Minority and Women's Advocacy Groups Send Letter to California Attorney General Jerry Brown Requesting Investigation Into Discrimination by Health Insurance Companies
Posted on: Friday, 31 July 2009, 13:40 CDT
Healthy African American Families, Familia Unida and For Grace to Call for Official Look Into Insurance Company Practices that Deny California Communities Access to Pain Medications
LOS ANGELES, July 31 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- California patient advocacy organizations Healthy African American Families, Familia Unida, and For Grace today sent a letter to California Attorney General Jerry Brown requesting an investigation into discriminatory practices by health insurance companies that deny entire California communities access to critical and often life-saving medications.
The full text of the letter read:
Dear Attorney General Brown,
We are writing to ask that your office investigate an unscrupulous health insurer practice that denies California patients in pain access to critical medication. We are concerned that this insurer practice particularly discriminates against African American and Latino families, those living with disabilities, and women, especially those in low-income communities.
California insurers, including Blue Shield, refuse to initially cover doctor-prescribed and FDA-approved treatments. Some insurers require that patients fail on up to five medicines before they can have access to the one the doctor initially prescribed.
The result of this practice is that members of minority and low-income communities are denied access to new and better medications, and that they experience prolonged pain and often deteriorating health.
When health insurers deny patients access to timely and effective treatment, those who need medicine for chronic pain - including Californians suffering from arthritis, multiple sclerosis, fibromyalgia and diabetic peripheral neuropathy (a painful diabetes-related nerve condition) - are especially hurt. It is not only unethical, but cruel, for insurers to deny a patient access to a medicine the doctor knows will relieve their pain and to require the patient to go through multiple steps of taking drugs that don't work.
Denying patients in pain access to medication is more than a quality-of-life issue. When a single mother suffering from fibromyalgia is forced to try multiple pain treatments that do not work, she often must miss work, and arrange childcare and travel, which threatens her livelihood and ability to provide for her family.
In March of 2009, 16 state Attorneys General sent a letter to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) raising concerns about Medicare plans requiring patients to fail first on multiple medicines, including treatments not even approved for their particular condition. In response, CMS tightened restrictions and adopted a policy that prevents health insurers from requiring patients to take more than two medicines before the insurer will cover the medicine that the doctor thinks is the most appropriate treatment.
California patients not covered by Medicare deserve the same protections. We respectfully request your office investigate California health plan practices relating to their fail first policies so patients in pain can have access to the treatments their individual physician thinks they need.
Sincerely,
Loretta Jones
Executive Director
Healthy African American Families 2
Irma Resendez
Executive Director
Familia Unida
Cynthia Toussaint
Founder
For Grace
About Health African American Families II
Healthy African American Families II (HAAF) is a non-profit, community-serving agency whose mission is to improve the health outcomes of the African American and Latino communities in Los Angeles County by enhancing the quality of care and advancing social progress through education, training and collaborative partnering with community stakeholders, academia, researchers, and government. HAAF services all of South Los Angeles and Service Planning Area 6 in particular. HAAF is widely regarded in the community as an advocate voice, and source of education and training around disparities and research, for the local community. HAAF regularly disseminates research to community in its free major yearly events. HAAF's partners include: Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science, UCLA, RAND, and over 150 community based organizations.
About Familia Unida
Familia Unida living with Multiple Sclerosis (FULWMS) is the first bilingual, English/Spanish Multiple Sclerosis non-profit organization in U.S. History. It serves over thousands of individuals and families affected by Multiple Sclerosis (MS) and other disabilities.
FULWMS upholds its solid commitment to offering innovative and comprehensive services that respect and value the diverse populations living with disabilities. Its extensive resources have made it possible for many to obtain access to effective healthcare and educational opportunities.
As a charitable organization, it works with more than 1,000 community partners to maximize the quality of life for countless individuals.
About For Grace
Founded in 2002, For Grace is a nonprofit organization passionately devoted to ensuring the ethical and equal treatment of all women in pain. Their main goal is to increase awareness of the gender disparity women experience worldwide in the assessment and treatment of their pain. For Grace provides the foundation for women to have their pain managed effectively and without bias through self-empowerment, public awareness, healthcare professional education, and legislative advocacy.
SOURCE Healthy African American Families
Source: PR Newswire
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