Theo is now a year old. I've been doing the work I do for 9 years as of today.
A year has pasted since last writing.
Theo attended his first mass protest rally. Then his second. Then his third. Many people have been taking a lot of walks in Wisconsin to demand continued collective bargaining rights.
Wisconsin Republican State Senator Dale Schultz deserves much credit for not just following party instructions. Thank you Senator Schultz for standing up for the right to collectively bargaining. Thank you for appreciating history. Thank you for doing the right thing.
Thank you for recognizing the thousands of people in Senate District 17 that contacted you and spoke to you advocating for continued collective bargaining rights.
The incompetence and arrogance of Governor Walker's people is remarkable. Their attack on collective bargaining is being thwarted.
I am hopeful this will also lead to the continuation of BadgerCare, Senior Care and Wisconsin Family Care. These well run programs that make people's lives better than they could be caused individually are examples of good government.
The Wisconsinites of the 17th demonstrated how people can take action together to positively affect their lives.
In a year from now, after all our walking, hopefully we will have a Wisconsin Governor that wants a good government that helps people have a chance.
As much as I wanted to write about Bayer Pharmaceutical's problems with sterilization alcohol pads, that will have to wait.
Friday, April 1, 2011
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
$3,061.75 per month, Expired Patent, No Competition
$3,061.75 per month, Expired Patent, No Competition
As I said before, if the German company Bayer Pharmaceutical could determine another way to extract more money from me and the large employer group health insurance plan that my employer provides me, I was confident they would. They recently increased the price of my medicine again. I can think of no other technology product whose price doesn't decline over time, especially when there is no improvement in it's effectiveness, if only due to economies of scale and process improvements that reduce costs..
I remember when my same medicine cost only $960.00 per month. I was reminded recently when I found a mix disc I made to possibly commence the rest of my life using this medicine -- the one with uncertain effectiveness, uncertain safety, possible unpleasant side effects and if nothing else, the sensation of a self administered bee sting every other day -- I found it in my wife's car's cd player. It was the only cd the car could play, all others just skipped, including brand new discs out of the wrapper.
If our political system needed another exhibit describing its current state of being broken, here it is -- my medicine now costs, $3,061.75 per month while never getting more effective. Big Business is buying the government we get. The medicine's patent expired during 2007. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) doesn't even have a process for approving a generic version of my medicine. Congress never created this needed approval process for medicines like the one I use. Without FDA approval no medicine can be sold in the United States including a generic version of my medicine. Pretty cool huh, if you are the CEO of Bayer Pharmaceutical.
Bayer Pharmaceutical didn't even invent the drug. It was developed at universities around the world, including in the United States.
It's been too long since writing here. Since my last post,
SONG, ARTIST, ALBUM
As I said before, if the German company Bayer Pharmaceutical could determine another way to extract more money from me and the large employer group health insurance plan that my employer provides me, I was confident they would. They recently increased the price of my medicine again. I can think of no other technology product whose price doesn't decline over time, especially when there is no improvement in it's effectiveness, if only due to economies of scale and process improvements that reduce costs..
I remember when my same medicine cost only $960.00 per month. I was reminded recently when I found a mix disc I made to possibly commence the rest of my life using this medicine -- the one with uncertain effectiveness, uncertain safety, possible unpleasant side effects and if nothing else, the sensation of a self administered bee sting every other day -- I found it in my wife's car's cd player. It was the only cd the car could play, all others just skipped, including brand new discs out of the wrapper.
If our political system needed another exhibit describing its current state of being broken, here it is -- my medicine now costs, $3,061.75 per month while never getting more effective. Big Business is buying the government we get. The medicine's patent expired during 2007. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) doesn't even have a process for approving a generic version of my medicine. Congress never created this needed approval process for medicines like the one I use. Without FDA approval no medicine can be sold in the United States including a generic version of my medicine. Pretty cool huh, if you are the CEO of Bayer Pharmaceutical.
