Sorry I have not been here in a bit. It seems like life is so filled that I just don't have time to sit and write. I want to give you an update on my patient who did not have enough pharmaceutical coverage. What I ended up doing was changing her HIV regimen to Atripla( a triple drug combination pill) hoping that I could get Gilead Pharmaceuticals to allow her to participate in their patient assistance program. Initially she was denied for makeing over $50,000 year. Now remember this is a single mother of two daughters. One in high school and one in college. She pays all of their expenses, education, insurance for health and auto and everything else that is costs to have children. She workes full time and makes $62,000/year. Now even making that amount of money my patient has no extra funds at the end of the month. She certainly does not have $2000,00 for her HIV medications.
We appealed with the help of my pharmacy manager (He totally rocks). She submitted all of her income and expense history and they agreed to giver her free drug for one year.
I was so thankful but also immediatley wondered what we would do at the end of the year. Would they renew???
Well I thought we would just focus on now..
Several weeks after starting the drug she developed a severe drug reaction and we had to stop the drug. I was so disappointed. I was s hopeful that we could relax for a bit. But no...
So she came in to see me with a rash all over her body and face. We had to stop the Atripla.
So now what do we do????
This person works, contributes to the system by paying all owed taxes without resistance. She wants to do everything right, everything legal.
What she decided to do was cut her hours so that her total yearly income would be less than $50,000 per year.
She will have to cut her income so that she will qualify for ADAP (AIDS DRUG ASSISTANCE PROGRAM). She will now qualify for this and I am so thankful that the state has this program to help my patient and so many of my patients with HIV/AIDS.
The situation really makes me angry. Here is a woman who is high functioning and working within the system as a tax paying member and we offer her no help. We make her decrease her income and become a user of the system in a manner in which she never planned. .
This is why we need Universal Health Coverage. People should not have to make such a compromise for health.
I have great respect for my patient. I wish she felt comfortable to make her story known publically but with anHIV diagnosis it is not really possible for her. Iwould love to take this story to the press.
Please fight for universal coverage. What would happen to you.
If I were to loose my job and Rick and I lost our coverage he would not be elgable for coverage related to his pre-existing diagnosis of diabetes. As many of you know he was in the ICU this year. That cost without insurance would of put us out of our home.. We are so close. We are all so close. Health coverage should not be a stressor in life.. It should be a human right in this great country of ours.
This story should make you just as angry as it make me.
Hope to be back soon.
Sunday, February 21, 2010
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