Frank Luntz and my prostate

[Klast Brell]

My urine stream has been getting weaker over the last few years. When I had a physical last Friday I told my doctor about it and he checked it out. (I know. Let’s not derail this thread before it starts please) Good news is I do not have cancer. My PSA was a nice low 0.5. The bad news is that my prostate is enlarged. Diagnosis: Benign prostatic hyperplasia. I was prescribed Finasteride. I went down to my pharmacy last night to pick up the prescription, and found out my insurance company would not cover it. I’m 39 years old. They only cover it for men over 45. That will be $190 for the bottle of pills.

A few days ago I came across one of Frank Luntz’s infamous “Words That Work” memos that had been leaked. It covered responses to proposals for Health Care reform.
http://wonkroom.thinkprogress.org/wp-co ... -20091.pdf

Here are a few choice quotes from the memo. They are all suggested language that Republicans can use when talking about the issue.

“As our first priority, we need to preserve what works in America,
protect the sacred doctor-patient relationship, and allow people to
choose the personal care that suits their individual needs.”

“President Obama wants to put the Washington bureaucrats in charge of healthcare. I
want to put the medical professionals in charge, and I want patients as an equal
partner.”

“It would have federal bureaucrats determining healthcare standards
rather than the doctors who are actually providing the care.”

“It will take the power away from patients and doctors to choose what
treatment the patient receives and give it to the politicians in
Washington.”

“We should be very skeptical of government control of healthcare. With
government run healthcare, federal bureaucrats make coverage
decisions. They decide what you get for what you’re charged. They also
decide when you can’t have certain coverage because it’s too expensive
or because you are disqualified based on criteria like age.”

The tactic suggested to republicans is to say that Universal Healthcare will be just like your health insurance right now. And people really do fall for that. Luntz has done the polling and focus groups to fine tune the words for maximum punch.

Does it make that much of a difference if a government bureaucrat, or a corporate bureaucrat decides I’m too young to receive medication for an enlarged prostate?

With universal healthcare I could have the same quality of care my health insurance gives me, and I would never have to worry about losing coverage because I lost my job. I went 10 years without health insurance. If you have ever been without health insurance for an extended period of time you know what that’s like. And every America would have guaranteed access to medical care. Never have to worry about being denied coverage because of a preexisting condition. Never worry about being charged an astronomical rate because of something in my medical history. That sounds like an improvement to me.

[Kulaf]

Here's an idea.....tell your doctor you need a different medication because your insurance will not cover the one he prescribed. A lot of these doctors just push popular drugs......or drugs from reps that take them out to dinner. Hell see if there is a generic.

[Torakus]

Next time do your research before you buy.

There seems to be a goose and gander flapping around in my office, can't be quite sure though.

Tora

[Embar Angylwrath]

Hey Klast, you might look into some dietary additions/deletions that can help curb the minor inflammations that make situation worse sometimes.

[Harlowe]

Here's an idea.....tell your doctor you need a different medication because your insurance will not cover the one he prescribed. A lot of these doctors just push popular drugs......or drugs from reps that take them out to dinner. Hell see if there is a generic.

I think that's the first thing I'd do - though I don't agree a lot of them are pushing popular drugs because the reps gave them a nice dinner. They tend to prescribe newer, better drugs first. Often insurance doesn't cover those or it's quite awhile until they do.

There is almost always something else that can be prescribed that your insurance company will pay for. It might not be the best drug, but typically your condition can be treated with something.

[Select]

I agree with the others. As a college student, the docs here tend to automatically give me the generics and lots and lots of free samples. As an older, married, white guy with a job, they probably assume you can afford it. You need to step up and ask more questions about alternate drugs.

[Sinaiel]

I'd call your insurance company and see if there is something similar that they will cover for someone your age. Specifically dutasteride, if you already have marked prostate enlargement, as like finasteride it will help decrease prostate size. Doxazosin, tamsulosin, and alfuzosin can treat the symptoms of BPH, although they don't decrease prostate size. Doxazosin also has some use as an antihypertensive, so your insurance company may cover it for younger persons. It is also $4 at Wal-mart. I didn't see any of the other drugs I mentioned listed on the $4 list.

If there is something else your insurance company will cover, I'd just call your doctor and see if he will write a prescription for a different medication for you. Most of the doctors I know, if they have already seen you will write and fax a new prescription to the pharmacy without another office visit.

[Sinaiel]

After writing that I realized this is in the politics section and may have been a rant about health care/insurance companies and not a request for health advice. Disregard what I wrote if you have already resolved your prescription situation.

[Kulaf]

Ohh I am sure that is what he wanted it to be.....but he knows as well as we all do that any effort to control medical costs is going to do the exact same thing he is running into right now. The programs will not pay for out of control drug costs and are going to recomend cheaper alternatives. He may not want to face that fact but it's a reality.

[Ddrak]

The problem (as I've said many times) is you need to have real choice between insurance. There does need to be a government system which provides generics and selected name brands for people to have as a baseline, because like it or not it costs the taxpayer a *lot* more to have people with no money/job turn up at emergency rooms than it does to provide them with preventative care. Then there needs to be private insurance on top of that which funds alternatives, and people are free to insure or not insure as they see fit. Employers need to be kept right out of it.

Where you don't want to go is where Canada and the UK have gone, and Australia has sort-of-quarter-of-the-way-there gone when private insurance companies are restricted in what they can pay for and people are forced to go through the public system whether they like it or not.

Even so, a pure public/government system would be no worse than the current US system. It's clouding the issue to compare what you wish health care was (doctors making choices rather than insurance) and what the realities are.

Dd

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[Select]

Wow, Klast, vwxy125 has the answer to all your problems!

[Jarochai Alabaster]

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