Bayer Pharmaceutical didn't even invent the drug. It was developed at universities around the world, including in the United States.
It's been too long since writing here. Since my last post,
- My wife carried a baby to term -- she amazed me and she is well, thankfully.
- Our healthy son was born.
- Our son added more than 8lbs in the past 12 weeks, he was 7lbs at birth.
- President Obama signed health insurance reform legislation into law.
- My fantastic sister and her cool long-time boyfriend married.
- A lot of people searched for jobs, but too many searched for too few.
- Wages for most (North) Americans in the US did not increase, especially in real terms.
- The search for ms cures continued, with possibly a major advance coming from Europe, by studying Chronic Cerebrospinal Venous Insufficiency (CCSVI).
- By almost any measure the National Multiple Sclerosis Society has become even more effective.
- Money spent to wage war in Iraq and Afghanistan has eclipsed $1 Trillion ($1,000,000,000,000.00, that's equal to $186,439.33 for every person living in the state of Wisconsin and a lot of money to me) and I only feel safer because private health insurance companies can no longer discriminate against me and I no longer have to worry about reaching a life time health care money spending limit thanks to President Obama and mostly Democratic members of Congress (and groups like Health Care For America Now, churches, community organizations, many labor unions, like SEIU and many AFL-CIO member unions that together made reforms politically possible.)
- We still need health insurance reform, like Medicare for All
SONG, ARTIST, ALBUM
- Waitin' For A Superman, Iron and Wine, Around The Well
- Don't Forget Me, Case, Neko, Middle Cyclone
- Never Had Nobody Like You, Ward, M, Hold Time
- Belated Promise Ring, Iron and Wine, Around The Well
- Whole Lotta Losin', Monsters Of Folk, Monsters Of Folk
- Quiet Dog Bite Hard, Mos Def , The Ecstatic
- Roses, Mos Def Feat. Georgia Anne Muldrow, The Ecstatic
- The Palace At 4 am, Newman, Carl 'A.C.', Get Guilty
- Overjoyed, Circulatory System, Signal Morning
- Silver Trembling Hands, Flaming Lips, The Embryonic
- Over It, Dinosaur Jr, Farm
- Nothing To Hide, Yo La Tengo, Popular Songs
- Deeper Down, Wilco, Wilco (The Album)
- 82 Onewasjohnny, Todd, Singles
- Honey Bee, Zee Avi, Zee Avi
- Such Great Heights, Iron and Wine, Around The Well
- Avalon Or Someone Very Similar, Yo La Tengo, Popular Songs
- While You Wait For The Others, Grizzly Bear, Veckatimest
- Summertime Clothes, Animal Collective, Merriweather Post Pavilion
- The Right Place, Monsters Of Folk, Monsters Of Folk
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Friday, December 11, 2009
Dealing
I am hearing that the "public option" is being dealt away from health care reform / health insurance reform. This is probably very bad news.
It concerns me that when the cost of health insurance goes up because no one can be denied coverage anymore or worse dropped because they learn they've got a tough medical diagnosis (like ms or cancer...), that supporters of reform will be blamed for the health insurance price increase. Making the system universal and more efficient would have helped control costs and it concerns me that people won't be hearing that, just the blame.
I am also hearing that there is a possible compromise in the dealing that would lower the age ability to "buy into" medicare coverage. That could be an exciting development, depending upon how low the age is lowered.
I am hoping that House Speaker Rep. Pelosi will be bold in the dealing and fight for expanding medicare access, create a pathway for FDA approval of generic biological drugs and eliminate the donut hole in medicare part D.
Friends are dealing with the third death from cancer of female friends in their 30s this year. 2009 has been a difficult year.
