Call me naive, or whatever, but I was totally shocked today...

[mohinoaklawnillinois]

I was doing some phone banking from home today for John P. Sullivan. He's one of three Dems running in the primary on Tuesday for the 3rd Illinois CD.

A little background on the other two: the incumbent, Dan Lipinski, won the seat in 2004 when his father, William O. Lipinski ran unopposed in the Dem primary in March and then suddenly decided to retire in August 2004. After his retirement announcement, "Bungalow" Bill persuaded the Cook County Dems to run his son, Dan, in his place. Since the Pukes put up a "non-candidate", Danny Boy won the seat in a complete rout..

The other Dem candidate is John T. Kelly. I know this guy personally and believe me he is a total asshat. He's no more qualified to run for a Congressional seat, than I am... Anyway the rumor around here is that Kelly was put up by either the Cook County Regular Dems or even possibly the Pukes to divide the vote for Sullivan. There are many people here in the 3rd that are really PO'd about how Danny Boy just inherited his father's seat and the fact that he is a total DINO.

But I digress. While I was doing my phone banking this afternoon I talked to a very nice elderly lady in the district that had been looking after her brother, who is completely disabled for many, many years. Her brother suffers from epilepsy and needs phenobarbital to control his seizures. His doctor has tried other seizure medicines over the years, but none of these have worked as well.

She told me that when she went to pick up his prescriptions this month, she was told at the local pharmacy that his phenobarbital was no longer covered under this new Medicare Drug Plan. Apparently the State of Illinois dropped him from Medicaid and put him on Medicare and the plan the State choose for her brother doesn't cover phenobarbital.

I am familiar with phenobarbital. My late father used to take it because when he was diagnosed with metasized melanoma in his brain, he began to have seizures, as well, once you began to take it and your body get used to it, you have to be weaned off it very carefully, or else the seizures begin again.

Mrs. G, as I'll call her, wasn't bitching about the price of the drug, she admitted to me that her and husband could afford it, but what bugged her about this was the principle of the whole thing. Who decided that phenobarbital couldn't be covered after years of it being covered when her brother was still using Illinois Medicaid..

Correct me if I'm wrong here, but this drug has been in use as a seizure medication for years. I mean come on, are the drug companies that obsessed with profits that they would choose a drug that has been tried and true for years and just arbitrarily decide, well we won't cover that anymore..

This man needs this medication and he will still get it, but what about the thousands of people that need this and can't afford it??

I was and still am absolutely appalled by this.. At least Mrs. G and her husband have woken up to the shell game that the Pukes have played on this country for the past 6 years, but how many more "Merikuns" will?

One good thing though, Mrs. G told me that both her and her hubby will vote for John P. Sullivan on Tuesday..

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

1. I Took Phenobarbitol As A Child For Years For My Seizure Disorder.

It tastes worse than anything I've ever had since, but it worked.

How this isn't a covered medication is beyond me.

[bluerum]

2. Yes - this drug has been around since at least the 50's. My brother

took it for seizures.

Chalk another one up to the prescription drug program.

This should be a dem talking point in every '06 congressional election.

[Warpy]

3. This is what happens when medically ignorant politicians do

ANYTHING regarding medical law and state insurance coverage! The witless assholes probably remembered it was used as a sleeping pill in the 50s and gave them a terrible hangover. They're too fucking dumb to ask a medical professional what it's used for NOW.

May they all rot in hell.

[MichiganVote]

4. This happens with kids on Medicaid for various meds all the time now

[redphish]

5. Phenobarbital!!!!!

The goverment shouldn't be in the business of supporting some pillhead's habit, should they. RW reasoning at it's finest.

[acmavm]

6. I think that people are going to find that more and more and more

drugs will mysteriously drop off the 'covered' list. Drugs that have been covered for years. This is just another way that the bush** administration if 'saving' money. Those poor rich corporations and the top 2 or 3% need another injection of cash. And we have a war, no two wars, and soon a third to pay for.

