My Trip to the Pharmacy II - Critique my LTTE

[Dirty Hippie]

Several DUers is a previous post suggested I write a LTTE.

Here is the previous post:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x73921

Please Critique


I imagine my surprise when I went to my local pharmacy to pick up my son’s prescriptions and I was informed that his Medicaid coverage no longer covers insulin syringes or glucose testing strips (he is not currently eligible for Medicare). I suppose it is ok in a Republican world for diabetics to eat their insulin and suffer the complications of diabetes that are a certainty if this disease is not well managed.

I fail to see the logic here. How can anyone believe we will be limiting the growth of entitlement programs if we deny supplies that prevent expensive hospitalizations? I suppose we need to balance the budget on the backs of the severely disabled in this state. Heaven forbid we consider options that might require the pharmaceutical companies to sacrifice.

[William769]

1. What State are you in?Our Medicaid in Florida covers syringes

for Nupegen shots.

On edit: I see you are in Florida. I don't know what to say. :shrug:

[Dirty Hippie]

3. I'm in Florida n/t

They covered his test strips and syringes but the pharmacist said coverage changed on Jan 1.

[SillyGoose]

2. I would include the cost of the strips in there. Some readers may

not realize how expensive they are. Great letter!

[MountainLaurel]

5. Good idea

You might also note how often a diabetic usually has to test, to make sure everything is where it should be.

[ObSeeKweeUs]

7. Also, too...

I can't BELIEVE they would be so unmindful of the benefits of preventive medicine in treating diabetes. I have it--and there's not one damned thing I could go to the hospital for involving it that wouldn't be gazillion times more expensive than daily test strips and injections.

Anything else is negligent stupidity.

[salin]

4. because, sadly, folks respond more when they see a personal

impact rather than on behalf of others in need (post Reagan era hangover) - on the question of more expensive hospitalizations - I would ask who pays? Tax payers (via medicaid), others who use the same hospitals (higher fees b/c of the difference the hospital has to pay for under reembursement by medicaid), increased insurance premiums (due to higher hosptial fees). Then loop it back to the issue of preventative care as a cost-saver.

[Warren Stupidity]

6. I would explicitly tie the cuts in medicaid to the tax cuts for the rich

Assume your audience doesn't know about this and make it explicit. Here is some background on the 12/21/2005 vote that cut healthcare for the poor so that the wealthiest people in this country can keep more of theirs.

http://www.webmd.com/content/article/116/112256?src=RSS_PUBLIC
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/05356/626348.stm
http://www.ombwatch.org/article/articleview/3159/1/402

[Dirty Hippie]

9. Thank for the links - How about this?

My LTTE v2.0

Imagine my surprise when I went to my local pharmacy to pick up my son’s prescriptions and was informed that his Medicaid coverage no longer covers his insulin syringes or glucose testing strips supplies which cost well over 100.00 per month. (He is disabled but not currently eligible for Medicare Drug coverage.)

I suppose it is ok in a Republican world for diabetics to forgo their insulin and suffer the inevitable complications of if the disease is not well managed by blood sugar testing.

I fail to see the logic here. How can anyone believe we will be limiting the growth of entitlement programs if we deny supplies that prevent expensive hospitalizations? I suppose we need to balance the budget on the backs of the severely disabled in this state. Heaven forbid we consider options that might require the pharmaceutical companies to dip into their huge profits.

By the way, the Urban Institute-Brookings Institution Tax Policy Center (TPC) reports that households with incomes of over $1 million are receiving tax cuts this year that total on average $103,000 a year. The total cost for these tax cuts for this year alone is $225 billion.

Meanwhile, Congress passed a spending bill last year that included $39.1 billion in cuts to Medicare, Medicaid and other spending

Kanye West said, “George Bush doesn’t care about Black people.” Well he doesn’t care about the disabled either.

[SillyGoose]

14. Bravo!!! Great letter - its perfect!

:woohoo:

[soothsayer]

8. A couple of tweaks you can consider:

think about changing "eat their insulin" to "forgo their insulin" or something like "have to decide which they can afford this month: food, shelter, or insulin"

Also, "sacrifice" actually creates some notion that it would it some way hurt big pharma, so maybe instead say "Heaven forbid we consider options that might require the pharmaceutical companies to dip into their huge profits"---makes them look more like the greedy bastards they are.

[Dirty Hippie]

10. Excellent suggestions.

I'll incorporate them into my revision.

[Ilsa]

13. Yeah, some people might think that a diabetic can benefit from

eating their insulin. They may not understand that it is destroyed in the gut and useless and that is why it is injected.

[BlueEyedSon]

11. Great letter, use the other advice plus:

frame the situation in the first sentence: "my diabetic son's prescriptions"

you can probably drop redundant word "coverage" for flow: "his Medicaid no longer covers..."

[TahitiNut]

12. "... after all, taxes on corporate profits are at record lows. "

".... Get 'em while the getting's good."

[Dirty Hippie]

15. Final Version that I submitted to my local paper

Imagine my surprise when I went to my local pharmacy to pick up my son’s prescriptions and was informed that his Medicaid coverage no longer covers his insulin syringes or glucose test strips, supplies which cost over 100.00 per month. Like many others, he is disabled but not currently eligible for Medicare drug coverage.

I suppose it is ok in a Republican world for diabetics to forgo their insulin and suffer the inevitable complications of unmanaged diabetes.

I fail to see the logic here. How can anyone believe we will be limiting the growth of entitlement programs if we deny supplies that prevent expensive hospitalizations? I suppose we need to balance the budget on the backs of the severely disabled. Heaven forbid we consider options that might require the pharmaceutical companies to dip into their huge profits.

By the way, households with incomes of over $1 million are receiving tax cuts that total on average $103,000 a year. The total cost for these tax cuts is $225 billion for this year alone.

Meanwhile, the spending bill our “compassionately conservative” Congress passed last year included $39.1 billion in cuts to Medicare, Medicaid and other spending

Kanye West said, “George Bush doesn’t care about Black people.” Well he doesn’t care about the disabled either.


Thanks everyone. Let's see if they print it.

[Warren Stupidity]

16. Great letter!

And this thread is also a great example of what DU is good for.

By the way if your local paper won't print it, don't hesitate to try other regional or national papers. You never know.

[txindy]

17. Nicely done.

:applause: I hope they print it. Let us know either way.