I guess we have much to be thankful for. Thanks to government action, no one is losing their savings when banks are failing. Thanks to government action, Abbey and I have very high quality water (we had it tested). Thanks to government action, I am not worried about the safety of the food I just purchased (and if there was a reason to be concerned, it was because there wasn't enough government regulation). Thanks to government action, there will be new research funding the search for cures (including for multiple sclerosis). Thanks to government action, the price of a pack of cigarettes went up and fewer people will be smoking as a result helping to keep us healthier. Thanks to government action, I could write all a letter and tell you about it via "snail mail" for less than fifty cents (unlike the more than $10 I pay to send the same news via FedX or UPS).
It concerns me that when the cost of health insurance goes up because no one can be denied coverage anymore or worse dropped because they learn they've got a tough medical diagnosis (like ms or cancer...), that supporters of reform will be blamed for the health insurance price increase. Making the system universal and more efficient would have helped control costs and it concerns me that people won't be hearing that, just the blame.
I am also hearing that there is a possible compromise in the dealing that would lower the age ability to "buy into" medicare coverage. That could be an exciting development, depending upon how low the age is lowered.
I am hoping that House Speaker Rep. Pelosi will be bold in the dealing and fight for expanding medicare access, create a pathway for FDA approval of generic biological drugs and eliminate the donut hole in medicare part D.
Friends are dealing with the third death from cancer of female friends in their 30s this year. 2009 has been a difficult year.
I guess we have much to be thankful for. Thanks to government action, no one is losing their savings when banks are failing. Thanks to government action, Abbey and I have very high quality water (we had it tested). Thanks to government action, I am not worried about the safety of the food I just purchased (and if there was a reason to be concerned, it was because there wasn't enough government regulation). Thanks to government action, there will be new research funding the search for cures (including for multiple sclerosis). Thanks to government action, the price of a pack of cigarettes went up and fewer people will be smoking as a result helping to keep us healthier. Thanks to government action, I could write all a letter and tell you about it via "snail mail" for less than fifty cents (unlike the more than $10 I pay to send the same news via FedX or UPS).
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Ill
I am home ill from something, hopefully just a cold. I almost never miss work, even when I don't feel at my best. Being home ill gives me room to remember back in the 90's when colds coincided with new ms induced symptoms. I am hopeful I won't have any new challenge tomorrow. The maker of my medicine would probably like to claim credit, but my improved resilience over the decade is probably even more on account of my improved lifestyle/environment.
PHARMA, and the big drug companies overstate themselves. When you hear that health insurance and health care reform will hurt the search for cures, remember:
1. Publicly owned drug companies have a responsibility to their shareholders to maximize returns that trumps healing people.
2. Drug companies' need to maximize profits gives them cause to not develop new and potentially more effective medicines if a new medicine reduces profits (think don't compete with yourself -- to re-enforce the point, google "bayer pain reliever", the maker of the first pain reliever seems to still only be making the pain relieving aspirin. Bayer is a German company and in Berlin, the Bayer label is everywhere -- At $2,800 per month, the cost of my Bayer Interferon-B medicine, I wonder for how much Bayer advertising in Berlin I am responsible?
3. Drug companies spend more money advertising than they do developing new medicines.
4. The biggest funder of new medicine is the US National Institutes of Health (NIH). Through the NIH, government helps make our lives better. The NIH issues grants to hospitals and research universities that help find treatments and cures (and this is really really important because developing new medicines is expensive and most are duds. In order to continue advancing the science that finds cures, the NIH socialized the risk of new medicine development. Publicly owned drug companies and their shareholders have been burned trying to develop medicines.).
5. In our globalized world, science advances planet-wide. The future of science isn't dependent on any one country, including the United States. The future of science isn't dependent on any one pharmaceutical company either.
6. You should ride your bike with me during the 2011 "Best Dam Ride Ride" [Against MS and for an MS Cure]. It was a great experience during 2008 and during a break during that ride, I learned that the National Multiple Sclerosis Society has granted more than $550 million to help fund a cure.
I hope this settles the question about the effects of new medicine development after health insurance and health care reform.
