Hi Harrison,
I hope this gets to you. Not feeling so well.
I regret our conversation, but it may be useful. I would like to take a three pronged approach and be solution oriented. Especially if we have Michael Moore and Oprah listening.
1) Insurance companies know from the get go that they are trying to get rid of us. We cost too much. I can prove that if you read a book by Ray Bouhrris.It is called "Insult to Injury" Read it. Spineys don't get a fair shake because the problem is difficult, lengthy and often unresolveable.Insurance companies hate us. They deny healthcare as well as disability pay. They thought up ways to get rid of us looooooooong ago! We are too sick to fight back (until now)!
2) Probably related, drug regimens like "Lyrica" are delegated to;egally protected drugs that make pharmeceutacals a load of money. They are still under protection from the laws that keep other pharmeceutacal companies from stealing their inventions.No generics yet. Why not profit from this enigma? They often charge a fortune for this stuff. Or re-delegate the use, such as was seen for antidepressants for PMS? Any way to gouge us/insurance co's, /anyone else!
3)We often can be helped. Somehow it got lumped in to the "just say no" to addictive drugs, and we are criminals thinking...
We are sick, not criminals, and often what will help one person will make another useless. The Neurontins and the Lyricas are quite toxic, if you care to look it up. The simple opioids are well known to work well, give the patient a sense of well being, and be less toxic. Hey, if the Neurontins work, great! What if they make you choke (like me)and make it hard to think? The docs don't want to give you the opoids that will work. The DEA will actually put them in jail if they do. They're understandably scared. This is very real. After I almost choked on a piece of bread from the "Lyrica",(and everything else going down my throat, it's a side effect) I'm scared.I also feel like hell when I take the Lyrica type stuff. We need to push for safe drugs. Even if it's an opiate. We have the technology!
and........by the way, why do we accept the fact that if you got hurt at work that you won't get good medical care? That's true, but wrong! We are treated like criminals. I worked full time since I was nineteen and put myself through college and then some. We are injured workers, not the same as criminals. I was followed,filmed, recorded, harrassed, tapes altered, car ruined, reputation and self esteeem ruined, what else?
Stenum. Oye Vey!
Read "Insult to Injury" by Ray Bouhrris. All the documentation you need on insurance companies is RIGHT THERE!!! I beleive this and want to talk to Michael Moore! We all deserve timely, state of the art medical care!
Sorry you got in the way, bad day!
Much love to all spineys,
Marilyn
Quote:
Originally posted by LBP:
I also edited my previous post...what about the stenum folks. That might be enough of a shock factor to get the rest of our discussion reviewed.
The part I saw on TV had to do with a women who was denied a test to determine whether kemotherapy would be successful (denied because the test itself was considered investigational and experimental)
Another women was denied treatement for a brain tumor. She was out of the country and dx with a brain tumor and her US insurer denied she had a brain tumor.
There were 5 women in focus...a variety of Blue Cross people and a Cigna. A chunk of the show was interrupted due to a local plane crash into Lake Michigan, so I didn't see the whole segment.
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