I so greatly appreciate your words and writing Molly. I'm somebody who's been on a load of medications for twenty years and it's amazing how often garbage like this comes up and the onus is always on the sick person to figure it all out when the last thing I want to spend my energy on is figuring how to navigate a very, very broken system. Especially since I spent a good 7 hours in an ER last night for something that should've been easily taken care of at Urgent Care (but they pushed me to the ER) it means a lot to see the solidarity in your words. Thank you.
"Aging is the extraordinary process whereby you become the person you always should have been." - David Bowie
I am in my mid 50s and plan to live my life out in this fashion. My first vote was cast for Reagan and I was clearly naive and foolish, caught up in the rah-rah and hoopla. It took me until my early 40s to understand how one side of our political spectrum simply detests taking care of its citizens. This has been further supported as I have been able to travel internationally and have friends who currently or have lived in France, Ireland, England and Northern Ireland. I have five years until retirement and my plan upon having unlimited time is to fight for and volunteer for what is right. Clearly, paying $8,400/year for insurance and having that company ram a middle finger in your face is not fair, not remotely.
As Molly clearly states, even though you can overcome these situations because of having money (and having a supportive family and other resources) that doesn't make it right. The Republican party sickens me - but it truly hasn't impacted my day to day life, but that doesn't give me the right to sit back and not give a shit what happens to those around me.
All you need to know about those who have created the system that Molly is navigating.... read about their reactions to former and current students getting $10k in loans forgiven. Half the people in this country HATE that others can have good fortune and be happy.
This country disappoints me more each and every day.
But, but the medication you're fighting the system for is what will help you get better, hopefully sooner rather than later. But I'm so sorry you've been forced by circumstances into *having* to be the squeaky wheel.
Just one more awful example of the insanity that is our healthcare system. I’m so sorry you’re going through this, but thanks for using your platform to shine a light on this situation. I hope you can get this resolved quickly.
Molly, thank you for this. It’s important and needs to be said. I get into debates with people about healthcare regularly. Discussions regarding it fall under the purview of my job. I only ask people one question: “Do you believe that every human being has an absolute right to obtain the health care and medications they need to live the life they want to live?”
I’ve yet to have anyone say no, and it diffuses the situation pretty quickly. Single-payor healthcare for everyone - demand it from your representatives now.
I'm so sorry that you're going through this. I WISH you were writing about baseball, of course. But writing is good for you and for us.
So, my story in brief, without getting too personal, involves my wife needing an injection. Insurance? Not the problem. The problem? The doctor who ordered the injection is a neurosurgeon who doesn't do injections (that's fine). So he referred her for that and a nerve study. The injection doctor's office didn't schedule anything because it turns out only one person there does scheduling, and she was out sick for three weeks; in the meantime, when we called, they kept saying they were waiting on insurance approval, so they lied. The injection is now scheduled. We were ready to pay for it, but insurance will cover it. Meanwhile, the nerve study doctor promised a report the next week and it took a month. I called his office. The neurosurgeon's office called his office. Our GP called his office. Finally, they got it. And the neurosurgeon's office manager told me that she had informed her boss that they were never referring anyone to that doctor again.
So the doctors may know what they're doing. But watch out for the office staff. Some are great. Others, not so much. But you have to be your own advocate, or have one with you.
By the way, the neurosurgeon whose office runs well? He got an MBA because he said he wanted to be sure he understood health care administration. There's a lesson in all that.
This is one of those times where you wish there was an option to clicking Like - maybe an ‘I appreciate your post but that’s bullshit’ icon. Sorry what your wife went through Michael, and sorry to Molly for what she went through too. there has to be literally a million of these stories
My heart goes out to you. It sucks to be sick. I take a boatload of meds and made a discovery about twenty years ago. I had to fill a prescription and couldn’t handle driving to CVS. I stopped at a tiny compounding pharmacy in my neighborhood to get my script filled. I’ve not had a Rx filled anywhere else since. A tiny business is a major player in my support system. The pharmacist has become my advocate. It’s called Persons and located in Glendale. Feel better and stay strong.
Thanks for writing as often as you are. I saw the column about you at Awful Announcing (before you retweeted it) and I was blown away the heart meds were $600 a month and wasn’t being covered by insurance. Healthcare here is so awful. Wishing you all the best.
Jeez.! I pressed "Like," but with a belly full of sick feels. Your ability to deal with this mess and use your journalistic skills is amazing (I know "grace under pressure" is a cliché', but, well, cliché's can be true). Here I sit, worrying about a newly adopted cat who is hiding under the bed, but also ignorant of how people are struggling to get medical help so they can drive a car!