Health care reform and health insurance reform means saving lives, preventing bankruptcies, unleashing the creativity of those who will finally be able to launch new ideas and businesses liberated from the current sickness industry and saving current businesses from the health insurance nightmare of annual double to triple inflation price increases.
Please call your US Senator to encourage their support for reform! Thank you.
PHARMA, and the big drug companies overstate themselves. When you hear that health insurance and health care reform will hurt the search for cures, remember:
1. Publicly owned drug companies have a responsibility to their shareholders to maximize returns that trumps healing people.
2. Drug companies' need to maximize profits gives them cause to not develop new and potentially more effective medicines if a new medicine reduces profits (think don't compete with yourself -- to re-enforce the point, google "bayer pain reliever", the maker of the first pain reliever seems to still only be making the pain relieving aspirin. Bayer is a German company and in Berlin, the Bayer label is everywhere -- At $2,800 per month, the cost of my Bayer Interferon-B medicine, I wonder for how much Bayer advertising in Berlin I am responsible?
3. Drug companies spend more money advertising than they do developing new medicines.
4. The biggest funder of new medicine is the US National Institutes of Health (NIH). Through the NIH, government helps make our lives better. The NIH issues grants to hospitals and research universities that help find treatments and cures (and this is really really important because developing new medicines is expensive and most are duds. In order to continue advancing the science that finds cures, the NIH socialized the risk of new medicine development. Publicly owned drug companies and their shareholders have been burned trying to develop medicines.).
5. In our globalized world, science advances planet-wide. The future of science isn't dependent on any one country, including the United States. The future of science isn't dependent on any one pharmaceutical company either.
6. You should ride your bike with me during the 2011 "Best Dam Ride Ride" [Against MS and for an MS Cure]. It was a great experience during 2008 and during a break during that ride, I learned that the National Multiple Sclerosis Society has granted more than $550 million to help fund a cure.
I hope this settles the question about the effects of new medicine development after health insurance and health care reform.
Health care reform and health insurance reform means saving lives, preventing bankruptcies, unleashing the creativity of those who will finally be able to launch new ideas and businesses liberated from the current sickness industry and saving current businesses from the health insurance nightmare of annual double to triple inflation price increases.
Please call your US Senator to encourage their support for reform! Thank you.
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Got Liberation?
I was trying to make the Packers' condition a metaphor for something about health care reform. I couldn't. The Packers forgot the blocking part about football. And about the opposite of blocking: rushing the quarterback.
The House Passes Health Bill.
This is really great news for people living with MS. The Congress is finally creating a pathway for generic biological drugs, after the Senate votes affirmatively too. And I will be able to buy health insurance again. And medicare will receive the money to pay doctors properly. And some doctors' pay will be tied to keeping people healthy rather than getting paid because we're sick or broken. And there will be new programs to pay for the training of more doctors and nurses. And there won't be a maximum lifetime health insurance coverage anymore. And now having health insurance won't mean having to be tied to any individual person or a job -- for some this will be liberating.
I just got liberated from miserable internet access. I just got liberated from having to drive my car to see great music because I think I will walk to see Yo La Tengo during January.
The House Passes Health Bill.
This is really great news for people living with MS. The Congress is finally creating a pathway for generic biological drugs, after the Senate votes affirmatively too. And I will be able to buy health insurance again. And medicare will receive the money to pay doctors properly. And some doctors' pay will be tied to keeping people healthy rather than getting paid because we're sick or broken. And there will be new programs to pay for the training of more doctors and nurses. And there won't be a maximum lifetime health insurance coverage anymore. And now having health insurance won't mean having to be tied to any individual person or a job -- for some this will be liberating.
I just got liberated from miserable internet access. I just got liberated from having to drive my car to see great music because I think I will walk to see Yo La Tengo during January.
Saturday, October 3, 2009
Toes
I've been doing so well for so long, sometimes, briefly I'll forget that my spinal chord is pocked from the gnawing of my immune system's past "episodes".
