To Spite Obama Health Insurance Companies and Pharmaceuticals Choose to Kill Citizens
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WASHINGTON, D.C. – At midnight on December 31st the world retired 2014 to make way for 2015. For many it marked a night of festivities, parties, and insouciance. For others, like me, it was the day which marked the resetting of health insurance premiums, deductibles, and prescription coverages which would inevitably result in increased costs.
In the days prior, I frantically traveled to doctor's offices and pharmacies to get all of our prescriptions refilled before January 1st. In one instance, my son's pediatrician wouldn't authorize refills for his asthma medications without an appointment. Thankfully we were able to be seen by him on an emergency basis on the morning of December 31st. It was with grateful relief that he wrote all of the prescriptions needed and that I was able to get them filled before the pharmacy closed.
Unfortunately the insurance company would not authorize the refill of one of my son's most expensive medications until after the new year. One might think, with the figures I am about to report, that the medications to which I am referring are 'Brand Named' versus 'Generic.' However, this is not the case. In 2014, before I met my plan deductible, the generic version of one of his medications was $250 for a 30-day supply, while the cost for the brand name was $491. After I met my annual deductible, the costs of this medicine was reduced significantly to $50 for a 30-day supply of the generic which was a great costs savings for our household.
This reduction from my perspective directly correlated with the enactment of The Affordable Care Act (ACA) which was passed in 2010. The ACA, also known as 'Obamacare' made health coverage mandatory and also provided the means for the uninsured to purchase affordable insurance through exchanges which would help regulate the market prices. For me it was a blessing because it reduced my premiums and enabled me to purchase 'individual/self-pay' insurance without having to pay exorbitant premium fees because of 'preexisting' condition as defined by insurance companies such as Asthma, Cancer, Heart Disease, etc.
The cost to maintain this insurance is expensive, but compared to what I paid for COBRA Continuation Health Coverage in 2012, the 33 percent reduction in premium costs was a welcomed relief. I went from paying $1,660 per month to just over $550 per month for better coverage. The only catch was that my prescription costs increased significantly and thus the net/net was actually more like a 20 percent reduction in costs once this was factored in. However, providing the best healthcare for my son was non-negotiable and often meant that bills remain unpaid, and in some instances I didn't refill my medication or go to see the doctor when I needed.
Then, on November 14, 2014, The New York Times reported that "The Obama administration on Friday unveiled data showing that many Americans with health insurance bought under the Affordable Care Act could face substantial price increases next year — in some cases as much as 20 percent — unless they switch plans." Proponents of ACA asserted that this demonstrated that the legislation was working while Republican opponents pointed to these increases as proof that it is not.
As a parent and someone who is directly impacted by the ACA, I can categorically state that without it neither my son nor I would have insurance coverage. I couldn't have afforded to pay $3,000 a month in premiums and prescription costs because of 'preexisting conditions.' From my perspective the 2015 rate increases coupled with inflation in costs for generic medicines is a ploy devised by the insurance companies and pharmaceuticals to incite an already cash strapped American consumer to work against their own best interest. The premise that healthcare for average Americans was better prior to the passing of the ACA is ludicrous.
Me and millions of other Americans remember the heartache and pain of having to watch one's child suffer because an insurance company informed you that your child's healthcare costs would no longer be covered because of an "annual or lifetime" dollar limit. Other parents were faced with the necessity of mortgaging their homes, working several jobs, and making other sacrifices so that they could pay for expensive cancer or heart disease medicines. We all thought these days were behind us, but it turns out that 'we' have become collateral damage in what has been advertised as a war between the Republicans and President Obama.
In reality it is about greed. Providing access to affordable healthcare and prescriptions is not a luxury, it is a need. Parents like me are not 'lazy ne'er-do-wells' seeking to sponge off of the government. We are hard-working individuals who make difficult choices so that our children may live and grow up to be healthy contributors to society. The ACA provided us with hope for such a future, but insurance companies and pharmaceuticals have found a new way to game the system.
Anecdotally, it appears that since insurance companies are forced to insure people who may cost them money, they will make insurance available but the quality of that service is dependent on one's ability to pay for it. Thus, the better the insurance the greater the costs. However, this doesn't help them to recoup their losses (i.e. executives can't buy a new yacht, jet, exotic car, or mansion), so they turn to the pharmaceutical companies to further pressure consumers into lobbying for the dissolution of Obamacare.
When the media first began to report that generic medicine prices would increase substantially I worried but not much. Then, The Chicago Tribune reported on the rising cost of generic drug prices, and I became concerned but couldn't imagine an increase greater than a few percentage points. Then on January 3rd when I asked the pharmacists to fill the one prescription remaining from 2014, I was shocked to learn that the price increased from $50 for a 30-day supply to $391 for a 30-day supply. That was for GENERIC not brand name! I contacted my insurance company and was given a clearly ridiculous story that the cost of manufacturing the drug had increased.
Asthma can be a life-threatening condition and not taking his medication for a few days though not recommended, is not going to kill him. The same cannot be said of parents who have children with a terminal illness like cancer, in which treatment consists of multiple medications and a single prescription can cost upwards of $1,500 per month. Thus, the title of this article seeks not only to grab your attention, but also to help people understand that by taking away our ability to purchase life-saving medicine so that a pharmaceutical company can increase it's profit margin is immoral, reprehensible, and absolutely inhuman; and like it or not the choice to drastically increase the cost of generic drugs is tantamount to 'killing citizens.'
Follow Nahmias Cipher Report on Twitter Twitter: @nahmias_report Editor-in-Chief: @ayannanahmias
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