Urgent: Prevent the elimination of Medication Assistance Programs in NC
In 2003, North Carolina created Medication Assistance Programs (MAPs) for people who are uninsured or on Medicaid or Medicare and who need help to buy medications they need to control chronic illnesses. The Health and Wellness Trust Fund awarded 23 grants totaling $8.3 million over three years. Later, more funding would be added to help seniors understand medication interactions and to add more MAP programs.
The Medication Assistance Program has been a success by almost any measure. MAP grantee sites provided more than $68.8 million worth of free medications to nearly 40,000 patients from January 2003 to December 2005, representing a 6-to-1 return on investment. More than 8,000 of these patients also received medication management (MM) services.
Offering medication to people who have chronic conditions helps save suffering and lives, and, of course, money.
Without medications, high blood pressure leads to stroke; high cholesterol leads to heart attacks; diabetes leads to renal failure, blindness and limb amputation; mental illness leads to suicide. It’s more expensive both financially and morally to deny medications to people who need them, yet that’s what’s about to happen unless we act.
Both the governor and the state House of Representatives agreed that MAP is important and their budgets included funding for it.
But the NC Senate decided that helping alleviate suffering wasn’t worth including in its budget, even though the program has demonstrated its worth.
During the next couple of days, the budget will be in reconciliation as the House and Senate hammer out differences. Here’s where we all come in: We need to contact members of the committee (listed below):
Co-Chairs: Sen. Peter S. Brunstetter (Forsyth), Sen. Neal Hunt (Wake,) Sen. Richard Stevens (Wake)
Vice Chairs: Sen. Tom Apodaca (Buncombe, Henderson, Polk), Sen. Linda Garrou (Forsyth)
Members: Sen. Harris Blake, Sen. Dan Blue, Sen. Andrew C. Brock, Sen. Harry Brown, Sen. Charlie S. Dannelly, Sen. Don East, Sen. Malcolm Graham, Sen. Kathy Harrington, Sen. Fletcher L. Hartsell, Jr., Sen. Brent Jackson, Sen. Ed Jones, Sen. Eleanor Kinnaird, Sen. Martin L. Nesbitt, Jr., Sen. Louis Pate, Sen. David Rouzer, Sen. Bob Rucho, Sen. Jerry W. Tillman,Sen. Tommy Tucker, Sen. Michael P. Walters.
Each of these senators can be contacted through http://www.ncleg.net/Senate/Senate.html.
We need to do this and we need to do this now.
Tags: Medicaid, Medicare, Medication Assistance Programs, NC Senate budget, uninsured
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Patient Pals & Family Friends
Life o' Mike has a peer support program for people with one or more serious or chronic medical issues or disabilities.
We aim to reduce isolation and fear among people who have conditions, including psychiatric illness, HIV/AIDS, diabetes, mild dementia or other cognitive disorder or disability, thereby reducing depression and complications as people learn to improve self-management of their medical conditions.
Patient Pals help alleviate feelings of isolation and frustration. They can help people develop a list of questions to ask the doctor and then accompany the person to the doctor to make sure all the questions are answered, taking notes to be sure the person understands the doctor’s answers.
Our trained volunteers also accompany their “Pals” to art exhibits, movies and walks outdoors, meet for coffee, call to check in and more.
Our Pals have experienced weight loss, improvement in diabetes, HIV, psoriasis, depression and more, just because they have someone who cares about them. Some relationships develop into longer-term friendships; other Pals move on to more independent lives.
Family Friends are there to help caregivers and other family members grow into their new role.
We need volunteers, who are asked to donate a minimum of one hour a week. Training is free and includes information on active listening, ways to help and when to know more help is needed.
And of course, we need funding.
To learn more, call Leslie Boyd at 828-243-6712 or e-mail lifeomike@gmail.com.
Life o’ Mike honors Joe Eblen
Life o' Mike presented its first Michael T. Danforth Community Service Award to Joe Eblen at a luncheon on June 8, in the Friendship Hall of First Congregational Church, 20 Oak St., Asheville.
Joe, seen here with Leslie Boyd, left, and his wife, Bobbie, has spent his life helping children and families, both as a coach and game official for more than 60 years, and as founder of Eblen Charities.
Start From Seed
Life o' Mike has a new program- Start from Seed (SFS).
SFS is a volunteer doula program aimed at providing non-medical, comprehensive support to low income, high-risk women and families of Buncombe County focusing on three areas:
1. We help new doulas with certification and training in return for their participation as a volunteer doula for SFS
2. We mentor volunteer doulas with their first few clients
3. Our volunteer doulas provide birth and postpartum doula services to low income, high risk moms, providing support and tools to empower them as a new parent.
A birth doula is a trained and experienced professional who provides continuous physical, emotional and informational support to the mother before, during and just after birth; a postpartum doula provides emotional and practical support during the postpartum period.
Start from Seed clients are referred to us from the Buncombe County Department of Health’s Nurse-Family Partnership Program, Western North Carolina Community Health Services, and Mission Hospital. The Program is intended and designed for growing clients’ inner strength and helping them gain empowerment to help them cope with the emotional, physical and mental challenges of childbirth, labor, and motherhood.
Our new moms and their infants have many needs. If you would like to help them get off to a good start, please visit our Start from Seed web site: Start from Seed, or call Program Director Chelsea Kouns at 804-814-9946.