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.

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