Health-coverage bill is harmful
I work in social services in the health-care field. My duties revolve around assisting patients with the cost of care, and my office was recently approached by a social work colleague seeking help for one of her clients.
The social worker requested vouchers for insulin, a request we get regularly. Unfortunately we’re out of vouchers, despite numerous calls to pharmaceutical reps asking for more. After discussing the only other options — Internet coupons or discount cards — the social worker told us the patient in question had been buying insulin from strangers on Craigslist.
I was horrified, but not shocked. She’d been warned of the risks, and her response was heartbreaking: “What else am I supposed to do?” And sadly, none of us had an answer to that question.
I can’t honestly say I wouldn’t do the same if I were in her shoes. I’ve seen the devastating results of untreated diabetes. When I searched for insulin on Craigslist to see for myself, I found several people in Greater Cincinnati selling Lantus and Humalog pens for $50 or less. When faced with a choice between paying several hundred dollars each month to a pharmacy or $50 on the black market, what are people supposed to do?
It was with this situation in mind that I watched the House of Representatives vote to pass Paul Ryan’s Obamacare replacement bill. Does this bill address the skyrocketing cost of prescription drugs? No. In fact, this bill strips Medicaid-and the drug coverage that goes along with it, from millions of Americans. It also allows insurance companies to charge older Americans five times as much as they charge the young, which will make even inadequate drug coverage unaffordable for people most affected by chronic diseases.
My U.S. representative, Steve Chabot, voted for this bill. My question for Rep. Chabot is simple: What are we supposed to do?
I call on Sens. Rob Portman and Sherrod Brown to vigorously oppose the rollback of coverage in any Senate version of this bill, and to oppose any increase in premiums for the sick or disabled. I call on them to address the problem of prescription drugs head on. This is an issue that is killing our citizens, and we desperately need relief.
Samantha Powell Harrison Columbus