Tuesday, January 31, 2012

CHOICES AND POVERTY

Creating an Opportunity Society is a book written by Ron Haskins and IsabelChoices and Poverty Sawhill. In it they speak about poverty and how to avoid it. They say, “Our research shows that if you want to avoid poverty and join the middle class in the United States, you need to complete high school (at a minimum), work full time and marry before you have children. If you do all three, your chances of being poor fall from 12 percent to 2 percent, and your chances of joining the middle class or above rise from 56 to 74 percent. (We define middle class as having an income of at least $50,000 a year for a family of three.)” They go on to say, “According to the U.S. Census Bureau, children living in single-parent families are about five times as likely to live in poverty. There’s also a high probability they’ll drop out of school, get arrested, be involved in teen pregnancy themselves, have more mental health problems, and be less likely to be employed or in school as young adults. Indeed, parents themselves are physically and psychologically better off when married than single.”

Many view much of poverty in America as a choice. According to the above statistics, there’s only a 2% chance of ending up in poverty if people will do all of the following: “Complete high school (at a minimum), work full time and marry before having children.” Those are all choices that most people have. Yet, today, too many student-aged kids drop out of school, roam the streets, and become teenage parents. Furthermore, a disproportionate number of single-parent households and teen pregnancies are among the black community. What is the common solution? We keep adding more government programs for single parents, singles moms, and the poor. It’s taboo to talk about the real issue: Poor life choices.

These poor life choices are robbing individuals of their economic liberties and saddling society with a tremendous burden. Because these people choose to live without responsibility for their future and the future of their children, the taxpayer is left to take care of them. If someone objects, they are called heartless towards the poor. Many school teachers are making an effort to motivate students to care about their studies and their future. Of course this concept is quite difficult to affirm in students when they themselves are from a single parent, and have been for generations.

There are certain things that the wealthier people in America predominately keep choosing to do in order to be in the middle class or above, and there are certain things the poor keep choosing to do. The choice in America is largely ours. Our nation’s children are at risk because of our poor choices.

Monday, January 30, 2012

ANGELS AMONG US

I’m still not sure what I want to do about the blog yet. I appreciate the Angels Among Usaffirmative comments I’ve received about my blog posts. For now though, I’ll just say that I’ll post again next Monday. I’ll post between now and then if I feel inspired to do so.

What has been on my mind lately? Well, a death, a divorce, and a lost job have all captivated not only my mind but my heart and prayers as well. I really can’t write about their details but living life certainly has its challenges. Which reminds me…I read a piece on St. Padre Pio today that was very interesting. He seemed to have a very close relationship with his guardian angel. I must admit that I don’t know that much about guardian angels; I suppose I’ve never given it much thought. I know there are angels but I really don’t know too much about their earthly function. From what I read today, we all have a guardian angel; I guess I ought to learn more about angels in general. Yet, I’m not sure what to do about the information I learn. Am I supposed to talk to the guardian angel like St. Pio did or do I just acknowledge the guardian angel’s existence? I’ll do some research. In the meantime, if you know something about guardian angels, please clue me in.

Friday, January 27, 2012

THINKING ABOUT IT

I’ve been writing this blog since May 24, 2009, which of course was right after IThinking was diagnosed with leukemia. Thus, a few months from now marks the third year of writing this blog with all but a short span being daily entries. That’s hundreds of writings. I’m not sure how much longer I’ll continue to write as often as I find myself inclined to repeat myself. Maybe it’s time to go back to posting once a week for the sole purpose of giving health updates. I’ll take the weekend to think about it and let you know where I’m at in the process on Monday.

Thursday, January 26, 2012

VOUCHERS AND HITLER

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Bishop Joseph McFadden had some strong words Voucherabout the public school system. “In totalitarian governments, they would love our system. This is what Hitler and Mussolini and all those tried to establish - a monolith so all the children would be educated in one set of beliefs and one way of doing things.” Bishop McFadden is pushing for school vouchers that could be used by private schools.

I’m not so sure he is right about his comparison to Hitler and Mussolini. The big difference is that American children still have the right and choice to go to private schools, or even home school. They don’t have to be educated in public schools. There is nothing that says that one must go to public schools. As always though, this is about money. What the Bishop really wants is tax dollars normally used for public schools to be applied to private schools, if a student chooses to go to a private school. Again, there is nothing preventing a student from going to a private school and thus nothing to keep kids in the public schools.

While there may be a lot to be said about a school voucher system, I think it is a far cry from Hitler and

Mussolini. True, kids that choose to go to a private school or home school get less use of their tax dollars meant for education. Even that is predicated on the fact that their parents pay taxes, even though 50% of Americans don’t. Yet, there’s nothing new about not getting full use of tax dollars. For example, we pay for the postal service whether we use it or not. If one chooses to use email, UPS, and Fed Ex instead of the U.S. Postal Service, there isn’t a voucher to use for the other mail services. On the other hand, all types of tax dollars are used for programs many of us don’t support. I suppose with our system we all pay (if you’re a taxpayer) for things we don’t want, and we don’t get vouchers to help pay for what we really want. It doesn’t make it right but it is reality.

With the direction public education is going, private schools and home schooling are becoming an increasingly popular alternative. There is a definite leftist tone and agenda to our educational system that supports in part what the bishop said, “…a monolith so all the children would be educated in one set of beliefs and one way of doing things.” Whether a voucher system is the remedy that education needs remains to be seem. Nevertheless, a mighty change in needed in the educational system. Bishop McFadden wants to use the educational tax dollars; I hope he wants educational changes in the public system of which so many Catholics are a part of. In the meantime, I suppose we’ll give to Caesar what is Caesar’s.

