Posts with the tag prescription drugs

Get out the Vote, or no more real meds for you.

Jerod Poore — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 13:49:01 EDT

I've added a few things to the Obama Prayer Cards site.

There are now two cards for each selection. Why waste the paper? Keep one and give one away. There's also a little mixing and matching available.

I've also added a prayer for getting out the vote. It's not all that original, as I just kludged together three existing prayers, including one for community organizing. There was no saint acting as an intermediary for that one, even if it is a Catholic prayer.

Plus I've made a crappy banner for the get out the vote drive using my very own, and singular pill font:

Click on the above thumbnail for a full size .jpg There's also a version with a transparent background and .png (for printing) versions at the Obama Prayer Cards site.

Get out the Vote, or no more real meds for you.

Jerod Poore — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 16:27:13 EDT

I've added a few things to the Obama Prayer Cards site.

There are now two cards for each selection. Why waste the paper? Keep one and give one away. There's also a little mixing and matching available.

Plus I've made a crappy banner for the get out the vote drive using my very own, and singular pill font:

Click on the above thumbnail for a full size .jpg There's also a version with a transparent background and .png (for printing) versions at the Obama Prayer Cards site.

Why I think Obama's health care plan (and more!) is needed now.

Carol Werner — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 12:44:00 EDT

In 1999 and 2000, I spent about 18 months responding to collections calls on behalf of medical providers, gathering, sorting and re-sorting bills and receipts, and communicating by telephone, mail and email with my doctor's office, my law firm's administrator and the group insurance provider (United Healthcare or Blue Cross/Blue Shield--they blend together in my mind) over the denial of coverage on infertility treatments that were expressly covered and pre-cleared with the insurance company for up to a $35,000 lifetime benefit (my husband, my children and I will be forever grateful to the women who convinced the firm to provide that coverage!).

I couldn't just pay the bills and fight with the insurance company later because (i) I was broke after the birth of my twins (thanks again!); and (ii) I knew that if I paid the bills in the amount charged by the providers, without the reduction that the insurance company had negotiated, I would at most eventually be reimbursed only the discounted amount, which was a fraction of the provider's charges. After wasting countless hours of otherwise billable time (including hours during sleepless nights) that would have benefited the law firm that provided this important coverage, the insurance company finally sent a note of apology and paid the providers. Of course my credit rating had suffered, and I'll spare the details of consequential damages that I have written off to experience.
When I began practicing as a self-employed attorney, I first paid excessive premiums to partially replicate the health coverage I had when I was employed by a firm, then dropped insurance for several years because the premium was far greater than my family's medical expenses, and finally settled on a $5,000 deductible policy realizing that with three children it might be imprudent not to have coverage in case of a major medical problem arising.

Recently, I read an article that convinced me that I pay close to full price at the pharmacy even with the card provided by my insurance company not because the insurance company is too incompetent to figure out that I will reach my deductible faster by paying the inflated amount for prescriptions, but because they actually receive a kickback from the drug companies when I pay that excessive rate, and that when and if I reach my deductible and they start paying it will be at the negotiated rate for the prescribed drugs. Do I have time to try to follow this through to figure out whether my suspicion is correct and then to try to take action to end this abusive practice? No, as the insurance companies are aware, no one has that kind of time until they are already receiving Medicare coverage.

Why is it not obvious to everyone that single-payer health care is the only way to rationalize the cost of health care? It is clear to me that medical providers could be paid more than the insurance companies are willing to pay and that the overall cost of health care in the US would be lower if the money that should go to paying our doctors and other providers generously and encouraging well-conceived preventive health care measures by both the medical providers and the public would cost less and benefit everyone.

As long as the abusive, monopolized industries (insurance, pharmaceutical, big agriculture, oil, service companies with connections to the administration, and now, banking and finance) continue to collaborate with government to fool the public with fear tactics and false rhetoric (socialized medicine; problems just like in Canada; caving in to our enemies; etc.) we will be puppets on strings, keeping our heads down and working hard to pay off our credit cards and make our mortgage payments while receiving the same or lower pay than we received ten to twenty years ago when we, briefly, enjoyed living closer to those earning in the top 5% annual incomes.

