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Healthcare in this country is a joke if you can't afford it, and so many can't. Including my husband, who has a pre-existing condition. We couldn't afford the PPI pool -- $400/mo -- so he is still without coverage and no medical help.
I'm trying to keep an open mind about the ACA, but I'm pretty sure it'll force us to be out of pocket a lot of money each month for insurance we won't be able to afford to use because of the deductible.
I tell our British relatives about our system. The stories give them nightmares.
There are a lot of us together in this misery. 
We were with them until 2007 when we couldn't afford their premium increases anymore -- big annual increases even though we never used the policy.
It's helpful to know the cost for procedures is generally lower under insurance. I'm definitely keeping an open mind about all this until we see what's available; then I'll start the number-crunching and research. Worst case scenario would be that it makes better financial sense to take the fine, at least for the first year. It goes without saying that I'd prefer my husband have access to care.
I appreciate your input. 
BOTH gave the same excuse. WTF do they expect these poor old folks to DO?
She used the same card(s) before to purchase from the same pharmacy. Suddenly it's an issue. Why?
Has there been a 'crackdown' on poor grannies buying their meds from Canada because they can't afford them when in the doughnut hole?
Her bank told her to call ahead of time - tell them the charge will be placed - they will allow it for 24 hours. After that, she has to call (she's not on internet - can't even see very well) to order the Rx. Then, they pull this "well we can send you THIS one but not THAT one -- for THAT one you have to send us a CHECK" bullshit.
So now she has to write a check, mail it to TX (?) and WAIT for the goddamned Rx to be delivered - IF it is ever delivered, though she's dealt w/ them before and they were fine.
It's just bullshit.
Thank doG you're there for her.
I'm PofA for an elderly relative who has a sizable account at Bank of America. The first time they gave me grief, I ripped the account right out and put it into a community bank. Then I sent the BofA rep I was dealing with a copy of the total I'd removed from their "bank" and said, "Look what your bureaucratic ways have cost you."
The aggravation was because of the way a letter from her doctor was phrased. They wanted it worded in a certain way and since it cost me over a hundred to have the letter written in the first place, I told them I wasn't dealing with them anymore and they weren't getting a revision to suit their fancy.
Quite frankly, though, knowing what dicks they are, I was just waiting for an excuse to kick them to the curb.
I'd like to say it was satisfying, but they could have cared less.
Cher
Utter bullshit.
Feeling supremely anti-patriotic today. What kind of third-rate shithole country treats its citizens like this?
People come in for a pulmonary test, and as an asthma educator, I also make sure they comply with how to take their meds.
But the primary reason people take what is a "BID" (twice) daily medicine ONCE is because they'd run out of it. It's the damned same reason. I had one person the other day show me (proudly) his Canadian version of the drug, but apparently, he's gonna have a problem and of course, the banking process, which happily launders blood money, won't recognize that people will travel elsewhere to get a better deal.
If the international trade laws (being shaped by fascists) have their way, there will be no other alternative method to turn to.
THIS is patient care? Tell me now why we SHOULDN'T have gone with single payer???
And, big pharma just rakes it in... keeps rolling along.... 
Some do not have access, some do not have interest, and some are past the point where they can survive without the medications they have become dependent upon.
The lack of physician education about nutritional needs of human beings is simply staggering; this thread seems to be mainly about the lack of support for the things people are told by their physicians they need to live.
I just don't want it for breakfast. By the time I remember it as a snack, I reach for something else. I love granola on yogurt and I LOVE oatmeal cookies.
But for breakfast I want some kind of non-sweet protein.
Steel cut oats, oat bran, etc. I have heard the praises sung before. Is that why there's sometimes a baby on the box? Is that supposed to be what you turn into? 
This is WRONG
"A hideous example of the state of 'health care' in AmeriKa (GOD DAMN this shit)
Mom is 86 years old. Every year around April or May she falls into the "doughnut hole" of her Medicare Part D coverage. Just ONE of her prescriptions costs well over $300 for a ONE month's supply. After she hits the "doughnut hole", she has to pay out of pocket. CAN YOU IMAGINE paying that much for ONE prescription when you're on a fixed income? Just ONE of them."
...this is happening under Medicare. The donut hole was one of the biggest health care scams ever.
Krugman, 2005
By PAUL KRUGMAN
There was a brief flurry of outrage when Congress passed the 2003 Medicare bill. The news media reported on the scandalous vote in the House of Representatives: Republican leaders violated parliamentary procedure, twisted arms and perhaps engaged in bribery to persuade skeptical lawmakers to change their votes in a session literally held in the dead of night.
Later, the media reported on another scandal: it turned out that the administration had deceived Congress about the bill's likely cost.
But the real scandal is what's in the legislation. It's an object lesson in how special interests hold America's health care system hostage.
The new Medicare law subsidizes private health plans, which have repeatedly failed to deliver promised cost savings. It creates an unnecessary layer of middlemen by requiring that the drug benefit be administered by private insurers. The biggest giveaway is to Big Pharma: the law specifically prohibits Medicare from using its purchasing power to negotiate lower drug prices.
Outside the United States, almost every government bargains over drug prices. And it works: the Congressional Budget Office says that foreign drug prices are 35 to 55 percent below U.S. levels. Even within the United States, Veterans Affairs is able to negotiate discounts of 50 percent or more, far larger than those the Medicare actuary expects the elderly to receive under the new plan.
- more -
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/06/opinion/06krugman.html
I wish I could offer some advice. Here's a chart about drug prices.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10022586434
The best to your Mom.
I live across the country. She lives with brother and near sister. Sister ought to be doing it but that's another whole issue unto itself. 
