills every two weeks! and that’s the six pills I can afford!
With out the insurance I wouldn’t able to even by one.
Double insurance and I still can’t afford my medication? Something seriously wrong with that.
On the subject of “Sicko” not univ. health care- read this http://www.mtv.com/movies/news/articles/1563758/story.jhtml
It’s by Kurt Loder of all people, whom I’ve usually found so left wing I just can’t stand to look at him anymore.
Anyhoo, take Michael Moore with as many grains of salt as Michael himself does on his daily regiment of fried foods.