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

MOUTHS SHUT

A 15-year-old boy wrote an opinion in a school newspaper and has been censored, threatened with suspension, and called ignorant by the ShawanoMouths Shut School District superintendent in Wisconsin. The boy, Brandon Wegner, who is a Christian, wrote in opposition to gays being allowed to adopt. Another student wrote in favor of allowing gays to adopt.

After the article was published, the boy was summoned to the superintendent’s office, without the parents being notified, and subjected to hours of meetings where the superintendent repeatedly upbraided the boy’s opinion, faith, and beliefs.

There are a lot of problems in education and this is indicative of one of them. There is a social agenda in too many school systems. Yet, it is merely a microcosm of America as a whole. More and more, dissent with the liberal social agenda is being tagged as racist, intolerant, or homophobic. In effect, there is to be no dissent to the liberal social agenda. A person can speak in favor of the social agenda but an unseemly wrath is unleashed if one speaks against it. Little by little, American society is no longer one indicative of Judeo-Christian values. Instead, it is indicative of a liberal agenda promoted by entities from the media to the schools. It won’t stop until we all agree or keep our mouths shut.

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

DEFINING ISSUES

I mentioned in yesterday’s blog, “Many religious organizations have voiced strong objections as they liken the method that the pill works to abortion.” Some of Defining Issuesyou wonder how the pill can be likened to abortion. Well, the way the pill works is at the literal heart of the issue.

The pill attempts to stop ovulation in women. If ovulation is stopped then there is no egg to fertilize. However, ovulation still occurs in about 27% of women taking the pill. Thus the pill has two other lines of defense. First, the pill causes cervical mucus to thicken to help prevent sperm from entering the uterus and then the fallopian tubes. Secondly, the pill is over 90% successful in thinning the uterine lining to the point that a fertilized egg can’t attach or implant. It is this last aspect that likens the pill to abortion. Once the egg is fertilized it is a new human being with active cell replication occurring. By the time implantation would occur in the uterus, 7-8 days later, this new being is called an embryo. It is the sloughing off of this living human embryo caused by the pill that is likened to abortion.

Using man-made definitions, some say that pregnancy doesn’t officially occur until the human embryo implants in the uterus. Others say that pregnancy begins when fertilization occurs; therefore, the baby embryo is aborted as a result of the pill making the uterus unsuitable for implantation.

While Christians argue both sides of the equation, abortion after implantation is strongly regarded as killing a human being by Christians, which makes some of the political stances by Christians hard to understand. President Obama is a strong abortion advocate. In fact, while in the Illinois Senate, he repeatedly supported terminating babies that survived abortions. Yet, speaking for my own religion, a majority of Catholics voted for him and other pro-abortion candidates. I realize this is just one issue but it is a defining issue.

The abortion issue has become so political that it has gone away from the rights of the unborn and helpless. Instead, it has gone mainly into the rights of women. Beyond that, it has gone into equal rights between men and women. In fact, just yesterday, President Obama said in commemorating Roe vs. Wade, “We must also continue our efforts to ensure that our daughters have the same rights, freedoms, and opportunities as our sons to fulfill their dreams.” In other words, since men can’t be saddled with pregnancy, women shouldn’t have to be either. It goes along with what he has said previously, “But if they (his daughters) make a mistake, I don't want them punished with a baby.”

Indeed, the pill and abortion are defining issues of one’s heart and soul. How do they define you?

‎"It is a poverty to decide that a child must die so that you may live as you wish." -Mother Theresa.

Monday, January 23, 2012

SEEMS ODD TO ME

President Obama has ordered the insurance companies to totally cover birthSeems odd to me control: no deductibles or co-pays. Birth control will be totally free. Many religious organizations have voiced strong objections as they liken the method that the pill works to abortion. Well, that is a perspective for a different blog post. Today, I’m looking at another aspect.

I understand that this is an election year and that giving perks to groups of people, in this case it is perceived to be women, is the political thing to do. Yet, I wonder if we really thought ObamaCare would yield a system where the government could dictate to the insurance companies, even for political reasons, what it is going to cover and not cover. But, that is not the focus of today’s blog either.

The focus of today’s blog is how odd free birth control sounds while people with major health concerns are filing bankruptcy. Free birth control, really? Is that what we need in a time when health costs are so high that many people can’t afford to keep living? Free birth control just makes the cost even higher to insurance companies so that they will continue to cut coverage where they can and greatly escalate deductibles, maximum out of pocket limits, and co-pays. It just seems odd to me that the number one cause of bankruptcy (medical costs) in America was made worse by the mandates of ObamaCare, and that it is now piling on by mandating something like free birth control. I know it’s a political year but the sick and dying vote too…I guess for a little while anyway!! It all just seems a bit odd to me.

Sunday, January 22, 2012

REMEMBERING

I received a thank you card from a friend on Friday for some help I gave herRemembering family years ago. She wrote a very nice note; I greatly appreciate it. It’s always nice to be remembered.

I suppose we do lots of things for people in life but we never really consider whether it will be remembered or not. We see the need; we feel led to help; and so we do it. Sure, many politicians, athletes, and movie stars are concerned about their fame and legacy but I think most people are not so consumed. I don’t think most people even give it a thought. Yet, when we are remembered for something we did for someone, we find fulfillment in the recognition of the effort.

In a certain way of looking at life, “we are all connected.” We’ve become who we are through the influences and actions of others. Namely, we’ve been helped in times of little need and great need. It does us well to take the time to thank those along the way who have helped us and influenced our lives. Who can you thank today? Don’t forget to remember your family members too, and our Lord who put those people in our lives.

