meds rant

To:       Sen. Henry, Rep. Barbieri, Rep. Hudson. Sen. Blevins, Sen. McBride, Sen. Sokola, Sen. Hall-Long; Rep. Heffernan, Rep. Kowalko, Rep. Mitchell, Rep. Mulrooney and Rep. Schooley

Re:       Senate Bill 252

Date:    6/23/12

My name is Pam Stewart and I have the chronic progressive form of multiple sclerosis. In order to control the progression and manage the pain of the disease, I take a number of medications. Because of the cost of the copayments, I have changed the majority of the medications to the generic form. However, the medication I consider to be most important, the disease modifying medication called Rebif, does not come in generic form and is astronomically expensive.

I unfortunately learned how expensive when my insurance changed due to civil union (and I will not begin Medicare until September of this year.) When I ordered my three month refill after the change, I was advised that it was a specialty medication and I was responsible for 30% of the cost which translates to over $1,000 a month. With my previous insurance, I was paying $60 a month. Because I live on a fixed income from Social Security, this new co-pay amount was prohibitive. Thankfully, the medication company was able to give financial assistance or else I would not be able to afford the medication. I do not know if Medicare has the same tier system.

If I was not able to get the medication, my disease quite probably would have progressed. From a societal and governmental standpoint, this would have cost a lot of money because I would have run through my personal savings due to increased personal care costs and then I would have been totally on the public dole. From the insurance company perspective, disease progression means increased patient needs and increased susceptibility to further illness, thus increased costs. From either perspective, in the long run the increased cost of the medication to the patient means an increased cost to the insurance company and society.

I strongly encourage you to continue your support for Senate Bill 252. Controlling the co-pay costs of specialty tier medications will greatly benefit the patient, the insurance companies and society as a whole. I believe the Bill will serve all parties equally well.

Thank you again for your consideration of this matter. Please feel free to contact me with any questions at4 pamstew1@yahoo.com.

Sincerely,

Pamela G Stewart