Not counting the handfuls of OTC vitamins and probiotics I gulp down each morning to keep things with my body on the right track, I take eleven prescribed drugs. Recently, I had an infusion of something called Reclast to keep my osteopenia in check, hoping the condition doesn’t advance to become osteoporosis. Reclast, which must mean that the clast didn’t work and has to be tried again, is a once-a-year drug therapy whose main side effect is that your jaw may grow to resemble Jay Leno’s. (If your insurance won’t cover such therapy there’s a side effect called bankruptcy. The annual cost of the therapy is upwards of $12,000.)
Some of my meds are to keep my mood elevated, my heartburn to allow my consumption of andouille sausage, my hypertension lessened, and my blood pressure lowered. The mood thing is secondary to the meds I take for the much harsher bipolar disorder. That last symptom has been corrected to the point of my blood pressure actually getting worse, on the low end of the spectrum. A recent two-hour stint in the emergency room was time enough to get my blood pressure up with an IV of saline. (Life is a balancing act.)
To manage my anxiety, the docs all suggest that I not watch the Democratic National Convention tomorrow. One suggested I watch re-runs of “M*A*S*H” and “The Golden Girls” to replace the non-stop parade of ex-presidents and future wannabes there to remind the convention attendees that they are Democrats. I wished to attend the convention as a way to commemorate the 56 years that have passed since I got lightly Billy Clubbed on Michigan Avenue by a policeman in full riot gear.
While there will be protesters demonstrating against America’s policies in Israel and every other country on the globe, those protests will be usurped by the high drama that will be on display as Trump trumps the Dems in prime time by announcing that J.D. Vance will be replaced on the Republican ticket by Sarah Palin.
President Biden is expected to spontaneously best Jack Palance’s Oscar performance of push-ups. That might be all the inspiration it takes to put him back on the ballot.
But back to drugs.
Despite their scope, none of my drugs made the Top 10 list that President Biden oversaw as he harangued Big Pharm to lower their prices. If I had diabetes or was a candidate for heart failure or blood clots, I’d be saving bundles by taking drugs that I still couldn’t afford.
Actually, the prices of the new drug act are the prices Medicare will pay provided you have Medicare Part D. Even then, Medicare can deny coverage based on criteria we will never know but which might seem to be a whim.
To put it simply, if you are not fully insured and/or not a billionaire, you’re looking at treatment you’ll probably not be able to afford. If you’re unfortunate enough to suffer from blood cancer you’re looking at drug therapy that will cost upwards of $9,340 per month, a 38% drop from nearly $15,000 per month.
The government says it will save roughly $6 billion off the Medicare prices paid this year for the same medications. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) estimates that 8.8 million of the 54 million Americans with Medicare Part D were using the 10 medications in 2023.
There is some mystery to the math employed by whatever government agency it was that negotiated the price changes. It’s been reported that there are ten drugs on the list. Actually there are only nine drugs and two insulins on the list, unless you count Fiasp and NovoLog as interchangeable and lump it into the drug list. Either way, there seems to be some math challenges.
Three of the drugs—Januvia, Farxiga, and Jardience—are to treat diabetes, a disease that affects almost 35 million Americans (10.5% of the population). I have no idea of the efficacy of these drugs, but Jardience has television commercials that are like musicals in miniature. Song and dance make it seem like some diabetics are really having serious fun with their medicinal regimen.
Few drugs seem to do more than address one or two ailments. Enbrel (arthritis, psoriasis), Stelara (Crohn’s disease, colitis), Xarelto (artery disease) and Eliquis (blood clots) are second-tier drugs. The heavy stuff is Entresto (heart failure) and Imbruvica (the aforementioned blood cancer).
The sicker you are, the more money is spent by Medicare, private insurance or, God forbid, your own savings. The ideal, of course, would be to rid America of insurance companies and offer free medical coverage with no exception to our citizen population.
There are those who believe that universal healthcare is a prime example of socialism. Those same people don’t seem to mind having clean water, paved highways and public schools.
Photography by Courtney A. Liska
Chicken Cacciatora
This is a family favorite for slightly spicy and bright flavors of red bell peppers and celery. Adding some carrots or green beans would be fine, as would green bell peppers. I like to serve this with linguine or spaghetti.
Olive oil
8 chicken pieces
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 onion, coarsely chopped
4 celery stalks, cut into 2” lengths
2 red bell peppers, seeded and cut into 1” strips
28 oz. can dice tomatoes
1 tsp. red pepper flakes
G lass white wine
Chicken stock to cover
Brown chicken pieces; remove and drain much of the oil. Sauté garlic, onions, celery and peppers. Add wine, red pepper flakes and tomatoes; cook for a few minutes. Add stock. Transfer to baking pan and add chicken. Bake at 400° for 35-40 minutes.