Saturday, January 21, 2012

FAITH STATUS

Although this isn’t the first time, many contend that the Christian Right is Faith Statusdead. After all, who can name a single national leader? Most telling though is that Christians are becoming more pro-choice and pro-homosexual. While Protestants still tend to vote for republicans, Catholic majorities supported both President Obama and Clinton. Tolerance has replaced righteousness and the American Christian culture has slowly adopted its position.

President Obama announced quite some time ago that America is no longer a Christian nation. So what is it? We seem to have become a nation of people who is setting its own standards of ethics and morality. We no longer ascribe to the Judeo-Christian values that we once did. Behaviors and attitudes that were once repented of are now accepted. While legal authority is constantly challenged in this nation, moral authority barely exists. We have largely become a nation of self-rule that ascribes to no higher Divine power or authority, unless it agrees with what we want.

This nation is at a very precarious place in its history. Many feel that we are very near the edge of disaster in many ways, primarily financially and morally. Lack of fiscal restraint and discipline has led us to near financial ruin while lack of moral restraint and discipline has corrupted the soul of this nation. I don’t know if the Christian Right is dead in this nation or not. At best, it is in a very weak state. This country has been undergoing some very fundamental changes that need to be reversed. It’s time for all those who call themselves Christians to inventory what they think and believe, and compare it to the righteous tenants of the faith. We might be surprised at what we find.

Friday, January 20, 2012

LOVED FIRST

I overheard two men talking the other day. One said to the other, “If more people understood how much God loves them it would make it easier for them to loveLoved First God.” I glanced at the facial expression of the man who was listening. He was going to think about that one. Yet, I think the guy might be right. It is when we feel loved that we more naturally love others. In fact, we typically don’t love those who don’t love us, while we tend to be very open, receptive, and giving to those from whom we feel loved.

Our problem is that we look for human indications that God loves us, and we often have a hard time seeing them. We know that the Bible tells us, “We love because God loved us first.” Those are great words but we are a people who want words, no matter how great, to be felt to some degree…or they don’t seem too real. In other words, it’s great to know that God loves us but where’s the evidence that He does which we can touch and feel?

The theologically minded person would respond that the greatest evidence that God loves us is that He sent Jesus to die for our sins, so that we wouldn’t have to bear the stripes of our iniquities. Even so, that happened over two thousand years ago and it has been put in front of us so much that it’s easy to lose its significance. It’s even easier to lose its message and feeling of love.

Our busy lifestyle is one of the biggest roadblocks to us feeling loved whether it is from other people or from God. We must regularly stop the perpetual motion of our lives and look around us. We need to take time to let our five senses experience life. It’s only when we can see our blessings that we can truly appreciate them. Appreciating our blessings moves our psyche into the mode of feeling. Feelings are what penetrate the cold and hard world around us. To feel God’s love, we need to see His blessings in our life around us, no matter how dim it may seem at times. It’s when we develop a thankful heart that we allow God’s love to penetrate us. It’s in those times that we can say with blessed assurance: “God is with me; God loves me.”

And so, I think the man was right. It is easier to love God when we know He loves us. To really feel His love for us, we must take time and pay attention to the subtleties of life’s blessings around us. It takes effort to develop a thankful heart that is always seeing God’s hand in our lives. Yet, these blessings are the greatest reminders that God loves us. As we take time to be reminded of God’s love for us, we’ll more greatly appreciate our Lord’s sacrifice and we’ll naturally love the one who is our Provision. Amidst it all, we’ll see and feel that God loved us first; we’ll love Him more; and we’ll love others as well.

Thursday, January 19, 2012

NEVER KNOW

The death of a 21 year old girl is under investigation. Previously unknown health issues are in question. The girl, Ariane Patterson, was in religion class at herNever Know university when she died. Earlier in the day, being her birthday, she tweeted a thank you to God for “another year of life.” Ariane was a college senior majoring in religious studies.

I suppose when it’s your time it’s your time. If being a “religious studies” major doesn’t keep one from dying young, you might think that being in religion class when death came calling might. If neither of those worked, you might think that tweeting to God a thank you for another year of life earlier in the day, on your 21st birthday, would. Once again though, death proves to strike anyone at any time.

Death is hard to face, especially when it occurs to the young. We all know that we will one day die but it’s something that we usually don’t spend too much time thinking about unless we are looking at life insurance or enduring a life threatening illness. We sure don’t want to dwell on it as it is hard to truly live while thinking about dying. Yet, the unfortunate situation of Ariane reminds us that we could be next and we should always keep our spiritual house in order.

Our faith is one that teaches that we should look forward to our time with our Lord and Savior. Yet, God instilled in us a feverish desire to live. In fact, all of our bodily functions are geared to heal and fight life-threatening paradigms. Even so, we are pretty assured that anyone reading this blog will not be alive in 100 years from now. Our time will come soon enough. While we hope to live a full lifetime, we will be dead for an eternity. In that respect, life in eternity is what we are really preparing for. I hope we are all well prepared because as Ariane tragedy teaches us, one never knows.

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

HELP FROM A FRIEND

I hope you saw the story of the nurse from Atlanta who donated one of her Help from a friendkidneys to a patient. The patient, Clay Tabor, was diagnosed with Goodpasture's Syndrome shortly after graduating from Auburn University. The disease attacks the lungs and kidneys, although Tabor’s was caught before affecting his lungs. Nevertheless, it had all but destroyed his kidneys. He said, "I was just trying to start my life, start my career, even wanted to propose to my girlfriend soon and then I had to deal with all this. It was frustrating,"

After a year of treatment, Clay Tabor was deemed fit for a transplant. However, it would take a year to get on the list with 90,000 other Americans waiting for a kidney transplant. His mother was a match for him but her kidney linings weren’t deemed suitable for transplant. A nurse, Allison Batson, had become close friends with Clay and his family during his ordeal. She talked to her husband and they decided to see if she was a suitable match. She was. The surgery was recently and they are both recovering well.