When our health policy is, basically, "Don't get sick," we not only leave people emotionally and cognitively devastated, but we put all everyday people (without access to the "double secret privilege" of reasonable health care) in severe jeopardy.
Hoping for the best and thank you for making such a strong argument.
I travel to Canada often for work. About 10 years ago I started asking Canadians about their healthcare. I told them that during our healthcare debate in 2009 that people who had never been to Canada would scream "ask a Canadian about their healthcare" so I would. I would ask "what do you think of your healthcare?" the first answer was almost always "well it's not perfect..." but then share positive stories about treatments, surgeries, pregnancies, etc...
When I would follow up with "what do you think of the US system?" their eyes would bug out like they just saw a ghost.
Thank you for sharing. I was hopeful that because the Covid pandemic revealed so many shortcomings in our health system, lawmakers would recognize the need to work on fixing our health system ASAP. I'm 71 years old; how could I possibly have been so naive? But, hope springs eternal. It's people like you who will make it difficult to just continue to ignore this embarrassing problem. Feel better, then keep up the good work.
You probably have this already but the Corlanor number for the $20 per prescription is 844-626-7526. Also there are more companies like GoodRx. Google to check more for a reduced price. Another thought is what are the Primary Drug Stores that your Healthcare provider approves for the lowest price. Meaning is CVS the cheapest of all the places you can go on their approved list for in network. Generic does not appear to be available. Hope this helps. I have on Humana on Medicare,73, yesterday and if I can help in anyway please email me at Hadaway849@gmail.com. Go Dodgers and Dawgs( I live in Athens, GA.)
Many people mentioning on Twitter Mark Cuban’s website as a way to get better pricing on generic drugs, which unfortunately provides no help for drugs still on patent like the one you need. If you truly want to engage in this fight, against family and friends advice, would reaching out to him be worth a try? Also, feel better.
It's a jigsaw puzzle with pieces that don't fit, and some that are missing entirely. It's a Kafka-esque Terry Gilliam's Brazil of a way to take care of people who fall ill in our society. That's our health care system. MFA NOW.
If things get super dire, I live in the Twin Cities. Thunder Bay, Ontario isn't that far away. You know how to reach me. And the North Shore of Minnesota is gorgeous in September and October - my wife and I love camping, and our passports are in good standing...!
I so greatly appreciate your words and writing Molly. I'm somebody who's been on a load of medications for twenty years and it's amazing how often garbage like this comes up and the onus is always on the sick person to figure it all out when the last thing I want to spend my energy on is figuring how to navigate a very, very broken system. Especially since I spent a good 7 hours in an ER last night for something that should've been easily taken care of at Urgent Care (but they pushed me to the ER) it means a lot to see the solidarity in your words. Thank you.
Thank you Steve. I'm so sorry. It's such bullshit!!
"Aging is the extraordinary process whereby you become the person you always should have been." - David Bowie
I am in my mid 50s and plan to live my life out in this fashion. My first vote was cast for Reagan and I was clearly naive and foolish, caught up in the rah-rah and hoopla. It took me until my early 40s to understand how one side of our political spectrum simply detests taking care of its citizens. This has been further supported as I have been able to travel internationally and have friends who currently or have lived in France, Ireland, England and Northern Ireland. I have five years until retirement and my plan upon having unlimited time is to fight for and volunteer for what is right. Clearly, paying $8,400/year for insurance and having that company ram a middle finger in your face is not fair, not remotely.
As Molly clearly states, even though you can overcome these situations because of having money (and having a supportive family and other resources) that doesn't make it right. The Republican party sickens me - but it truly hasn't impacted my day to day life, but that doesn't give me the right to sit back and not give a shit what happens to those around me.
All you need to know about those who have created the system that Molly is navigating.... read about their reactions to former and current students getting $10k in loans forgiven. Half the people in this country HATE that others can have good fortune and be happy.
This country disappoints me more each and every day.
But, but the medication you're fighting the system for is what will help you get better, hopefully sooner rather than later. But I'm so sorry you've been forced by circumstances into *having* to be the squeaky wheel.
Just one more awful example of the insanity that is our healthcare system. I’m so sorry you’re going through this, but thanks for using your platform to shine a light on this situation. I hope you can get this resolved quickly.
Thank you for the update. I am wishing you the best comfort and health!
Molly, thank you for this. It’s important and needs to be said. I get into debates with people about healthcare regularly. Discussions regarding it fall under the purview of my job. I only ask people one question: “Do you believe that every human being has an absolute right to obtain the health care and medications they need to live the life they want to live?”
I’ve yet to have anyone say no, and it diffuses the situation pretty quickly. Single-payor healthcare for everyone - demand it from your representatives now.
I'm so sorry that you're going through this. I WISH you were writing about baseball, of course. But writing is good for you and for us.
