All or nearly all Federal program mandate that any entity that gets Federal money must comply with all Federal laws.. Guess who gets Federal Money ? Think Medicare/Medicaid/Tricare paid to hospitals, doctors, pharmacies, labs, insurance companies and on and on..
Here is a section out of the new Obamacare/ACA that prohibit discrimination in the health care programs for those with DISABILITIES …those in chronic pain.. are DISABLED.
If the insurance doesn’t enforce their contract with the pharmacy.. allowing them to refuse to fill legit/on time/medically necessary Rxs.. is that discrimination ? Is the same pharmacy putting their government contracts at risk over this same discrimination ?
If the insurance company doesn’t provide a physician network that adheres to best practices and standards of practice.. discriminating as is the prescriber themselves ?
Of course, those who are being discriminated against.. NEED TO FILE COMPLAINTS … you do nothing… YOU GET NOTHING !
“Even if you are on the right track, but just sit there, you will still get run over.”
― Will Rogers
Nondiscrimination Protection in the Affordable Care Act: Section 1557
http://www.nwlc.org/resource/nondiscrimination-protection-affordable-care-act-section-1557
Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act prohibits discrimination in health care programs on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, sex stereotypes, gender identity, age, or disability. This is the first time that federal law has prohibited sex discrimination in health care. Health insurers, hospitals, the health insurance exchanges, and any other entities that receive federal funds are covered by this law. It became effective upon passage of the ACA.
Section 1557 gives the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights the authority and obligation to investigate potential violations of the law and enforce this new civil rights guarantee.
Filed under: General Problems
So does all this mean if and when we get told from a pharmacist that they’re not going to fill our scripts for chronic pain that we are supposed to report that pharmacy and pharmacist?
What I worry about is the DEA coming to my door because I got them into trouble. No one wants to be the tattle tale, or the narc..And how long is it going to take the Obamacare people to help us?
The only way for this to work in the favor of all chronic pain patients is for all of us to start writing and complaining at the same time. We need a write in, not a sit in. So how do we get this write in to start?
We would have to post somewhere that on a certain date all chronic pain patients that have had trouble with getting scripts filled would have to write and call their congressmen and women. The letters would have to go out about three or four days before that said date. But this might be the only way to bring attention where it’s needed.
We can’t let the pharmacist bully us. The only way to help the over one hundred million actual people with chronic pain is to make some noise.
When I look at the overall picture, all I see is the DEA, making and enforcing the rules. And I’m pretty sure the DEA doesn’t have to follow the ACA.
All a pharmacy, insurance company, or doctor has to say in defense of any rule is: DEA. Doesn’t really matter if it’s true or not, because then patients hit a dead end — what can anyone do against the DEA?
The discrimination is against certain drugs… that pain patients happen to take. Well, that’s not how it all started… People addicted to drugs also started to take pain medications, but not too many people care about what happens to drug addicts. But then middle class kids started taking them (and became addicted), so pain medications are now part of the drug war.
And even though pain patients are mostly innocent bystanders in this drug war, it appears that no one really cares about pain patients, either. You know, now that we’re all thought of as drug addicts.
I wonder who came up with this brilliant plan, to label pain patients as drug addicts so that no one cares what happens to them. (Because no matter what, we all have to say “no” to drugs.) Was it the DEA? CDC? NIDA? SAMHSA? I don’t know, but I’m pretty sure it wasn’t Obamacare…
I didn’t say – or imply – that Obamacare caused this.. but it would seem that it did put in place some new laws to prohibit discrimination against pts. I don’t know if Obamacare is going to be overseen by IRS, CMS, HHS but this is something to take your member of Congress … where the FEDS/Sates are violating these rules.. We are never going to get rid of the war on drugs…but… getting congress to get the DOJ/DEA to focus on diversion/diverts and off of pts and addicts would be a victory