I hope you get to read the whole story; it’s a heart-warming story. It does us good to hear such stories every time we can. We live in difficult times with difficult challenges and it’s good to see that people are still loving and giving to those in critical need. As time goes on, Clay Tabor will hopefully live a much fuller life thanks to Allison Batson. As for Allison, she’ll always know that regardless of her duties as a nurse, she can always point to this occasion when she laid a part of her life down for another. She made a real difference in this world. May God bless them both and all the people in this world who seek to help others in whatever small ways we can.

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

REMEMBERING

We have returned from our trip to Beaufort, SC to see our oldest daughter. RememberingWe had a marvelous time and a great visit. It all went by too fast though. Next week, our daughter will leave South Carolina to begin her preparations for her deployment to Afghanistan in March. It’s possible we will see her again before she leaves but it is not at all assured. So, we may have seen her for the last time until October.

Our daughter is really looking forward to her deployment, and although we will miss her, we share in her excitement. There are many reasons she wants to go; at the very least it will be an experience of a lifetime. Although she will be in a medical facility far from the “front lines,” I still told her to keep her head down!! In reality, she won’t even be able to leave the large base except for a rare exception. The off-base duties are for the ones like my nephew who is over there right now serving in the war zone. Which reminds me…

For years now, I have prayed for our military each night. Further, I have prayed for our family members by name that are in the military. Just recently, I added two more. One nephew joined the National Guard while another joined the Army Reserve.

I’m sure there are those in the military that you know by name too. It’s good to remember them by name and the rest of the military who sacrifice and commit to the service of our nation’s defense.

Sunday, January 15, 2012

FROM BEAUFORT

We’re here in beautiful Beaufort, SC and Eileen just finished doing her studies for the night on the computer. So, I thought I’d write a post.From Beaufort

To conclude the current episode of my chemo drug (Gleevec) and pharmaceutical company (Novartis), I got a final call from Tonisha (from Dr. Tan’s office) Friday just before we left for South Carolina. She said that she couldn’t get me any Gleevec before I left for my trip and she was very sorry. I know she worked hard on it and was getting mixed signals from Novartis. Apparently, Novartis has been very liberal in their willingness to help people with large co-pays and coverage gaps in insurance. However, this year is different. With so many people undergoing insurance changes similar to mine, Novartis is flooded with requests for help. They are having trouble handling all the requests. As a result, they have to come up with new protocols to decide which patients they are going to help. That makes me feel better. If it’s just bumbling, I don’t like it. However, if there are people with less means than us to pay for it, I’m all for helping them first. I still don’t think the chemo medication would be so expensive without the insurance Golden Goose to squeeze from. So, I ordered a thirty day supply of Gleevec for $5,429.70. Yes, the price went up by about $100.00 since last week. I detested and protested buying it but I was out of options. It’s going to be an interesting year.

I’m disheartened that Eileen’s co-worker (teacher) that I’ve alluded to before in the blog is filing bankruptcy over her medical costs. She was diagnosed with colon cancer a few years ago and has nearly spent all her family’s monies trying to live. Despite insurance and external help, the bills continue to overwhelm. The good news is that she is doing rather well considering her original stage four diagnosis.

In other news, we went to Savannah, Georgia today and walked around, visiting all the sites. We also went to their large mall. We had a great time and we are having an absolutely wonderful visit with our daughter.

Saturday, January 14, 2012

STILL WAITING

I’ve been sitting by the phone for several days waiting for Novartis Pharmaceutical Company to call. So far, there has been nothing. Tonisha from Dr. Tan’sStill Waiting office has been in constant contact with them but she’s having some difficulty. She says that she usually has smooth dealings with Novartis, nut no in my case. So, I didn’t get my chemo drug, Gleevec, ordered and so far I don’t have any to tie me over. I’d go ahead and order but Tonisha says that Novartis is supposed to call (that day) to confirm shipment; they’ve been telling her that for several days. So, I’m going to take half a Gleevec until Tuesday and then make a decision. In the meantime, we will be in South Carolina for the extended weekend. I’m going to try to think very little about the Gleevec and insurance situation and enjoy our visit with our oldest daughter. I’ll make a blog post again when I get back. Until then, no matter what you might be going through: Keep the faith.

Friday, January 13, 2012

A NOVEL IDEA

I read an article out of Brussels, Belgium that says that priests who abused children will have to pay out of their own pockets. Novel IdeaThe Belgium church is urging victims to take the priests to court rather than the church. It’s a novel idea but I’m not so sure that will work. The Church has much deeper pockets than a priest.

The Catholic Church has paid billions of dollars to victims of priest abuse. Cases are still in abundance. Oddly enough though, the priests who committed the crimes, the bishops who covered them up, and the Vatican which turned a blind eye has used the money of people donating, or “giving to God,” to pay off the victims. The hierarchy of the church from priest to pope has shoveled out the dollars while very few priests were ever prosecuted or disciplined. Most of them just received a reassignment. In fact, the above mentioned article quotes Belgian Bishop Harpigny, “In all instances of reports of serious pedophile cases being sent to Rome, the Vatican left the decision of leaving the priesthood to the pedophile priests themselves.” Further, “Irish bishops in the 1990s proposed reporting molester priests to police but the Vatican came back with a warning that doing so posed serious canonical problems.” To me, that is unconscionable: The Vatican being more interested in its canon than protecting kids that were being abused.

