Monday, April 09, 2007
CANCER JOURNAL - NEVER A DULL MOMENT !
For those with wealth or really good insurance, cancer is sometimes curable. For the average person, the picture is not quite so rosy.
Today's crisis...in order to take the chemo drugs it is first necessary to take an anti-nausea drug called Emend. There was no problem getting the medication and having the insurance cover it for the first dose, but my doctor's office warned that a lot of patients have problems with insurance coverage for this drug.
I have chemo scheduled again on Thursday, and so I tried to refill the perscription this morning. The insurance company refused it. They will only fill it once a month. Three pills cost $890. I have a call in to the insurance representative where my husband works. We'll see if she can get it resolved.
Apparently that drug called Neulasta that gave me such a backache last week costs $4,000 to $6,000 per dose. I wonder if our insurance will refuse to cover that one?
Question. What good is modern medicine if most can't afford it?
