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Contact the . MissionTo identify, research and discuss critical issues To mobilize, energize and inspire ourselves and others to action To work as individuals and in community for social justice |
Next MeetingThursday, January 8, 2008Health Care: The System We Have And The Change We WantSpeaker: Dr. Abbe Sudvarg(more info) 6:30 for coffee, 7:00 program Ethical Society of St. Louis - 9001 Clayton Rd, 63117 (Directions) 
Speak Out!Medicare's Insane Drug Plan by Judy Arnold As I write this, on December 26, I have five days to decide whether to keep my current Medicare Part D drug plan or choose one of the 47 others in Missouri-an opportunity Medicare gives you once a year. Why have I procrastinated so long? First, I was waiting to get information from my current plan?which in 2009 will almost double the monthly premium and copays?and from other insurers. Second, it's been hard to find time to sit down and try to compare the 48 plans. Why is this so difficult? Because the plans are all over the map in the amount of their monthly premiums, annual deductibles, prescription copays (which vary for preferred generics, preferred brands, nonpreferred brands, and specialty drugs), formularies (drugs that are covered), and coverage for the dreaded donut hole. The donut hole is a coverage gap--a truly evil idea that leaves you with no drug coverage once your total prescription costs [those paid by both you and your insurer] reach, in most plans, $2,700, which can happen pretty quickly. Insurance doesn't kick in again until your out-of-pocket outlay brings your costs up to $4,350. Two more complications: Some plans set lower amounts for reaching the donut hole and some plans do offer various types of coverage in the gap, but they charge substantially higher monthly premiums. I realize that prescription drug costs are a big problem for Medicare, but I find it hard to accept this situation when I see the federal government spending billions on an ill-conceived war; being forced to give billions in bailouts to greedy lenders and poorly managed automakers; and caving in to the insurance companies by making it illegal for Medicare to negotiate better prescription drug prices. So now I'll go back to the mountain of advertising brochures, many of them duplicates, I've been receiving over the past few weeks. I'll also try to find some understandable information on the many websites that purport to help the elderly make sense of this insanity. How many billions are wasted by the federal government in creating websites, paying personnel to handle complaints, and printing and mailing literature to "help" us? What nefarious reasons does the government have for not requiring insurance companies to make the plans easily comparable? In short, how much has having all these insurance companies with all their red tape and marketing costs raised the cost of health insurance for everyone, whether on Medicare or not? I pray that in the new year, reason will prevail. We'll finally acknowledge that health care is a right and that government should and can do much better by its citizens. In the meantime, I'm leaning toward a plan that appears to be much cheaper than my current one. But the catch is, the formulary includes fewer drugs. What if next year I should need a new medication that's not covered? There's no way I can sort through the plans, much less predict my future health needs. So I'll take a stab at picking a plan and hope I've chosen the best. I'll never know for sure. Who We AreWe are a group of ardent, progressive St. Louis area women who finally got fed up.We became so concerned about the direction of this country and where its priorities seem to be that we decided we must do something. From our frustration and determination, Women's Voices Raised for Social Justice was born. We are not fund-raisers. We are not envelope-stuffers. We are not a single-issue group. And we do not want to re-invent the wheel. Therefore, we have built an organization that enables us to study many different issues and take action for a variety of causes. We frequently support other progressive organizations in their efforts. But first, we study and learn about the issues. Our members are curious, creative, competent and caring. We believe in doing something meaningful in support of our values, and we have great fun and camaraderie in doing so. If you would like to add your voice to ours, we welcome you to join us. |
Women's Voices Upcoming EventsCheck our Calendar for DetailsJanuary 15, 2008 January 22, 2008 February 2, 2008 Sign LanguageThumbs Up/Thumbs Down Awards
to Washington University, which is phasing out sales of bottled water on its campus.
to election officials in the state of Missouri, who are still trying to determine which presidential candidate carried the state a week after the election.
to politicans and political campaigns that have launched attacks on community organizers. Community organizers work hard for the benefit of the most disadvantaged in our society. They deserve blessings, not brickbats.
to the St. Louis American newspaper, which has been named runner-up in the Newspaper of the Year competition sponsored by Suburban Newspapers of America! The American was recognized in the category of papers with more than 37,500 circulation. The paper, which has served the African-American community in St. Louis for more than 80 years, contains a wealth of information about the St. Louis metro area that cannot be found in any other publication. Kudos to the staff!
to St. Louis Mayor, Francis Slay. On Wednesday, August 20, Mayor Slay issued an executive order banning departments under his control from purchasing bottled water except in an emergency. City employees were given stainless steel water bottles that say "I love St. Louis water" in which to carry St. Louis tap water (voted the "best tasting tap water in the nation" by the U.S. Conference of Mayors last year).
to the Missouri Drug Card plan, which will give state residents discounts of up to 75 percent on hundreds of brand name and generic medications. Cards can be printed out at www.missouridrugcard.com.
to Home Depot for being the first major nation retail outlet to recycle compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs). Individuals can bring in any expired, unbroken CFLs, and give them to a Home Depot store associate behind the returns desk free-of-charge. This is a national program. See the website, spread the news.
to the City of St. Louis Refuse Department Recycling Division for being ahead of the rest. We first got the CFL recycling news from their website, then in their July newsletter.
to Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., which is now offering a three-month supply of certain prescription drugs for $10. In 2006 Wal-Mart launched a program to sell generic drugs for $4.
to Jennifer's Pharmacy in Clayton, which is discontinuing the use of plastic bags throughout the store. Alternate bags, which have no environmental impact, are available for a small fee. Customers who insist on a plastic bag will be charged for each bag they use. Women's Voices commends Jennifer's Pharmacy for its leadership on this issue.
Past Thumb Awards |