URGENT - Need your HELP with Medicare!!!

Helo everyone,

As some of you already know, there is a strong chancethat NB MEdicare will uninsure coverage for all gastric bypass and lapband suregries in NB.  The final decision will be made between now and June.

Rinette and the team have already begun to motify patients of what they can do but in speakeing with her and teh team last Thursday, I woulda ppreciate if you would all be able to write letter addressed to the Minister of Health, the Honarable Madeleine Dubé but rather than send to her, send it to me as I told the team that if I were to walk into the minister's office with several letters addressed to her, she would have to see them and if we were to each send a letter individually, it may sit on her desk for months.  I work in health so trust me, it happens.

What would need to be put in the letter is not only yoor story of how the surgery has helped you and will help others as well but also, the financial impact it has in saving thousands of dollars in the long run as these surgeries assist patients who are diabetes to reduce or even eliminate their diabetes, heart disease, sleep apnea, respiratory problems, asthmas, galbladder disease and these are to only name a few.  These surgeries reduce in the short and especially in teh long run to eleviate other potential health issues and by doing so, reduce financial cost to teh government.  The other issue would also be that these surgeries are Dr. Beausoleil's passion and if he will no longer be able to perform them he will leave the province to go to Quebec where he would be able to do so as it continues to be covered there.  IF he were to leave, what wil we do for our follows up, etc. Will our government allows us to go there to see him at tehre expense?  I doubt that. 

Here is my email address: [email protected]  Please stand up for this and write that letter.  We need to help others receive the new life we have been able to get.

Thank you,
Denise :)

Denise,

I just sent you a letter by email.  I'm not completely sure if that's what you were looking for but it came from my heart.  I cried through all of it and hope it helps, even a little.

Thanks,
Charline

If you look further down the posts, you will see my post about this & with it the web site for MLA's addresses & the Minister of Health's address is posted as well.  I suggest that if you are going to write one letter, write 3- one each for the Minister, your MLA, & Premier. The web site also has their e-mail addresses.  Hit them every way possible. Get your friends, spouses, & adult children to write too. It is our only hope.

Hi Kitty, yes I had seen it and since I have been through this with Sylvain once before with Medicare when he first started doing bariatric surgery, in speaking with him and Rinette, we decided to try it this way as that is what he and I did in the beginning in 2004 and it worked then of course with a different minister of health.  I have several connections at the Department of Health as I work for them too at the hospital so that is why I am going to try it this way so anyone you know, please have them send tehir letter to em as well.  Thank you and I'll surely be keeping everyone posted of any developments.  Take Care. Denise :)

By - em do you mean me? typo?  If so, why send the letters to you? So Sylvain can use them when meeting with the Dept.?

We do need a co-ordinated approach.

Yes I did mean to type "me".  Sylvain has already met with The Department of Health and for him to send letters would do no good.  The way it works with health is that pressure has to come from elsewhere than from the physician.  When people stand together and appeal a deicison or a potential one, it can and has made a difference in the past.  When it is done by the physician, nothing happens most of the time.  I told Sylvain I/we would not involve him in this but I would update him on the status of things.  This is what we did the first time.  I send a letter to MEdicare with supporting information and it worked. It puts a physician at risk when he/she gets involved in such actions so that is why I am wanting to do it again.

OK. That makes sense, but why send you a copy?

Actually rather than have patients send their letter to the MLA, minister, etc. it would be better to send them to me and I will walk over to the minister's office with all of them in hand to hand to her as by experience, if we were to each send a letter to her when we get to it, it will surely sit there for a while as we have witnesses time and time agian with other requests. But having someone physicially there handing her the information makes a difference.  It's how the dept of health works at times, sad to say but true.  So hence our/my request to send them to me so that hopefully results will happen sooner.

Hi, I was told there is a petition around that people can sign. Is there one that you know of, if not can one letter and several signatures suffice? Instead of a bunch of individual letters.

Danielle

Hello Danielle,

Thank you for your message.  It's not really a petition with names that I need but rather individual letters from patients as this is what will have impact on the Minister when I take them to her.  It's the stories that will hopefully help in keeping bariatric surgeries covered by Medicare. If you know of anyone who has had the surgery or waiting to have surgery, please have them write a letter to the Minister but send it to me so that I may hand it to her.

The letters should state what the surgery has done or will do for the patient but moreso the savings in the long run bariatric surgery has on patients such as reduce or even eliminate diabetes, reduce high blood pressure, respiratory issues, sleep apnea, etc.

Hope this helps.

Please do not hesitate to contact me.  I'm leaving you my email: [email protected]

Thank you,

Denise