Friday, December 02, 2005

Caregiving: an observation

Recently reading the WebMD interview with Meredith Vieira, I was struck with an observation that MONEY certainly affects options.

 

It seems to me that over the decades a formula has been developing that those with more money have more options. Those with more options have more hope.

 

A person or family able to afford current MS medications is going to have a different future view of "living with MS" than a person or family without prescription coverage or who cannot afford their plan's high monthly co-pay.  Or considering divorce in excess of 90% in such situations how is hope impacted when the insured spouse leaves and the prescription plan terminates?

 

Our media and culture tends to be drawn toward celebrities and anecdotal success stories. That is understandable. Yet there is a risk that truth may be in the silence of those not seen and heard.

 

Escalating co-pays, decimation of family finances, divorce, and unemployment are just a few of the more common challenges, beyond health issues, faced by any person "living with MS" or a spouse/caregiver.

 

Our health care insurance system is broken and "we the people" only hear about it every four years when someone wants to be President. Yet some more than others have to struggle with it every day.

HOPE is so critical to "living with MS". Yet for some, correct that, too many, money is becoming a cage for hope.

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5 comments:

  1. Very sad, but very, very true.  I couldn't have said it better myself.  

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  2. Just wanted to stop in and say Hi, and welcome you to our little crowd at "AsI Am".  I'm Andi, and I've been disabled since 1997. Everything you mentioned above happened to me, and hope is scarce sometimes. I just went out and got myself a little ole' Charlie Brown tree, and am going to decorate tonight...that will bring a smile to my face, I know!

    Happy Holidays, filled with Hope, to you and yours.  :)

    andi

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  3. I know the retail, over-the-counter price on one month supply of Rebif shots is $3242.17 plus or minus due to my sticker shock.  When I first moved to WA I had to get one month at the drug store until my new health insurance got my mail order worked out so I asked them how much it would be if I didn't have insurance.


    I almost puked.


    I wouldn't have been picking up my twleve little shots, that's for sure.


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  4. I HEAR YOU!!! How true! I am one of those who cannot afford the co-pay for copaxone. I was supposed to get a bunch of paper work together to send to the copaxone people but never got it together. I am just hoping that TYSABRI comes through soon. That's an in-hospital procedure and will be covered.
    Insurance sucks!
    Kathy

    ReplyDelete

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