My husband has a collaborator who is in Finland, their system is so much better than what we have. His wife had aggressive Breast cancer, the treatment was first rate and it ended up costing them less than $1000 US. He thinks the system we have is nuts. Yes, they pay higher taxes but so much of what they get from the government is to benefit people, not the military establishment or capitalism.

Because so many of our citizens never travel outside of their own state much less internationally they have no concept of how other countries handle issues we botch on a daily basis.

Until we get money out of our elections this is what we get. We get a congress that is bought and paid for by big pharma and big medical interests.

medical treatment. She got to her early nineties.

He still drives down from Phoenix to Nogales for his dental treatment and prescriptions and he actually has a pretty Cadillac-ish HMO.

Meanwhile I am VERY happy with the VA. It seems a good good system that could be ramped up for everyone else, too.

Of course we vets are constantly having to keep watch for privatization.

We need to get private companies out of areas they obviously have not managed very well for the public: health care being a most obvious one.

You have earned your benefits! I hope it continues to improve for all of you.

It contains hydrocodone. It was $70. I was told by the pharmacist that no drug plan Medicare or supplemental will pay for medicines containing hydrocodone due to the opioid crisis and high possibility of abuse.

Of course not. I'm sorry I understand that some people have become addicted, but many of those people made very bad choices. Why should those of us who the drugs help pay because of those who can't handle them?

Believe me I understand, my nephew got hooked on them, he was already hooked on alcohol so he had an addictive personality. I don't have that. I have a healthy respect for these drugs.

Makes me nuts, legislating morality again.

I can't take the damn things, my body is not reacting right to any pain meds or NSAIDs, but Medicare paid for them when prescribed by my dr. after major surgery. I've had these issues before with ins. and generally my dr. can prescribe something else that works as well and is covered.

Hope your whooping cough is getting better. When I had this as a kid, mom gave me whiskey, warmed with honey and it helped until dad could get to the store and buy Paregoric (think that's how it was spelled). It was cough syrup with codeine and strong as could be. They haven't allowed that in many decades, but it sure worked great for us kids.

It helped me I know that. Sometimes the old remedies work just fine .

A few suggestions

1 - Check out Good RX for your expensive prescriptions, you might find significant discounts. My pills which aren't covered cost retail close to $400 for 15 pills, I got 15 for $68. from Good RX 2 months ago.

2 - Check out Medicare HMO's (part C) to see which/if any cover your drugs and dr. I saved a lot last year. Be prepared to have to intervene if you needs auths or referrals. They cover prescriptions plus lots are offerring vision and dental help as well. Be sure that your drugs and dr. are "in network" or if not, try a different ins. co.

3 - Call/write the drug co. asking for assistance with the price. I've heard that many companies do this?

Good luck!!!

Wxplain it all because many of them don't know what costs etc. are entailed.

It is a pain in the rear trying to figure this stuff out, but it's what we are stuck with, even under Medicare-for-All.

and they pay for hydrocodone for 7 days. So for someone like me, if they prescribe every four hours, that's 30 pills. If they prescribe more, you can pay the difference. Talk to your dr's insurance department and request a pre authorization for your particular meds. If you need assistance, talk to medicare and they will put you on a special program, depending on your income. I don't pay part A/B or D, but pay supplemental. It's very helpful as they pay for all my medications, including Humira.

Ask questions, call various insurance companies, compare. My supplemental is with USAA as my father was in the army.

As I approached Medicare age, the mailbox was full every day with people trying to sell us supplemental things. We used EnlightnU, which you could google, but I don't know what states they cover. They made perfect sense of everything. Even if you buy nothing, these companies are required to provide medicare education in order to qualify to sell it. I felt like I was swimming in information until we met with them. EnlightnU made the most sense, and that's what I needed! Sense!

They did the research on the best Rx plans and came up with different ones for my husband and for me based on our list of meds.

The cancer thing is another whole story--you will need to learn about medicare b and supplemental plans. They are much cheaper than alternatives.

Best wishes to you.