On Friday, I went to the doctor for yet another check/adjustment on my meds. I just started a new med, a very common med mind you, about three weeks ago (working great, by the way). However, it is considered a narcotic by the government, so is regulated closely. For the first month, my doc only gave me enough for one month because (I thought) he wanted to make sure it was working the way it should. He faxed in the prescription about six weeks ago to my insurance and my prescription-by-mail company that I use to save money. Now, my medical insurance company wanted to send it out right away, just like the many other meds I take. I usually get the pills withing 2-4 days of being faxed in. This particular drug took 3 weeks to get in the mail… 3 weeks! Not because my insurance company didn’t like it, or my drug company didn’t like it, but because my government didn’t get their act together. It put everything on hold for three weeks… including my health and well-being! Now, of course, I wasn’t going to die without it… but come on!
It gets worse…
My doc likes what the med has been doing and wants me to continue them. So he starts up his computer, ready to write up the prescription. I tell him it took 3 weeks to get them the first time and I would rather take it to a local drug store, even if I have to pay more because I cannot wait 3 weeks to get more. I will be out by then. (A little info… it’s the refills that end up costing me more, not the original prescription.) He proceeds to tell me cost will not be an issue because he can only continue to give me one month’s worth at a time because the government wont allow refills on this med.
I asked, “So all these millions of people on this very popular, widely use drug have to go into their doctor every month to get a new prescription just because the government wants to get their hands on it? They can’t allow the doctors and drug companies to figure this out for their own patients?”
“Kinda ridiculous, isn’t it?” he asked.
There’s more…
Then he proceeds to tell me that after a lifetime carear of service with the same clinic, he is now switching to another clinic. After asking him why, he said that the “higher-ups” didn’t like his way of doing things. This had been going on for years, and they finally got to him enough for him to leave.
Now, for those of you that don’t know my health stuff and all that I’ve been through in the last year and a half, I have to tell you that this is the ONE doctor that took me serious and took the time and energy to figure out a way to help me, no matter how long it takes. You have to also know that I went to 9 other doctors (and countless tests) before him who all gave me the boot and basically said “Live with it.” He also literally brought my grandfather back to life when he had his massive heart attack over ten years ago and he helped my mom figure out her heart issues years ago as well when no one else would. So, needless to say, I have a TON of respect for this man and his way…
After all this rambling… yes, I do have a point! I don’t think the “higher-ups”, whether it be the bosses or the government, should have any say what happens between me and my doc! I now have the right to follow him to his new clinic, which I will do even though it’s twice as far away (and I was already going 45 minutes – one way – to see him). I may not have this right if the government has a say in it with their new plan. They may tell me where to go and who to see. They will probably give me the boot, just like all those other doctors, saying I’m just fine, even thought they’ve never met me or see how I live on a daily basis. I’m not a patient at that point, I am a file, a number, a faceless dollar! They may also make it even harder for me to get the prescriptions I need. They can’t even get their act together enough for me to get my meds in a timely fashion. How are they going to run the whole system?
Another thing to think about… When my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer, she found the lump herself. She went to her doc and asked to check it out. He did so with a mammogram, but nothing showed up. If the government was in charge of it all, would they have checked into it further… probably not. But my mom had the brains and the right to push it further. After doing more tests, they did find a lump and, in my opinion, maybe saved her life!
How is the government going to deside what happens between my doc and me? How are they going to treat me as a person? How are they going to treat my doc – the way his bosses treated him – regulating all that he did until he leaves – for good this time? All the good doctors will be gone! All patients will be pushed aside! Everything would be run by the all-mighty dollar!
Is that what we want? I don’t know about you, but it scares me to death!
2babycakes 