5 replies to this topic

[WoofWoof]

I, along with others and members of the LLS, spent the day today in Harrisburg talking to state officials to encourage them to co-support a chemo parity bill. HB 623 would provide for oral chemo drugs to be treated the same as injected. Obviously this would mean that Gleevec, Tasigna, Sprycel and others would then be paid for through major medical & not prescription plans. Fourteen states have already enacted legistation, New York did it just this within the past week.

Please contact your state officials & urge them to either draft or support a bill to provide chemo parity. If you live in Pennsylvania, it is HB 623. It was interesting that 3 of the four my team saw today did agree to support this bill, the fourth was on the fence but most interested in how the insurance companies would be affected.

[Happycat]

I had not heard of this movement before, but seeing recent comments on copays shooting sky high, I can definitely see the need!  I'll have to check and see what MA is doing in this area.

Traci

[soundoff]

Hi WoofWoof,

Who would I be contacting? I'm in CA

Who is helping you in PA?

You can private message me if you want.

Thanks,

Soundoff

[HeatherZ]

Thansk for your efforts WoofWoof.  I live in PA so I would directly be affected by this going through in PA.  Thanks again!

[lehrerin]

The companies would try to get out of it since Gleevec, Sprycel and Tasigna are not "oral Chemo" but rather targeted therapies......so how would that work?   Change the wording of the bill?   Are these drugs actually covered as "oral chemo" in the states that have passed this bill?  Anyone know?

[WoofWoof]

soundoff: I contacted my local LLS chapter several months ago & they put it on the adenda for their next Mission Day at the state capitol. I also contacted both my local & federal elected officals to tell them my concerns. On a federal level, the National CML society went to D.C. last week to present it. You can contact the Natioal CML Society @: http://www.nationalcmlsociety.org/

lehrein: Yes, the insurance companies will balk & try anything to stop this that's why we all should make our voices heard. The PA proposed bill can be read at: http://www.scribd.co...ia-MyGov365-com

The irony of the whole thing is that as of today I no longer have private insurance but must go off my past employers COBRA plan and start medicare. This is presenting an entirely new set of challenges. Only a federal bill could put chemo parity into Medicare. I just hope my work at the state level will help others.