Get My Money, Buy My Medicine

Sorry Snoop, I’m not talking about THAT medicine. We will leave that for another post. I’m talking about this purple, orange, green.

Doesn’t interferon beta look like it is throwing a party? Epic blowout in Elys’s brain! Everyone’s invited!

I never really gave much thought to the medication I took. I always had Advil on hand to quell my occasional headaches. My first aid stash contained children’s Tylenol, some antibiotic ointment, and a big bottle of antacid.

Things have changed.

The amount of medication that has entered my life in the last few months is staggering. Here is an accurate recreation of what my medicine cabinet looked like before the diagnosis.

This is what it looks like now.

And this doesn’t include the Avonex, which is stored in the fridge.

I’ve had to become one of those people with the little case that holds all my pills for the day. Mine is purple and has the day of the week printed on the top of the tiny compartment. You know what I’m talking about. The kind your grandma had.

I do not want to get muddled in politics. I’m not going to write about my views on Syria or my opinion about gay marriage. If I want to do that, I will do it on another blog. I am not trying to push any agenda. But I do want to point out this: If you have ever wondered why Obamacare is important, it’s because of me.

I am the person that is benefitted by Obamacare. I know the plan isn’t perfect. I know that some people think it is bad policy. I think some of it is not correct. But when I got my MS diagnosis, it became essential to my health and wellbeing.

I now have a “pre-existing condition.” Before the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, I would—as of April of this year—be uninsurable. To be fair, I am covered, and covered well, by my generous company insurance plan. But if I was not employed, I would be completely screwed. Not only would I be saddled by a chronic condition that needs quite a bit of care, I would have to figure out how to pay for my meds. I am taking one of the most expensive prescription pharmaceuticals on the market today.

Which brings me to the other thing Obamacare has done for me. It eliminated the annual and lifetime spending limits that most insurance companies used to cap the spending on an individual. In these last few months, I have racked up the healthcare spending: MRIs, blood tests, visiting several different doctors, IV steroid therapy. And lest we forget, all those prescriptions. I would be hitting my head on that spending cap, and there is still a quarter of this year to go.

The last thing I need to be doing is hitting my head. Well, except when wearing a helmet and taking down a jammer.