It may be a novel idea to have abusive priests pay the victims out of their own pocket but I don’t think victims will go for it. Priests aren’t exactly the wealthiest people on earth. Yet, there is something to be questioned about these victims taking the sacrificial offerings of other Catholics, who had nothing to do with any aspect of the abuse, as their bounty of retribution against the complicit priests, bishops, cardinals, and Vatican. Individual victims reap millions of dollars not from the priest or Church hierarchy. They harvest the money from innocent people who have given the money with the intention of helping others in greater need. Yet, that’s the way a litigious society works. Even so, I’d think the Church would do everything including taking the wrath personally from all the priests to the pope rather than use “God’s money” to pay off victims of its clergy. In a way, the Church and the victims have transformed “God’s money” into “blood money.”

Thursday, January 12, 2012

PILLS AND BILLS

I got a call early Wednesday morning from Tonisha of Dr. Tan’s office apologizing for not getting back to me yesterday. She said that shePills and Bills was filling in for another person in another part of the office. It left her post unstaffed. She said that everything is in order for Novartis Pharmaceutical Company to consider helping us out, except they need to do the insurance coverage verification. She expects to hear from them this afternoon (Wednesday). Well, that is also my deadline for ordering before the weekend. I have enough Gleevec to last until Saturday. To get Gleevec by then I must order today (Wednesday).

Even if we get help, that doesn’t silence my words about others who are in similar or worse scenarios. Have you ever looked at your EOB (Explanation of Benefits)? I looked at ours online this morning. My family doctor charges $217.00 for a simple routine visit. The insurance company approves $72.10. We paid (last year) a co-pay of $25.00. A cash patient, or one with a high deductible, has to pay the full charged amount. The neurologist I saw charged $256.00 for a lengthy examination. The insurance paid $114.76. The co-pay was $50.00. Dr. Tan charges $220.00. The insurance paid him $79.81. I paid a co-pay of $50.00. My lab tests are around $4,000.00 every six months. I paid very little of that but I suppose I’ll be paying more of it this year because of the insurance changes. Finally, there is Gleevec. My insurance company is charged $6,618.53 per thirty day supply. That pushes the cost of Gleevec up to nearly $80,000 per year!! I knew the cost had gone up. Anyway, the insurance company pays $5,228.32 per month for my Gleevec. Well, they did or use to!! It’s expensive to live and even more expensive to try to keep from dying.

UPDATE:

It’s a little past 11:00 Wednesday morning and I received another call from Tonisha of Dr. Tan’s office. She said that Novartis is referring my case to another department in their company. She said they will call me today and may give me a supply of Gleevec until they decide my case. I’ll just have to wait and see.

UPDATE II:

It’s now 3:30 in the afternoon. I still have no call from Novartis. I called Tonisha again and left a voice mail that I hadn’t heard from Novartis. I need Novartis to tell me if they are going to give me a supply or not, so I can order if they aren’t. I don’t want to order if they will because it will cost $5,253.22 for thirty pills. I’m not supposed to skip a single dose but for that kind of money I might have to miss a day or two. I wonder if Tonisha is gone for the day.

UPDATE III:

Tonisha called me back at 4:15 pm. She was surprised that Novartis hadn’t called me and said she would call them and call me back. She did. She said the lady at Novartis forgot to hit the “processed” button so it didn’t notify the next person to call me for delivery confirmation. She said the earliest they will be able to get me Gleevec is on Tuesday. That leaves me two days without Gleevec. Tonisha said she’ll call the local Novartis representative before she leaves the office and see if she can get me a couple of Gleevec pills to hold me over. I hope she can get it done.

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

JOIN THE PARTY!!

I called Tonisha at Dr. Tan’s office yesterday morning and left aJoin the Party message on her machine. I mentioned that I hadn’t heard anything from Novartis and wondered if she had. I left my name and phone numbers. I’ve been sitting by the phone ever since but no calls thus far, five hours later. I have just a few Gleevec chemo treatments left. Unless I hear from someone very soon, I’ll have to make my first of several $5,000.00 per month Gleevec purchases. I’ll try calling Tonisha again tomorrow (Wednesday).

A nurse from our insurance company, United Healthcare, called as a courtesy call. She had no idea of any of my medical history…but she asked. I told her of my Gleevec predicament and she told me of a couple of co-pay assistance programs. I looked them up on the internet but the patient has to be within the “poverty guidelines” to qualify. We don’t qualify. It looks more and more like we’re going to have to find at least $18,000 per year from our family budget to devote to Gleevec if I’m going to stay alive. I feel bad that we are going to be doing this to the finances of our family. I also feel bad that while families are trying to scrape enough money together for similar treatments and going bankrupt, fat-cat doctors and pharmaceutical executives are living larger than these lives are apparently worth to them.

I understand that while film stars, music stars, and athletes make tens of millions of dollars a year via entertaining our society, doctors and other mover-and-shakers of the health care business want paid big dollars too. After all, their financial and intellectual investment is much greater than these entertainers. I noticed that Apple CEO Tim Cook was paid $378 million last year. I’m sure he’s worth it and I’m sure Albert Pujols is worth the millions he’s being paid…and all the others are too. Outlandish salaries abound everywhere. It makes extremely high paying salaries seem like nothing. I noticed the government is hiring someone as an “Invitations Coordinator.” That person will make $103,000 per year and have five weeks vacation for coordinating invitations. So, I suppose I can’t blame Novartis for wanting to join the money party. So what if their Gleevec drug costs patients $72,000 per year or a large part thereof?! No worries; it’s a money party…for them!!

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

DRUG ADS

It often seems that a predominance of T.V. commercials advertise aDrug Ads drug of one sort or the other. Now it seems that there are almost as many lawyer ads suing the drug makers of drugs that were highly advertised just a short time ago. Yet, some doctors still look at you cross-eyed if you ask too many questions about the drugs they are prescribing or if you seem hesitant to swallow a medicinal cocktail every day. The latest drug lawsuit to catch my attention is for the drug Fosamax.