We have allowed ourselves to be corralled into a situation where we are duped into supporting the oppressors as they carefully tighten the web of control over our minds and our government. Maybe if I get the word out that I know what's happening they'll cut me in on the deal? It worked for Sarah Palin!

Congress vs. Drug Sales Reps

Jon @ my policy health discussion central — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 15:43:38 EDT

An interesting bill was just introduced in Congress with the goal both of controlling prescription drug costs and improving care. The bill proposes a program to better educate medical professionals about prescription drugs – including training experts who would make house calls to doctor’s offices. Those of you who have been in medical waiting rooms with (usually attractive) pharmaceutical sales reps and their samples know where this idea is coming from.

It is part of an effort by the Prescription Project, a non profit (funded by the Pew Charitable Trust), the stated purpose of which is to eliminate conflicts of interest through education and policy change. Now, I wouldn’t argue that pharmaceutical sales reps should not help educate doctors. There is a legitimate role there much like the legitimate role many lobbyists play on Capitol Hill. But it is good to see these smaller efforts to effect change in the system in advance of the larger reform effort.

Healthcare and Advertising

Duncan from Vista, CA — Fri, 02 May 2008 23:48:27 EDT

In a rapidly aging population, it goes without saying that healthcare is a pivotal election issue. There have been proposals of a vague nature, and all of the candidates seem to shy away from confronting the big pharmaceutical companies whose rapaciousness is matched only by the energy consortiums. It is the right and proper role of government to take a more active and involved stance, as it is articulated in the Constitution; to promote the general welfare of the people.

Since 1985, an intensive lobbying campaign has allowed pharmaceutical companies to advertise directly to the consumer with only minimal restrictions imposed by the FDA, FCC and other government bodies. Going directly to the public to promote sales has resulted in the dysfunctional

health care system that has benefited insurance companies and pharmaceutical companies and resulted in a decline of the quality of Americans healthcare, as well as rises in obesity, autism, and infant mortality rates. Yet candidates remain silent on what was a trial program, one that has gone horribly wrong. The bloated ad budgets have contributed to grossly inflated health care costs as well as a decline in most every parameter of societal public health. We have the specter of the government actively working against Americans buying prescription medicines from Canada or buying generic. We also see pharmaceutical companies insuring and expanding their profits at taxpayers expense. If this was a truely free society, why couldn't the market power of government be broght to bear in institutional purchases for medicare and veterans programs?

Legal councils for big pharma hides behind free speech, a right not extended to liquor or tobacco on televison. In the twenty three years since prescription ads were allowed we have seen a meteroic rise in costs as well as a proliferation of treatments for illnesses that hadn't previously existed.

The sole reason of restless leg syndrome, for instance, is a cash cow. Research increasingly indicates that cholesterol rates have no bearing on heart disease, yet lipitor and other statins rake in billions. Two examples in a panalopy of hundreds. Direct advertising has also led us to the place where prescription drug abuse is the number one narcotics problem in the nation. I implore Barack Obama to put this issue on the table when examining the health care future. No one is addressing it as yet, and I fear that the power of drug companies is too vast and too intrenched.

A simple step to address pharmaceutical costs

Lisa Beyer — Sat, 15 Sep 2007 04:25:14 EDT

What are your thoughts on this opinion?

The Hill: A Simple Step To Address Pharmaceutical Costs, By Ted Slafsky, September 11, 2007

_________________________________________________________________________________

Thank you,

Lisa Beyer

Precinct Deputy Captain in Las Vegas Precinct 6475

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Video from Story City health care roundtable

Nick Kimball — Sun, 17 Jun 2007 21:31:52 EDT

Here's some video from Barack's health care roundtable in Story City yesterday. I wrote a bit about the discussion here. Enjoy!