ALERT : Bureacrats in Washington Putting Transplant Recipients in Danger

Earlier today, I ran across an alert about a proposed change in Medicare's prescription drug coverage that has the potential to affect thousands of Americans and put their very lives at risk. I want to thank my fellow heart transplant recipient and blogging colleague My2ndHeartbeat for bringing it to my attention.

Heartbeat's article titled "Anti-Rejection Medication Issue" shares a member alert from Transplant Recipients International Organization (TRIO). It details a proposal by CMS-Medicare that if approved would remove immunosuppressants, anti-seizure medications, cancer drugs, and others from the list of "Six Protected Classes" of medications.

Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (Medicaid administrator) logo (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

If you are a transplant recipient, you MUST have immunosuppressants to live. Otherwise, your body will reject your new organ and you WILL DIE. These medications are also very expensive. Therefore, if you are a transplant recipient on Medicare, and these medications are not required to be covered under Part D anymore, then your plan will likely NOT cover them. If they are not covered, then it is also likely that you will not be able to afford them.  Furthermore, if Medicare doesn't require them to be covered, then it is possible that private insurers might stop covering them, too. So, the potential harmful effects of this change is NOT limited to Medicare beneficiaries.

Therefore, we MUST all take action, because the proposal will affect more than just transplant recipients. For example, if you are a cancer patient, you could be affected, too. If you or a loved one on Medicare take anti-depressants, you could also be affected. So, please click here to read the entire alert from TRIO, and follow the prompts within in to contact the bureaucrats in charge of making the decision on this dangerous, life-threatening proposal. I contacted them earlier today.

Please also help me and my friend, Heartbeat, spread the word. Post our posts to your Facebook page and to your blog, if you have one. If this proposal becomes reality, it WILL result in the deaths of transplant recipients and others.

The proposal is wolf-like at best, so it appears that after a long layoff, The Sheepdog picked a good time to get back to work. These wolves, and all others, must be stopped. Lives are at stake.