Part Thirteen - PIRATES

I have already communicated the good news I received on Friday to many of you. Four weeks ago, I had received more daunting news when scans displayed “enhancements” which my doctors could not be sure meant cancer growth or not. Another MRI was ordered for four weeks hence, at which point a determination would be made about whether the scans were showing real cancer progression or “pseudo-progression.” The fateful day came last Friday when I met with my doctor to receive the verdict. Frankly, given the way things have been going, I was expecting the worst. But my doctor doesn’t possess the best poker face, so his chipper mood tipped me off that good news was in the offing. Sure enough, as he showed me the scans (which always look like incomprehensible blobs to me) he explained that they showed no progression since the last scans.

HUZZAH! Great news and a tremendous relief. I will continue to use the chemo drug Temodar for the foreseeable future . . . which leads into my next bit of not-so-happy news. 

I have never seen a bill for this Temodar. The UNM Cancer Center led me to believe it was their mastery of charitable foundations that spared me this expense. The truth is that last year, I had already blown through all my deductibles and out-of-pocket limits by the time Big Pharma sunk their bloody fangs into my throat. Even expecting the worst, nothing could prepare me for the shock that awaited me when I saw the actual bill. My bill for a five-day supply of my allegedly life-saving drug came close to $2300, or a bit over $150 a pill.

The only “good” news in this shameful scenario is that this blows through my deductible for 2014, so Blue Cross foots the bill from here on. But this doesn’t come anywhere close to excusing this bald, unabashed piracy. There is no possible justification for it anywhere on Earth, and certainly not in a place that loves to lay claim to “the best health care system on the planet.” The U.S. health care system is rotten to the core, a crime syndicate of Big Pharma, hospitals, and insurance companies, far more damaging to the health and welfare of this country than any international drug cartel. One need only observe the muscle and zillions expended to quash any attempts to break this racket or make health care even slightly more affordable or available to a few more people. The U.S. health care system is something about which all Americans should feel ashamed.