So, my story in brief, without getting too personal, involves my wife needing an injection. Insurance? Not the problem. The problem? The doctor who ordered the injection is a neurosurgeon who doesn't do injections (that's fine). So he referred her for that and a nerve study. The injection doctor's office didn't schedule anything because it turns out only one person there does scheduling, and she was out sick for three weeks; in the meantime, when we called, they kept saying they were waiting on insurance approval, so they lied. The injection is now scheduled. We were ready to pay for it, but insurance will cover it. Meanwhile, the nerve study doctor promised a report the next week and it took a month. I called his office. The neurosurgeon's office called his office. Our GP called his office. Finally, they got it. And the neurosurgeon's office manager told me that she had informed her boss that they were never referring anyone to that doctor again.
So the doctors may know what they're doing. But watch out for the office staff. Some are great. Others, not so much. But you have to be your own advocate, or have one with you.
By the way, the neurosurgeon whose office runs well? He got an MBA because he said he wanted to be sure he understood health care administration. There's a lesson in all that.
This is one of those times where you wish there was an option to clicking Like - maybe an ‘I appreciate your post but that’s bullshit’ icon. Sorry what your wife went through Michael, and sorry to Molly for what she went through too. there has to be literally a million of these stories
A great icon that would be, and thanks.
My heart goes out to you. It sucks to be sick. I take a boatload of meds and made a discovery about twenty years ago. I had to fill a prescription and couldn’t handle driving to CVS. I stopped at a tiny compounding pharmacy in my neighborhood to get my script filled. I’ve not had a Rx filled anywhere else since. A tiny business is a major player in my support system. The pharmacist has become my advocate. It’s called Persons and located in Glendale. Feel better and stay strong.
Thanks for writing as often as you are. I saw the column about you at Awful Announcing (before you retweeted it) and I was blown away the heart meds were $600 a month and wasn’t being covered by insurance. Healthcare here is so awful. Wishing you all the best.
Jeez.! I pressed "Like," but with a belly full of sick feels. Your ability to deal with this mess and use your journalistic skills is amazing (I know "grace under pressure" is a cliché', but, well, cliché's can be true). Here I sit, worrying about a newly adopted cat who is hiding under the bed, but also ignorant of how people are struggling to get medical help so they can drive a car!
When our health policy is, basically, "Don't get sick," we not only leave people emotionally and cognitively devastated, but we put all everyday people (without access to the "double secret privilege" of reasonable health care) in severe jeopardy.
Hoping for the best and thank you for making such a strong argument.
I travel to Canada often for work. About 10 years ago I started asking Canadians about their healthcare. I told them that during our healthcare debate in 2009 that people who had never been to Canada would scream "ask a Canadian about their healthcare" so I would. I would ask "what do you think of your healthcare?" the first answer was almost always "well it's not perfect..." but then share positive stories about treatments, surgeries, pregnancies, etc...
When I would follow up with "what do you think of the US system?" their eyes would bug out like they just saw a ghost.
I hope you’re wrong, too, Molly.
Bless your mom for being there for you. I’m really sorry you have to deal with this and don’t feel well.
Thank you for sharing. I was hopeful that because the Covid pandemic revealed so many shortcomings in our health system, lawmakers would recognize the need to work on fixing our health system ASAP. I'm 71 years old; how could I possibly have been so naive? But, hope springs eternal. It's people like you who will make it difficult to just continue to ignore this embarrassing problem. Feel better, then keep up the good work.
You probably have this already but the Corlanor number for the $20 per prescription is 844-626-7526. Also there are more companies like GoodRx. Google to check more for a reduced price. Another thought is what are the Primary Drug Stores that your Healthcare provider approves for the lowest price. Meaning is CVS the cheapest of all the places you can go on their approved list for in network. Generic does not appear to be available. Hope this helps. I have on Humana on Medicare,73, yesterday and if I can help in anyway please email me at Hadaway849@gmail.com. Go Dodgers and Dawgs( I live in Athens, GA.)
Many people mentioning on Twitter Mark Cuban’s website as a way to get better pricing on generic drugs, which unfortunately provides no help for drugs still on patent like the one you need. If you truly want to engage in this fight, against family and friends advice, would reaching out to him be worth a try? Also, feel better.
It's a jigsaw puzzle with pieces that don't fit, and some that are missing entirely. It's a Kafka-esque Terry Gilliam's Brazil of a way to take care of people who fall ill in our society. That's our health care system. MFA NOW.
If things get super dire, I live in the Twin Cities. Thunder Bay, Ontario isn't that far away. You know how to reach me. And the North Shore of Minnesota is gorgeous in September and October - my wife and I love camping, and our passports are in good standing...!