The bush** admin will quit paying for meds and commodities for the poor and aged. Who needs 'em? We gotta keep paying Halliburton for work they didn't do, goods they never provided. It's all a matter of priorities. Republican priorities.

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

7. Phenobarb has probably been "off patent" for decades, meaning it's

sold strictly as a generic and no big pharm company is making profits off of it.

The reason it went off coverage is probably to push people towards buying other, newer, drugs that are still "ON" patent and generating profit for the big pharm companies, since they are getting hit up with a charge for the old drug now.

[Avalux]

14. Yes - you're correct.

The new Medicare plan is designed to give pharma cos. huge profits; a little favor from Bushco - yet another example of corporations trumping individuals. So the new drugs, the expensive drugs under patent are the ones covered.

[EFerrari]

8. This is a war of attrition against vulnerable people -- who will keep

losing with very serious consequences until we have new leadeship.

People will die.

[hwmnbn]

11. I'll keep repeating this because I'm convinced ......

the conservative repug movement is implementing genocide by economics. They know full well what the consequences of their actions are: the annihilation of the weakest among us. They know exactly what they are doing.

There is no overt crime, the cuts in social services means death by neglect. This is premeditated and is being efficiently administered by their legislation.

[melody]

16. Straight out of Dickens

``I wish to be left alone,'' said Scrooge. ``Since you ask me what I wish, gentlemen, that is my answer. I don't make merry myself at Christmas and I can't afford to make idle people merry. I help to support the establishments I have mentioned: they cost enough: and those who are badly off must go there.''

``Many can't go there; and many would rather die.''

``If they would rather die,'' said Scrooge, ``they had better do it, and decrease the surplus population. Besides -- excuse me -- I don't know that.''

``But you might know it,'' observed the gentleman.

``It's not my business,'' Scrooge returned. ``It's enough for a man to understand his own business, and not to interfere with other people's. Mine occupies me constantly. Good afternoon, gentlemen!''


Scrooge was the first neocon.

[area51]

17. "the conservative repug movement is implementing genocide by economics."

Agree 100%. The republinazi party is sociopathic.

[EFerrari]

20. Yes. I believe you are right and the evidence is all around us.

Katrina comes to mind. But also the daily failures of the health system, the resistance of that system to fullfill their mission.

I had a pretty dramatic run in with mental health services in Los Angeles. They don't actually deliver mental health services. They only reason they made an effort to attend to my family member is because I was writing a book.

We should ALL write a book. :(

[acmejack]

21. I am forced to agree with your conclusion

Eugenics was an interest of Grandfather Prescott *, apparently he passed along his thoughts to his progeny.

[kestrel91316]

9. The patent on pheno expired decades ago, and it is of course

no longer a highly profitable thing. It's a very cheap drug. I am sure the plans are covering only drugs still under patent which are highly profitable for the drug companies (who WROTE the plans).

[mohinoaklawnillinois]

12. I know that the drug companies wrote the plan and I pointed

that fact out to "Mrs. G" this afternoon.

She was aware of this, but she just couldn't get her head around the fact that a drug her brother had been taking for years and obviously works well for him, was no longer covered.

I told her to contact her brother's doctor and have him write a letter stating that her brother needs this and then forward the letter onto Medicare. She said that is exactly what some Medicare worker told her to do.

I also suggested to her that if she did go that route and received nothing from Medicare, to go to "Danny Boy's" office in the neighborhood and make a stink.

After all, even if he loses on Tuesday, we're still stuck with him until January and IMO this grievance with Medicare is exactly why "we" pay his salary...

[FormerRepublican]

10. I took phenobarbital for epilepsy when I was a kid, which was (mumble,

mumble) years ago. This is sick for so MANY reasons. One of which is that epilepsy can be hard to control in some people. Mine isn't touched by anything I take, so they took me off meds completely. For someone else, pheno might be the ONLY med that stops their seizures. Switching to a new drug would only make their illness worse, which in the case of epilepsy can be pretty dang bad. Epilepsy sucks big time when it's not under control, and it can pretty much debilitate you.