Fosamax is a drug given especially to the elderly for osteoporosis. It seems that many people who have taken it have suffered “atypical fractures of the femur.” The online version of the lawsuit ad reads in part: “You were prescribed Fosamax to prevent the very issue from which you are now suffering, and you deserve compensation for that injustice.”

The website goes on to cite a couple of medical studies associated with the risk of atypical hip fracture. “The New England Journal of Medicine published a study in May 2011 conducted by Swedish researchers, which found that 77 percent of women who suffered from atypical femur fractures were also taking Fosamax. The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) published an article in February 2011 that found women who take Fosamax for more than five years may face a tripled risk of atypical femur fracture.”

Perhaps someone in your family is taking Fosamax and ought to have a heart-to-heart talk with their doctor before continuing its use. Eileen’s mother took her first dosage of Fosamax earlier this year after wrestling with the precautions and warnings for quite some time. Now she is scheduled for another dose. What is a person with marked osteoporosis to do?

Anyway, it seems that a drug is advertised as the best thing since sliced bread one day; so we are advised to talk to our doctor about taking it. Then soon after we are advised to talk to our attorney!!

Monday, January 9, 2012

THE GOOSE

Perhaps a big problem with patients having to hold benefits to raiseThe Goose funds for medical care is that it continues to feed the problem. As long as the bills get paid, then the medical system will keep charging its outlandish fees. It will charge what the traffic will bear. Yet, who isn’t going to help someone who is having a benefit so he can get healthcare? It’s a catch 22. If patients keep raising the funds to pay the costs, the medical system will keep the costs high. But then, if patients don’t raise the funds, the medical system won’t treat them…unless they become bankrupt and/or qualify for Medicaid. Since Medicaid reimbursement to doctors and hospitals is much less than it is for the regular insurance and co-payment system, it’s odd that specialty medical care is so expensive that it drives so many people to it. I guess they’ll get while the getting is good. Insurance is the goose that lays the golden eggs for the medical system and the system is killing the goose. Indirectly, we are helping kill the goose by holding benefits to pay the high fees. Yet, I’ve decided that if I ever come into a mega-substantial amount of money, I’ll set up a foundation to help people being priced out of their healthcare. In our will, we already definitively limit the amount of money we can leave to our kids. The remainder goes to a named charity. With the medical situation in this country we might consider changing the charity. However, if things keep going the way it is with medical costs, we may not have to worry about it. Our own goose may get cooked!!

Sunday, January 8, 2012

COUNTING PENNIES

I was discussing our medical cost predicament with a friend. We’ve broached the subject of outrageous medical costs many times butCounting Pennies it never hit home as hard as it does now. By the way, I told this friend that my Whataburger sandwiches may be coming to an end. I may just have a drink when we get together. No, not because I deem them too unhealthy but because we are in a count our pennies mode especially until we get this sorted out. We live on a budget but the budget has now sustained a major assault. Anyway, again, I don’t mind medical professionals making a great living but they should make their money by taking care of lots of patients, not charging so much for each procedure. Furthermore, the medical field has a captive audience. If we want to live, we sometimes have to go to the doctor. If we have serious problems, we have to have specialized medical care. I understand all the schooling and cost of medical education. However, the field also used to be a humanitarian profession. Doctors once accepted chickens as payment from the financially compromised if they had to. Now people have to hold benefits, file bankruptcy, and decline treatment...all in the name of medical costs. I’m not saying that doctors need to accept chickens; it’s just that medical costs are out of control. Nevertheless, for today’s blog I am digressing.

The friend and I discussed our medical situation and he came up with some solutions for our predicament. First, he suggests that I get divorced and give Eileen any and all assets. That way I will be destitute and qualify for Medicaid. Thus I can get my care for free. He said that Eileen could let me live with her as a humanitarian gesture. If she didn’t want me to live with her then I could “panhandle” in the streets. It’s illegal here now and when I got arrested I’d have a place to stay for awhile!! We had a good laugh through all the scenarios we came up with, and it was fun repeating it when I got home. Although Eileen laughed, she wasn’t all that amused!! Our younger son suggested that we not get divorced. Instead, give our assets to the kids…then we could go live on the street!!

While the levity was helpful, it does point to a predicament of our society. Medical care is basically free to those who don’t work or save. For those who do, medical costs can make you destitute to the point of being our number one cause of bankruptcy. Even for those who do work, something seems wrong when they take vacations around the world, regularly go on cruises, and then qualify for government (tax payer) subsidies from everything to student scholarships to nursing home coverage. Those who save seem to be targets of the politicians for the benefit of those who don’t work and/or don’t save. Even so, who can save enough to pay for today’s medical care? Even our office visit co-pay went from $25.00 to $100.00 per visit this year. That’s a lot of counting pennies!! Have I mentioned lately that medical care is just too expensive?!

Saturday, January 7, 2012

“BENEFITS”

By the way, after meeting with Tonisha in Dr. Tan’s office Thursday, BenefitsI emailed Dr. Tan to thank him for his efforts and concern. Five minutes later he answered my email (with his iPhone). So, I still give Dr. Tan very high marks for his genuine and overall care for his patients. Now, on with today’s blog post…

After graduating from chiropractic college, I worked as an associate doctor with my uncle in Arkansas. Eileen and I lived within walking distance of the clinic. It’s been almost thirty years ago but I very vividly remember noticing a banner on a bank as I was walking. The bank was called Farmers and Merchants Bank. The sign was advertising a benefit supper for someone who had cancer. That irritated me. I couldn’t imagine doctors making people hold benefits in order to pay them or they wouldn’t treat the cancer patient. I hoped that I would never be that way in practice and was blessed to work in both my uncle and father’s practices in which their policy was to never turn a patient away for an inability to pay. Eileen and I continued that policy when we bought the practice from my parents. Even today, it affects me to hear that someone like Eileen’s co-worker is spending every dime they have or have saved to fight cancer. I have nothing against doctors and pharmaceutical executives making a nice living. However, I can’t understand how they can drive their exotic cars, live in their lavish homes, and play with their sumptuous toys all the while their patients hold bake sales, benefits, and deplete their life’s savings to get medical care. I’ve never understood it and I still don’t understand it.

