Give Me a Break.

This is totally ridiculous. I cannot believe our Health Care system, and this belongs in one of those "Outrageous" columns in Readers Digest or somewhere.

It's two things actually, although they are sort of tangled together.

Now, Steven has Crohns and has had multiple surgeries in which more and more of his bowel has been removed, thus resulting in two different problems; one being diarrhea and the other being a B12 problem.

The B12 is the "biggie". If you don't get B12, you get pernicous anemia and you eventually die. You can only get B12 through absorption in a certain spot in your bowel, and Steven has had that section removed. Therefore, he needs B12 shots monthly for the rest of his life...or he dies. Luckily, B12 is readily and easily available and his Dr. injects him every 4 weeks.

Now, Pacific Blue Cross won't cover this because, first of all, they said they don't cover "vitamin supplements." We sent letter after letter from his Dr explaining why this wasn't just a supplement, but to no avail. They have "rules to follow" don't you know?

Finally, we sent yet another letter, this time noting that a copy was being forwarded to our MLA and they responded with another letter saying that they only cover B12 when it is a treatment for pernicious anemia. "Hooray!" we thought..."finally!" Oh, but, no, no, they won't cover Steven because he doesn't HAVE pernicous anemia. "Well, but wait" we said, "if he doesn't get the B12, then he WILL have it"...same thing, no? Apparently no. He does not have it, so thus they will not pay for the drug.

We are appealing this.

The second item is similar. The only thing that helps his diarrhea is Immodium, the regular over-the-counter kind. It doesn't stop it by any means, and he still gets up once or twice during the night, but without it, it's every hour or 45 minutes. Really bad.

It's expensive, about $700 a year. But because it's over the counter, they refuse to cover it. So, Steven tried another drug, Lomotil, which is:

1. Almost three times as expensive.
2. Does not work as well.
3. Is a NARCOTIC and thus addictive.
4. Causes side effects like stomach pain and headaches.
5. It works by causing paralysis of the bowel, which is a very bad thing for
sufferers of Crohns.
6. His surgeon does NOT want him to take it.

But Pacific Blue Cross will not back down and pay for the cheaper, healthier, and more sucessful drug that has NO side effects.

We are appealing this as well.

Our system really cares about us doesn't it? And it's nice to see that they are concerned about saving money.

George Abbott is our Minister of health, and he can kiss my ass.


~If the people cannot trust their government to do the job for which it exists, then all is lost.
Barack Obama