Wednesday, June 29, 2016

Physical Therapy Follow Up

So it turns out that the physical therapy session planned for yesterday ended up being cancelled for the usual reason; I'm not wealthy. I have a new insurance plan provided under my employer's benefits package. It looks like they don't cover physical therapy until I reach my $1,500 deductible, and the co-pay is $50. That's too steep for my blood. By this method I would need to pay about $250 out of pocket for each of my first six visits, then $50 each visit after that. Once again I have fallen into the capitalist entrapment of our health care system, which is happening on a grand scale nationwide. This is the same reason I only take one of the four drugs prescribed by my neurologist. They are simply too expensive for an average citizen to afford, and insurance only covers one of my four treatments.
  Long story short, it is apparent to me from experience that most people with chronic health conditions go through daily life without the treatments their doctors order. They must, because if it is how I am going about things, then the same thing is obviously happening on an exponentially larger scale.
  We are living in a country where cures are common and access is nearly impossible. There are medications for everything but it is a totally unregulated market. Just as an example, my Gilenya comes at a hefty $5,500 price tag for a 28 day supply. The Modafinil I was prescribed runs about $450 for a 30 day bottle. Cialis or Viagra about $50 per pill. Ampyrin for gait in those with MS, about $3000 for a one month supply. Rest assured no insurance company will willingly cover any of these treatments. Combine that with the cost of starting physical therapy and clearly we can see that healthcare in America is for the wealthy only; not those on the lower or even mid rungs of the economic ladder.
  I am not speaking as an uninsured impoverished person. I am full-time employed with what is considered ample coverage provided by the company I work for. My point is and has been, that there are some industries of America that should not be for profit, because the profit driven aspect of these industries causes great harm to the integrity and strength of our culture. How can we be strong as a people when only the very rich can afford medicine? How can we be strong as a nation if there is a profit motive to incarcerate our citizenry?  How can we be informed as a nation when there is profit driven news media that only strives for the sensational? I like money. I like having stuff and being entertained. But we can't have a profit driven existence at every level and still expect to reach a quality standard of life. 
  We are starving in a sea of plenty, and it makes no sense. So I have a choice, based on the current for profit healthcare system that is in place. I can go without my treatments and enjoy the unfettered effects of my disease, or I can get involved in a really lucrative profession that pays outrageous amounts of money that can cover the absurd costs of medical attention. The latter sounds like more fun, so I'll try doing that. Because that is the simple truth; that our profit for everything world translates into If you need it badly enough you will find a way to make more money. Earn more money is the only solution Americans have for their health problems. 
  Below is a screen shot of how much I'd pay for my most important medication if purchased out of pocket, just to prove that the cost of medication is not exaggerated, it is hyper-inflated. 



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