In my case, there is no reason for Gleevec to cost $72,000 per year. If I didn’t have insurance, I’d have to come up with a million dollars solely for Gleevec just to stay alive for the next fourteen years. I couldn’t do it. Yet, those without ample insurance pay a portion of that just to be alive. In my case, if things don’t change, it’s going to be $18,000 per year given to Gleevec just to stay alive. If there was no insurance, there is no way they could charge CML cancer patients $72,000 per year. Remember, this Gleevec cost is just one aspect of a family budget. Not many budgets have that kind of money available to dedicate to anything, alone one medication.

Meanwhile, members of Congress are insulated from such realities. They have voted themselves the best insurance policy in the land. In fact, they are so insulated that they can pass sweeping legislation like the ObamaCare plan without bothering to read it. It doesn’t affect them; The Ruling Class.

There’s little doubt that the legislators, doctors, and pharmaceutical executives sleep well while the cost of medical care continues to wreck people’s lives. As I mentioned yesterday, the cost of medical care is the number one cause of bankruptcy in our country, and remember, 72% of the bankruptcy filers had health insurance. One never knows who will be next to have a benefit to raise money so they can have treatment. We always quickly jump to help those having a benefit but do we ever ask: Why do doctors, hospitals, and pharmaceutical companies have to be paid so much money that they make people have benefits in order to obtain care? Vast numbers of families are burdened with the realities of members having stopped medical care and died because they couldn’t pay their medical bills. Some of these families held benefits; some didn’t. Again, I say as loud as I can: Medical care is just too expensive.

Friday, January 6, 2012

WAY TOO EXPENSIVE

I wrote yesterday’s blog on Wednesday night. Afterwards I went for a walk in the cold brisk night. It was about 11:30 at night. Eileen Way too Expensivestayed home because she had a test to prepare for the next day. I could have walked a long way but I forgot my reflective belt and felt extra vulnerable to the cars prancing through the neighborhood. In the time I was gone I thought about a lot of things but I especially thought about how blessed we are in so many ways. Okay, I also thought about the 18,000 dollars too!!

Recently, I have felt that God was drawing me closer. I’ve embraced that joy and think that I’ve passed it along to those around me. I’m glad that I have felt drawn in closer while enduring this insurance news. It’s what has empowered me to say, “God will provide.” Eileen and I are simple people with simple needs and we will make the best of whatever is to come. When I came in from my walk, I told Eileen some of the things that I was thankful for. She had been thinking the same thing. Then she said, “Maybe your book will become a bestseller.” I responded, “I think we have a better chance of winning the lottery!!”

By the way, Tonisha from Dr. Tan’s office did call me bright and early yesterday morning. She said that Dr. Tan wanted her to see if I qualified for a co-pay assistance program through the company that makes Gleevec: Novartis. I took our tax return in and Tonisha downloaded my notice from Prescription Solutions that my January dosage of Gleevec would cost $5,253.22. Eileen and I are not paupers and I would guess that these co-pay assistance programs are designed for people with less means than us. Nevertheless, Dr. Tan wanted me to apply and he will be urging the drug company representative to give me some help and expedite the process, since I need to order Gleevec in the next few days. The Novartis representative was scheduled to be at the office an hour after I left. I thanked Tonisha who said she’ll try to get me some samples from the representative to hold me over until they make a decision.

I won’t hold my breath awaiting a decision. Specialty medicine and nursing home programs seem to take a large chunk of whatever you’ve saved. If you haven’t saved anything then you basically get your care free. I not only don’t like putting our family in a financially vulnerable position, but I also don’t like being the subject of medicine’s financial merry- go-round. Medical expense is the leading cause of bankruptcy in our country. “A study done at Harvard University indicates that this is the biggest cause of bankruptcy, representing 62% of all personal bankruptcies. One of the interesting caveats of this study shows that 78% of filers had some form of health insurance, thus bucking the myth that medical bills affect only the uninsured.” It shouldn’t be that way. Medical care is just way too expensive.

Thursday, January 5, 2012

I KEEP TELLING MYSELF…

Well, I don’t know where to start; I just keep telling myself, “God will provide.”

So, our new health insurance changes just went into effect. I keep telling myselfBefore signing up, we read every bit of the literature. Further, although there were fewer openings with the insurance coordinator than teachers in Eileen’s school, Eileen made sure she got an appointment. Eileen explained to the coordinator that I take an expensive cancer drug and checked with him to make sure that we selected the right option. So, we thought/think we had/have the best option.

One of the changes in our insurance plan this year is that we have a Health Savings Plan instead of a Health Reimbursement Plan. While preparing to link the plan to my Gleevec payments I made a startling discovery. Instead of having to pay $25.00 for my Gleevec in January, I am being charged $5,253.22. What’s more is that I have to pay that each month until I reach $18,000 in around four months (for this year). That certainly is not what we understood the health plan to be and we were shocked. Eileen is the plan holder and she talked to no less than seven representatives from the insurance company before someone could explain what the plan said verses what it is interpreted to be. Even at that, the final person had to talk to a “specialist” to get her answer.

