Posted on 06/30/2016 8:46:48 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
A Mississippi state representative suggested that a woman buy her family's diabetes medication after she wrote to him to ask for help with increasing difficulties obtaining Medicaid assistance.
Richland resident Nicole Nichols wrote to the Mississippi House of Representatives Monday morning to voice her concern that children with Type 1 diabetes "aren't getting the necessary diabetes supplies and meds they need to stay healthy."
"We have recently begun having a lot of problems with Medicaid/CHIPS coverage of the essential diabetes supplies needed, not only to keep our kids healthy, but to literally keep them alive," Nichols wrote to Mississippi lawmakers. "No parents should have to fight for so long for their child's essential medical supplies and medical needs when it's explicitly stated as a covered benefit."
Later that day, Mississippi State Rep. Jeffrey Guice, R-Ocean Springs, replied, "I am sorry for your problem. Have you thought about buying the supplies with money that you earn?"(continued)
(Excerpt) Read more at abcnews.go.com ...
The problem is the state’s medicaid program/provider is jerking enrollees around on an “explicitly stated covered benefit”.
So it’s either incompetence or intentional malfeasance/breech of contract. Both are bad but the latter is more reprehensible.
Whether it’s a state employee or a state contractor not doing their job, it’s a state legislator’s job to investigate wth is going on, because the state is being ripped off.
This is a separate issue from whether the state should be providing the benefit. The fact is they are, they are paying some insurance company for the coverage and no doubt have state employees responsible for overseeing the program and NO ONE is doing their job or this wouldn’t be happening.
This legislator just stepped in a big pile of stupid.
Did the math. It was about $1500 a month. His total costs came to about $2000 with dr visits, antibiotics, and antivirals that he had to have on standby.
It looks like Wal-Mart is trying to do something about this and are pressuring manufacturers to lower the prices. It also looks like the twice a day injection is very significantly cheaper than the once a day. I haven’t dealt with this, you have. Is it practicable to ask the doc to switch the meds to something on Wal-Mart’s list?
Exactly. It’s like a toddler getting cancer. Just bad luck.
We have the medication to treat a child. We need to do it. Period.
humulin, synthetic human insulin,
is off patent and costs pennies to make.
if Republicans won’t act to fix medical
price gouging,
the Democrats will.
people will vote to save their own lives.
the medical ‘market’ was never free.
It totally depends on the situation.
T1Ds need a constant ‘background’ insulin in addition to a bolus with each meal. If they’re on the shots, they’ll need at *least* five shots a day. (Two of the long-acting and one with each meal.)
But kids are more difficult to control. They get sick more often. Their hormones throw things off in mind blowing ways. They’re usually more active than adults, but that activity isn’t as scheduled. (Play... weird, but most kids do that.)
So the ideal treatment is to give them a pump. You can adjust that background insulin fast and allow the kid to be a kid. You can turn it off if they’re really having fun. You can up it if they’re coming down with a cold and suddenly running high.
But the pump and all of it’s equipment is really expensive. And there’s only one kind of insulin that works with it.
As far as I know, this is the best way to prevent lost limbs, blindness, and kidney failure for as long as possible.
I’ve known diabetics (including my son) to do some pretty horrific things when they can’t afford proper treatment. Not testing. Reusing needles. Allowing themselves to go high and just pulling themselves back when they start to get sick to ration insulin. Not eating to save a bolus.
And the ramifications of this behavior happens fast. After just 6 months without insurance my son’s kidneys were starting to fail. He was only 20 at the time. Thankfully he got a good job and was able to bring it back.
I called the company once and asked them for help. They mailed me two coupons for $10 off. *sigh*
Yes, this is 'who we are' now as a society, denial of/inability to provide for someone else's needs is "racism" or its equivalent.
Insulin bottles at Walmart $23. Needles $3 a pack.
More? A lot more? About the same?
A relative uses two types of insulin daily, a basal (Levimir) and a so-called fast acting (Humalog). The basal has recently been split into two dosages, and the Humalog more "as needed"(of course) which translates generally into two, or three varying dosages per day, for this particular individual -- who isn't much interested in changing what is familiar method of medication herself, even though she is now being assisted in way of blood glucose level monitoring and dosage, due to herself being hospitalized earlier this year -first for sky-high (over 1200!) blood sugar level, and then about a month after getting out of the hospital (it took about 5 days of hospitalization and IV's to bring the levels down to reasonable levels) later had the paramedics called to bring glucose for a blood sugar level of 30. That's right, 3 and zero. 10 times 3. So low she was unresponsive even with her eyes open...
I get the impression pens can be more convenient, specially to carry around, on the go.
I've been meaning to ask a pharmacist, but never remember to think of it, except when they are too busy filling prescriptions to have the time.
Please forgive if you will, my infringement on your own "time", here.
These are children, not adults. A parent of a sick child is already forced to pay out exorbitant amounts of money not covered by insurance. It is not unreasonable for society to ensure that children are able to receive the needed medication. After all as Conservatives we fight for the rights of the unborn, we must fight for the rights of all children.
This is not some sort of wasteful spending.
There is no telling. Perhaps her husband is a disabled person who receives medicaid, or a disabled soldier who is in the VA system. OR He just may work for a company that doesn’t offer family medical benefits.
I thin that is what she is complaining about. The cost increase is due to the fact that her CHIP program will not cover this medication anymore and the cost seems very high for what they say it is.
Thank you for your cogent thought process.
Prevention is almost always cheaper than treatment.
Some employers, more and more now that Obamacare has spiked prices, no longer offer family medical coverage. When they do it may be close to a $1,000 a month.
Wait until this years renewals, premiums are spiking double digit percentiles again.
Taking care of sick children is not Communism it is rational and pragmatic.
At some point the child will end up sick if it doesn’t get it’s medication at that time an OR visit and hospital stay will cost tens of thousands of dollars. I assure you the insurance covers OR and Hospital stays.
They system is being foolish.
What it tells me is that this so called representative is tone deaf.
Mississippi is one of the lowest states in terms of salaries. It has a huge poverty rate.
Beyond that it shows complete stupidity about type 1 diabetes
You are correct.
Wouldn’t it have been smarter for the rep to take that approach. He could have even had one of those organizations contact the woman.
That approach would have come off so much better
Sorry, but Democrat politicians and Republican politicians working together are responsible for the current mess.
Democrats certainly aren't going to fix it. They will try to shift more of the cost onto third parties but they can't possibly fix the problem since the laws that they are so proud of created the problem in the first place.
Compare US drug prices with prices for the same drugs in Mexico and Canada.
It's freaking shameful. My wife works in the revenue integrity side of the medical field...trust me when I tell you, the whole damn system is screwed up.
The American people are getting screwed on every side....Insurance to facility billing, drug prices to specialist. The enormous write offs just kill me...pardon the pun.
What congress should do to reform the system first? Require by law each and every facility, doctor, pharmacist, drug manufacture post online the cost of their goods and services. Cash, credit, insurance prices and Cause in the industry true competition.
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