Re: drug comp. aren't all bad

[Guest guest]

Good message, Steph. I shall be eternally grateful for Enbrel, because

it is so good at keeping my pain and inflammation in check. I have

written to my representatives before about this act. I guess it's time

to do so again.

Sue

On Saturday, February 2, 2008, at 10:38 AM, DeNicola-

wrote:

>

> So, don't just complain about the price of the biologics and

> problems with Medicare part D or any other health problem -- do

> something about it. There is a bill in Congress called the Arthritis

> Prevention, Control and Cure Act (S. 626 / H.R. 1283) that the

> Foundation is trying to pass to make arthritis reasearch and meds a

> national priority. Here is a link: http://www.arthritis.org/apcca.php.

[Guest guest]

Steph, I tried clicking the link and it said page not found. Is there another

link or something else I can try? Fortunately I have fairly good ins. now but

in a couple of years my husband will be retiring and I'm not sure what I'll do

then. (I " m on Enbrel) .

DeNicola- <stephdenicola@...> wrote:

Hi everyone,

I know I'll probably get a few negative responses to this, but drug companies

aren't all that bad. I have been on Remicade since 2000. In 2004 I was

unemployed for almost 3 months and Remicade's assistance program paid my entire

costs for 4 treatments. At that time, I was using the local hospital and it

charged $3,000+ for administration of the medication plus the med cost. Remicade

was developed by Centocor, which is now a company of & . In

January 2005 I started a new job, with health insurance, 2 days before my

scheduled treatment, and Centocor still picked up the tab rather than make me

wait for pre-approval from my insurance company & interrupt my schedule. I'll

always be grateful to them because of that.

Regarding, the price of meds (specifically the biologics) there are several

important reasons why the meds cost so much. Like it or not, arthritis is NOT on

the NIH's list of most important diseases -- nor is it on Congress'. Companies,

new and old, get subsidies for developing drugs for AIDS, cancer, heart disease

-- and erectile dysfunction. Arthritis is not a priority for this government

(and not just this administration). For Centocor (and I researched this info

through FOIA) Remicade was their first drug and it was originally approved for

Crohn's disease. They opened shop in a small town in PA without any fed

assistance. Sure, they had investors, but do you realize how expensive it was to

develop the 1st non-pill drug (this includes Enbrel) for diseases the general

public rarely knows/cares about???

We care about arthritis because we know the damage it has caused to our lives --

the dreams it has stolen, the people we used to be, the money we have spent, the

hope when we try a new medication, the despair when that med doesn't, and the

guilt that those of us (myself included) sometimes feel when we achieve

remission through a medication. Why me and not someone who has suffered longer?

I am, selfishly, grateful it is me but I worry about those of you that struggle.

And achieving remission doesn't mean that my RA doesn't permeate every facet of

my life and every piece of my soul.

So, don't just complain about the price of the biologics and problems with

Medicare part D or any other health problem -- do something about it. There is a

bill in Congress called the Arthritis Prevention, Control and Cure Act (S. 626 /

H.R. 1283) that the Foundation is trying to pass to make arthritis reasearch and

meds a national priority. Here is a link: http://www.arthritis.org/apcca.php.

Okay, I'm getting off my soapbox now.

Take care,

Steph in VA

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The 2007 Charlottesville Arthritis Walk was a success!

We raised just over $30,000 for research & programs for people with arthritis!

" Never underestimate the power of a small, dedicated group of people to change

the world -- indeed, it's the only thing that ever has. " (Margaret Mead)

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