The Will Power Report - THE ENEMY OF THE GOOD

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Nothing but the Truth!

By Will Power

Will Power LogoDecember
4, 2008 (San Diego) —
The profitable is the enemy of the good. Nowhere
is this more true than in U.S. health care.  I’ve spent the last
two days on the phone with my Senators, Congressmen, the NIH and the FDA. I'm
rattling some cages!

I’m trying to find out what it will take to get the FDA to overturn
its decision to phase out affordable CFC asthma inhalers in favor of overpriced
non-cfc inhalers that don’t work.

My lungs seized up last night. I virtually could not breathe. My refills (mail
order prescriptions) will not arrive for 10 days or so.  My pharmacy informed
me the price for my asthma pills has jumped from $38 to $75.

Also, the new 7 gram asthma inhaler is supposed to be a 90 day supply! I don't
know what planet they are living on but they are not breathing  the same
smoke and smog I am forced to breathe! The rationale was that my insurance
company wants to force patients to use a computerized a mail-order system which
is a fancy way to ration health care. When you run out of medication you can
blame the damned computer- which, by the way, does not care if you live or
die! When I run out I can get a refill in about three to five days - if I'm
still alive!

Today I spent over an hour talking with a clerk on the phone. It seems when
I balked at paying $75 for my RX, the computer listed the RX as “filled”.
So the computer would not forward my medicine for another month.

Breathing is not an optional activity.  I researched the Montreal Agreement
which was used as the rationale for stopping the sale of CFC asthma inhalers.
It turns out there are waivers which nations like Australia, Poland, and other
nations have applied for and gotten for their asthma patients. But the US military
gets a waiver for rocket fuel by the hundreds of tons.

The decision to phase out CFC inhalers was an effort by Big Pharma to increase
profits. Asthma inhalers are so miniscule in their effects on global warming
that the whole program is laughable.  I estimate three to five thousand
US citizens will die in the next year from complications of asthma because
they will not have their rescue inhalers. I just hope I am not one of
them.  But the new inhalers cost $32 for seven grams, and the old ones
cost $19 for 17 grams. Go figure.  We need an Executive Order overturning
this stupid and greedy Federal Rule.

Obama, are you listening?

Will Power is a retired teacher who holds a masters degree in
creative writing.


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