I’ve been debating on whether to blog about this for almost a month. I have no idea how many people actually read what I put up here, but if you do I am about to ask you to do something. It’s not going to require money, just a little bit of your time.

Last month Blue Cross Blue Sheild of Tennessee decided to stop paying for Procrit shots for cancer patients. This month Medicare decided to follow suit.

For those of you who havent been affected by cancer, Procrit is a shot the doctors will give if your red blood count is low. It stimulates the body to produce more red cells. Blod counts are extremely important to people who are having chemo. IF your counts are too low, you don’t get chemo. If you don’t get chemo, your “schedule” is messed up. It is extremely important that a cancer patient get their tratments on a timely basis and on a regular basis.

Apparetly the reason behind this decision is ………………………. (guesses anyone?)………..

a lawsuit. Seems someone took one of the shots and had a side effect. So because of the “potential” liability some one decided paying for these shots was not a good idea.

There have been numerous studies on Procrit and it is the standard of care, but apparently the risk of a lawsuit outweighs all that.

So what I would like for you to do if you live in the US is to call your congressman and your representative and let them know this is not acceptable. IF you don’t feel comfortable calling, write or email. If you happen to know a congressman, tell him/her to their face.

I would get on my soap box about stupid people who seem to think they are entitled to something for nothing, lawsuits that hurt more people than they help and all of the rest of the evils of insurance companies, but that’s not really going to solve anything.

And just FYI, my insurance hasn’t been affected, yet. I have a feeling that’s going to change come the first of the year. Nothing like the bottom line.

Thanks for anything you can/will/would do to help.