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 stayed 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.