March for Myeloma

Well, March has quickly come and gone - March is multiple myeloma awareness month. Who knew? Not me. Until this year, that is. Last March multiple myeloma was the farthest thing from my mind and I definitely didn't know that March was the month designated for MM awareness. Of course I did know the basics of MGUS and how it relates to MM but definitely no where near as much as I know now.

The Boston MMRF Race for Research is coming up in a few short weeks! So far the myeloma mashers have raised $1000.00! If you would like to contribute to my team, please click here. :)

Also, someone posted this link from the IMF Advocacy Team a few weeks back. If you have time and are interested, click the link below and submit the email message to your state representative.

Federal Parity Bill Needs Your Voice


From the IMF:

IMF Advocacy Team - Federal Parity Bill Needs Your Voice

Email your state congressional representative today.

 

With your help last year we secured 53 co-sponsors for the Cancer Drug Coverage Parity Act of 2011 authored by Rep. Brian Higgins. A new congressional session starts every two years, which means we must ask those representatives who sponsored last year to recommit to standing up for myeloma patients.

Myeloma patients across the country need you to take action!
The sponsors of the Cancer Drug Coverage Parity Act are preparing to reintroduce their legislation in the new congressional session. We need you to reach out to your member of Congress to ask him or her to be an original co-sponsor to the bill. The more bipartisan original co-sponsors we have, the more likely the House will move to vote on the legislation. This bill will eliminate the disparity in insurance coverage and reimbursement between oral and intravenous cancer treatment.

Please enter your zip code below to email your congressional representative to ask him or her to support cancer patients today!

 

Thank you for your help ensuring all cancer patients have fair and equal access to all types of treatments!

 

In the empty box below, please write a few sentences that tells a personal story. Whether or not you have faced treatment inequalities, a personal statement of your support will help personalize this issue for legislators. You should include information such as status regarding myeloma (age, when diagnosed, health today, treatment needs.) If you are writing about someone else, please use only their first name and describe how you know them or their relation to you.

If unequal reimbursement has affected you or someone you know, please include your experience such as: I did not get the care I need because insurance reimbursed more for a different treatment; I have gone into debt to pay for what insurance doesn't cover; my treatment was delayed waiting for coverage to kick in.


[personal message]

I'm concerned that many insurance plans treat oral chemotherapy differently than other forms of chemotherapy. It just isn't fair for patients to have a much larger financial burden for oral forms of chemo, especially when many oral treatments don't have other alternatives. Patients, families and their medical providers should be making treatment decisions based on what's best for the patient, not because of the cost.

Please be an original co-sponsor to the Cancer Drug Coverage Parity Act so cancer patients have fair and equal access to all types of treatments. To co-sponsor, please contact Matt Fery in Rep. Higgins' office at matthew.fery@mail.house.gov. I hope that I can continue to count on your support and leadership. Thank you!