Coming changes in healthcare in the US?

[Guest guest]

Probably the area of greatest interest/concern to CLL patients in the

United States is the issue of health care. Sweeping changes have

apparently been in development, ranging from changes in insurance to

full-blown government-paid health care.

I suspect that the latter will be proposed.

I urge all of you who are tempted by the siren song of 'free' health

care study the CLL drugs that are available in Canada, the UK, and

other countries. My concern is that it will make drugs that are now

available, just not available. Rituximab, for example, isn't paid for

by some countries for CLL, because it's too expensive.

My biggest problem with socialized medicine is that with the

government paying for it, suddenly health care will have to compete

with defense, schools, welfare, highway construction etc. for the

federal dollar.

If drugs that are currently available and covered by some insurance is

taken away, CLL patients will die for lack of access to these drugs.

My solution is that we steer people away from emergency rooms, open

urgent care clinics that accept cash and Medicade.

Remember, we don't have a health care problem. We have an health

insurance problem.