During Tuesday evening, I started negative noticing my right foot more than I typically have during the past few years. Wednesday morning, I was aware that I had toes on my right foot, but it was like they were not attached to my foot. The balls of my right foot had significantly reduced feeling -- negative feeling. Walking seemed like my foot was a sponge. Placing my step was a mental exercise, visual guidance was important so as not to trip, fall. I realized that on Sunday, I had strange feelings of emotional waves, briefly, unexplained. Monday, I got choked up at the sight of a television commercial while eating breakfast -- I hadn't considered it at the time, but I remembered that sometimes during previous "episodes" of civil warfare, it wasn't unusual to more easily get emotional.
Thursday morning, I awoke fully aware of my right foot and my toes, but some numbness persisted. I was glad that my toes felt attached again. Abbey and I went to the Y after work on Thursday. I had not gotten much physical activity of late, working longer hours and remodeling our new home and all. I rode 7.62 miles during 22 minutes with the bike to 12 resistance. I couldn't believe it.
When we got home from the Y, I felt pretty good, but I struggled putting my right foot in front of my left. I asked Abbey not to walk behind me up the stairs out of concern that I might trip, fall and knock her down rolling.
I thought about walking with a cane again today, not that I need to use one at this time. My walking is better than Wednesday now.
Made a first draft 2009 mix:
During Tuesday evening, I started negative noticing my right foot more than I typically have during the past few years. Wednesday morning, I was aware that I had toes on my right foot, but it was like they were not attached to my foot. The balls of my right foot had significantly reduced feeling -- negative feeling. Walking seemed like my foot was a sponge. Placing my step was a mental exercise, visual guidance was important so as not to trip, fall. I realized that on Sunday, I had strange feelings of emotional waves, briefly, unexplained. Monday, I got choked up at the sight of a television commercial while eating breakfast -- I hadn't considered it at the time, but I remembered that sometimes during previous "episodes" of civil warfare, it wasn't unusual to more easily get emotional.
Thursday morning, I awoke fully aware of my right foot and my toes, but some numbness persisted. I was glad that my toes felt attached again. Abbey and I went to the Y after work on Thursday. I had not gotten much physical activity of late, working longer hours and remodeling our new home and all. I rode 7.62 miles during 22 minutes with the bike to 12 resistance. I couldn't believe it.
When we got home from the Y, I felt pretty good, but I struggled putting my right foot in front of my left. I asked Abbey not to walk behind me up the stairs out of concern that I might trip, fall and knock her down rolling.
I thought about walking with a cane again today, not that I need to use one at this time. My walking is better than Wednesday now.
Made a first draft 2009 mix:
| Track Title | Artist | Album |
| Waitin' For A Superman | Iron and Wine | Around The Well [Disc 1] |
| Don't Forget Me | Case, Neko | Middle Cyclone |
| Never Had Nobody Like You | Ward, M | Hold Time |
| Belated Promise Ring | Iron and Wine | Around The Well [Disc 2] |
| Whole Lotta Losin' | Monsters Of Folk | Monsters Of Folk |
| Quiet Dog Bite Hard | Mos Def | The Ecstatic |
| Roses | Mos Def Feat. Georgia Anne Muldrow | The Ecstatic |
| The Palace At 4 am | Newman, Carl 'A.C.' | Get Guilty |
| Overjoyed | Circulatory System | Signal Morning |
| Nothing To Hide | Yo La Tengo | Popular Songs |
| Deeper Down | Wilco | Wilco (The Album) |
| Such Great Heights | Iron and Wine | Around The Well [Disc 1] |
| 82 Onewasjohnny | Todd | Singles |
| Avalon Or Someone Very Similar | Yo La Tengo | Popular Songs |
| While You Wait For The Others | Grizzly Bear | Veckatimest |
| Summertime Clothes | Animal Collective | Merriweather Post Pavilion |
| The Right Place | Monsters Of Folk | Monsters Of Folk |
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