Dec
20
HACKENSACK, N.J. — When Ruth Williams’ health plan stopped paying this past summer for the daily medication that slows her multiple sclerosis, she couldn’t afford its $1,000-a-month price tag.
It was a choice between electricity or medicine. The power company won.
Williams, 43, soon noticed her symptoms worsening. The tingling and numbness that had been confined to her fingertips after four years with multiple sclerosis climbed to her elbows. “I used to type away and then I realized I was making more mistakes than actual words,” she said.
It was the same with her feet: first, she had frozen toes, then the bottoms of her feet tightened and soon her lower legs were stiff.
“I knew I was putting myself in a position where it would be harder to do what I have to do for my family,” said Williams, who has a 10-year-old son. “I need my hands and feet. But what money I did have just went to pay the bills.”
This year’s economic woes have forced a terrible trade-off between short-term savings and long-term consequences for some people with chronic diseases. Medications are often their first cost-cutting target when it comes to medical care, because many pay a large share of their costs out-of-pocket. Some lack any coverage for drugs at all.
read the rest: The Wenatchee World Online – Hard times force difficult trade-off for chronically ill.
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