Published: March 29, 2008 12:32 am            

DAY: The high cost of medicines

Does Washington really care?

The subject of this column today is about medicines that many people need but cannot afford.

We, in recent years, have sat quietly by and watched our cost of medicines escalate to where you have to decide if you want to buy it and stay alive or do without it and see what happens. As a retired person living on a limited budget and trying to make each penny count, I find this appalling and an insult to all the retirees and all those poor people out there that just lost their jobs or, for that matter, just went through a big medical bill, where their co-pay took everything they had.

I remember one day, while waiting in line to get our medicines, a young fellow was just getting his medicine and, since he had no insurance, he was hit with a cost of close to $100 for two medicines. As he turned away to leave, with a tear in his eye, I asked him if he was OK. He said he was, but might not be OK later on as he couldn’t afford his prescription and he was out of work, and didn’t know when he would find a job. I took him aside and told him to keep his head up because there were more like him that are going through the same thing and it isn’t getting any better.

I asked him what he thought of someone having health insurance and paying the monthly premium on time each month and still having to pay the full cost of my medicines, as well as my wife’s. He was shocked to hear such an absurd story because he knew that by having insurance and keeping up on the monthly payments, he would feel great having to pay only a small co-pay.

That is where I explained to him how it works. You get your insurance through a group or with Medicare itself, you pay your monthly premium and you pay only about 25 percent for brand meds and 10 percent for generic meds. That is until the total of what you paid and what the plan pays amounts to $2,400, and then you are placed in what they call the coverage gap, which means that from that moment on until you reach $5,000, your meds will cost you plenty. Now, remember that you are still continuing to pay your monthly premium all this time.

Well, by this time I had a group around me listening to my every word and agreeing with me, and I had to move up and purchase my meds and get out of there before there were any problems with the pharmacy.

Now, I will tell you my thoughts on this problem. First of all, every day we see that our country is giving money away to help other countries to combat the illnesses over there. We see the people that own the places that manufacture all the medicines giving to the poor and ill in other countries. We see our leaders in Washington spend billions of dollars to fight a war. And if you check into it, you will probably see where they don’t have to pay for any medicines needed by their families.

Folks, I have stated it before and I will say it again. We need a better solution to our health networks. We need to be able to afford our medicines without having to worry about going hungry. We need to be able to keep the doctors who are giving up their practice because they are bound by rules that only benefit the wealthy and not the common man. And we need to govern the manufacturing of the medicines so much needed by us now and you later.

How much longer can you and I go before we are like that young fellow with a tear in his eyes? As the saying goes, “I am now what you will be later.” Are the people in Washington listening to our pleas? Do they care? Will they do something soon? I don’t think so, unless we start making a lot of noise. It truly is a shame what is happening.

Ray “Uncle Ray” Day of Kokomo is a weekly contributor to the Kokomo Tribune. He can be reached by e-mail at uncleray@skyenet.net.

        

• Click to discuss this story with other readers on our forums.