World Events
Topic: Oregon - Won't pay for drugs, will pay for Suicide

#	Author	Message
1	Darkbeer Fri 6/20/2008 10:33a	At least some GOOD news comes from this story, the government won't try and help or prolong her life, but a Private business will!!! http://www.registerguard.com/c...=1&fid=1 >>After a rough couple of weeks, Barbara Wagner finally got some good news Monday. Last month, she found out that her lung cancer, which had been in remission for about two years, had come back. After her oncologist prescribed a cancer drug that could slow the cancer growth and extend her life, Wagner was notified that the Oregon Health Plan wouldn't cover the treatment, but that it would cover palliative, or comfort, care, including, if she chose, doctor-assisted suicide. Then, on Monday morning, a representative of the pharmaceutical company called Wagner and told her it would provide the medicine for free. Wagner said she didn't know whether to laugh or cry, so she did both. "I am just so thrilled," she said. "I am so relieved and so happy." Wagner had to rely on the charity of a drug company because the Oregon Health Plan wouldn't cover her treatment. "Treatment of advanced cancer that is meant to prolong life, or change the course of this disease, is not a covered benefit of the Oregon Health Plan," said the unsigned letter Wagner received from LIPA, the Eugene company that administers the Oregon Health Plan in Lane County. Officials of LIPA and the state Health Services Commission, which sets policy for the Oregon Health Plan, say they've not changed how they cover treatment of recurrent cancer, only clarified the rules. But local oncologists say they've seen a change in policy, and that their Oregon Health Plan patients with advanced cancer no longer get coverage for chemotherapy if it is considered comfort care. "It doesn't adhere to the standards of care set out in the oncology community," said Dr. John Caton, an oncologist at Willamette Valley Cancer Center.<< Much more at the link... But interesting to note, the "Oregon Health Plan" can limit and not approve certain procedures, but a Private Plan is required to cover the exact same procedures....

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