It’s twelve years until I turn 65. If the costs don’t go up, which they will, that means we would need to come up with $216,000 over these next twelve years just for my one medication. At what point does a person just not take the stuff and let death come? At 9:28 pm, I sent Dr. Tan an email explaining the situation and I asked him if there is a less expensive alternative. I also asked about stopping Gleevec for a while. Ten minutes later he emailed me back with a bit of a tirade about insurance companies and bought-off politicians in Washington. He said Tonisha from his office will call me tomorrow. However, he said there aren’t any cheaper alternatives and I need to take the chemo.

Eileen has a co-worker who has gone through her family’s savings trying to fight cancer. These stories are all too familiar. I hope those getting super rich off the sick are enjoying themselves. If I didn’t have insurance, my chemo bill would be $72,000 per year. How is the average person supposed to pay $18,000 or $72,000 per year for medication?

Then, there are all the changes in insurance coverage that people have been enduring these past two years. We can all thank ObamaCare for a lot of the changes. Most of the politicians who voted for it didn’t even read it. Famously, then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi said, “We have to pass the bill to see what’s in it.” Well, we’re seeing what’s in it and it isn’t good from my vantage point.

So, in discussing this with Eileen, I’ve agreed to take the Gleevec this year. I really dislike the idea of spending everything we have over however many years I might live and then die…leaving Eileen behind having spent everything on me. I’d rather die sooner and leave her something to live on than later with nothing. Eileen doesn’t see it that way. She’d rather be penniless and have me around. I would feel the same way about her but I can make it on nothing. I don’t want her to have to. Well, I plan on being around for at least this next year. That’s more than a lot of people can say. In the meantime, I’ll just keep telling myself, “God will provide.”

Wednesday, January 4, 2012

UMBRELLA NATION

Each day as I pray for our military, I pray that they understand thatUmbrella Nation they are not just sacrificing for America but that they are sacrificing for a nation founded on Judeo-Christian values. They are sacrificing for a nation that stands for God and the principles of God. When I say “sacrifice” I’m not just talking about those who are injured or killed. Military life itself is a sacrifice which is often shared by spouses, children, and family members. Anyway, this has always been a nation of God although it is getting out of vogue to say that any more. As we continue to push hard to remove God out of everything in our culture, including Christmas, it is perhaps harder for our military personnel to have a vision of their divine duty. I pray not.

Tuesday night (I’m writing this Tuesday morning) begins the Republican primary season. I hope and pray that voters have a divine vision about the voting process too. While I have stark doubts that the world will end on December 21st as the Mayan calendar seems to indicate, I don’t believe this nation can continue under the umbrella of blessings it has without being a Godly nation. Once we sufficiently remove God from all hope of Him being a central figure of this nation, I don’t foresee good things happening in this nation or world. We are the cornerstone of the world. As we look around, I don’t see bad luck in our economic times. I see a nation that is stepping out from underneath the umbrella of God’s blessing and thus more prone to the travails of the world.

As I hope you keep our military in your prayers, I hope you keep the election cycle in your prayers too. It is important that we elect people with a Godly vision. No, that doesn’t mean elect perfect people who are without flaws or mistakes. It means elect people who will serve with God at their side and who understand the importance of God to the founding and continuance of this nation. We are an umbrella nation; we’ve been under the umbrella of God. Our umbrella is shrinking and it’s high time for us to take notice and action.

Tuesday, January 3, 2012

CHANGING WEATHER

Well, so, how did I feel during my hiatus from the blog? I did prettyChanging Weather well. We were blessed with good weather most of the time and that always helps. I limited the amount of pain medication I took due to the added fatigue and sleepiness it causes me. I didn’t want to be sleeping our family time away. However, I did have to up my dosage a few times to keep the arm pain down to a manageable level. I also had to manage my anti-nausea medication. I probably took extra doses of it more than normal. Not only does Gleevec cause me nausea but once my arm pain gets to a certain level it increases my nausea too. So, I managed the anti-nausea and pain medication accordingly.

Now that the new year has begun, the temperatures have taken a turn downward too. It caught me off guard last night and I’m really feeling it. I had planned to take my mom’s outside Christmas lights down today (Monday) but my sons did it for me instead. They thought it was too cold and windy for me to be out there today. I was glad they did it; I went back to bed.

I’m feeling some better this afternoon but have a strong gnawing pain in my arm extending into the back of my wrist. I’m thankful though that I have minimal nausea to go along with it. I was still going to go grocery shopping today because I can’t spend my whole winter cooped up and I have to get toughened up for the colder weather. However, I might go into this a bit slowly. I answered the door a little bit ago and it is cold. I’d be pushing it to go out in it today; so I think I’ll wait.

It’s going to be cold these next several days so I think I’ll just hunker down and take the weather on when the cold weather is a little milder. For now, I’m just going to protect myself.

Monday, January 2, 2012

NEW YEAR

The blog returns to its regular postings today and it’s good to have you back reading it. If your Christmas season was anything like ours Happy New Yearyou are truly blessed also!! It’s been an extremely busy time with family and a couple of medical tests thrown in there. Nevertheless, in nearly every conceivable way, we have had a glorious couple of weeks. We look forward to a wonderful and blessed new year and we hope that yours is also.

Our oldest son’s family headed back home this morning while Eileen and our youngest daughter headed back to school. Our oldest daughter went home last week. It will be a while before we’re all together again and Eileen and I relished every moment of our time with the family. Even so, life goes on and so does all of our individual lives.

Some businesses are closed today but many of you will return to your normal routines today too. I’m sure a lot of New Year’s resolutions have been made. I wish you well on those too. Even if we don’t make New Year’s resolutions, it’s always good to periodically reflect on who we are and seek ways to improve. If you can’t find anything to improve on, just ask someone who is around you!! Happy New Year!!