Health Care Debate

Fatigue has set in for Mom. Add a seasonal allergy attack and Mom is just exhausted. Yesterday, we celebrated Brynn's official birthday with ice cream at Sue's house. Mom and Dad stopped by to celebrate after having dinner with other family members. Mom barely made it through dessert, she was just that tired. She was also afraid about about being so tired and driving home. The literature about side effects and the information from the nurse say that fatigue is a very big side effect for chemotherapy treatment. The literature also say to work with the fatigue, for example take short naps. However, the nurses say that staying in bed and not being active also leads to more fatigue. It is a Catch-22! So, the challenge for Sue, Dad and I is to make sure that Mom stays active to a point. We don't want her to overdo it, but she does need to be active.

An issue that I know is weighing very heavily on my mom's mind is how to pay for the cost of her treatment that is not covered by her insurance. Currently, Mom is under Medicare and a supplemental insurance (I will not name the company due to Mom's request) that is required for Medicare participants. Mom has already had issues and discussions with her insurance company about other drugs that she is on. In fact, she has been battling them more recently for one of the drugs that she takes, protonix, for her stomach issues. The insurance company is saying that this drug will not be covered by insurance anymore. First they told her that the drug has been put into a different tier and she will have to pay $85 for refills of the drug compared to the $7 that she used to pay. Now, they are saying that the drug will no longer be covered under insurance. So, Mom is battling with them about the drug. She has had the primary doctor and her pharmacist send information to the insurance company as well, but it is to no avail. I have done research on the drug and she has even tried others, but they do not help her stomach issues. This is very worrisome, because who knows what the insurance company will end up charging for her chemotherapy drugs and treatment. If they can pull the coverage of one of the drugs, what says that the insurance company will cover her treatment? Mom has been talking to a nurse from the insurance company on a weekly basis. It seems Mom has been "red flagged" because of her fighting the company. So, the nurse asks about all of her drugs, her treatment, etc. The nurse is also recommending adding anti-depression drugs (which I personally don't think is right on her part to do). Maybe, if Mom keeps talking to the insurance company, they will help in the long run? I don't know.

I don't want to get overly political on this blog, but all of the issues that my mom is going through is showing that the health care system has to be reformed. This includes reforming insurance companies, so they don't have all the say in how a patient is treated. The health care debate is the biggest political story as Congress is voting on this very important issue this weekend. This debate will affect us all.

One week from today is the 2nd chemotherapy treatment. 2 more to go after that one. I want to make sure that we have a complete list of Mom's side effects. We will meet with the doctor before her treatment and I want him to know everything that she has gone through with her treatment.