So basically what the government is saying is that they don't give a flying freak if you're harmed by their freaking new rules...

They don't care about us. But we knew that already.

[mohinoaklawnillinois]

13. That is exactly what Mrs. G told me about her brother.

Pheno is the only med that stops his seizures. His doctors, over the years, have tried other meds, but they don't work....

[melody]

15. My neighbor can't now get psychiatric medicine she's taken for years

She's been on heavy duty bipolar medication for ten years. During the recent medical plan shuffling, somehow her meds
are no longer covered. She can't pay for them herself. She was forced to go cold turkey off psych meds for a week and
three days before her friends could round up the money to pay for them.

People are suffering and dying in their own little individual corners. We'll never know about most of them.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

18. Sadly, I think you will see more of this as time goes on

One has to realize that the Medicare bill was never supposed to help individuals get their prescriptions cheaper. It was meant solely to enrich the drug and insurance companies. It will only be changed if the insurance companies decide to stop paying for any drugs, thereby making the drug companies mad.

[Justice Is Comin]

19. Oak Lawn---what a great city.

I used to live at the Castle Acres motel in the bridal suite. Are you old enough to remember that on 95th St?

[OneBlueSky]

22. under Medicare Part D, providers can do whatever the hell they want . . .

regarding which drugs they will cover and which drugs they won't . . . after you sign up for a plan that you THINK covers your medications, your provider can simply drop any (or all) of your drugs simply by giving you two months notice . . . you, however, are obligated to remain on the plan for at least 12 months . . .

there are no guidelines, regulations, rules, or penalties for the providers -- they can do whatever they want for whatever reason they want, and you can't do a damned thing about it . . . how's that for a fair system? . . .

[Sgent]

23. This doesn't just affect phenobarbital

All Benzodiazepines are not covered under the bill. Stupid R anit-drug crap.

List of benzo's from Wikipedia.

* Triazolam (Halcion®) - 2 hours
* Midazolam (Versed®, Hypnovel®) - 3 hours (1.8-6 hours)
* Oxazepam (Serax®) - 4-15 hours
* Chlordiazepoxide (Librium®) - 5-25 hours
* Alprazolam (Xanax®) - 6-12 hours
* Temazepam (Restoril®) 8-20 hours
* Lorazepam (Ativan®) 10-20 hours
* Loprazolam (Dormonoct®) 10-20 hours
* Bromazepam (Lexotan®) 10-20 hours
* Estazolam (ProSom®) 10-24 hours
* Clobazam (Frisium®) 18 hours
* Flunitrazepam (Rohypnol®) 18-26 hours. Withdrawn from the market in some countries; considered a "date-rape drug"
* Clonazepam (Klonopin®, Rivotril®) 18-50 hours
* Nitrazepam (Mogadon®) 20-40 hours
* Quazepam (Doral®) 25-100 hours
* Clorazepate (Tranxene®) 36-100 hours
* Medazepam (Nobrium®) 36-150 hours
* Nordazepam (Madar®, Stilny®) 50-120 hours
* Prazepam (Centrax®) 36-200 hours
* Diazepam (Valium®) 36-200 hours
* Flurazepam (Dalmane®) 40-250 hours

[radfringe]

24. have heard/read some stories about a "switcheroo" too

people had signed onto a particular plan because it covered all or the majority of their meds

soon after - that plan dropped some of the meds from their "approved list" - which means these folks can't get their meds

the obvious solution would be to switch plans - however the way the program is written THEY CAN'T switch plans for a year - but the insurance company is allowed to change the particulars of the plan at any time

[rman]

25. "obsessed with profits" - in a word: yes.

It's why they populate the regulatory boards and why they lobby the law makers.