Kennel "Naps" and "Soap Boxes"

What a week we've had! Gorgeous days and peaceful nights..... Tippy and I have been doing our practicing every day. Some of the behaviors I occasionally choose a couple and save some for the next day. Recall Level 1&2 I do every day along with fetch, walking "Right", up, jump, off, down/sit w/ stay. I only practice "kennel" a few times a week, because Tippy....in all of his excitability....usually falls asleep within just a couple of minutes. He has NO problem staying in the kennel. As you can see, I've interrupted his nap by finishing his time sooner than he'd like! I usually follow it with play time. Tippy loves his play time! He especially loves the Kong Frisbee that I had gotten for Alli, but she really didn't enjoy retrieving, aka "get it". She would chase something, sometimes she'd bring it back, but most of the time she made it look good by going full steam after it and then running on by to wherever she wanted to go! Tippy will chase anything. Sometimes I'll start with a tennis ball, but I almost always finish with the Frisbee. I tried a regular plastic one, but he would bite it while bringing it to me and cause it to crack. When I found the Kong one, you would think that Tippy was going after a steak! He's just about perfected "Fridge", which I consider quite a feat! While working on "Fetch Phone", I decided that I would get him to fetch my cell phone, too. I didn't let Alli because when she fetched items, they usually got slobbered on....With Tippy, not so much. I also feel that since my balance is not so hot, and I usually have my cell phone near by, teaching him to fetch my cell would almost certainly assure me that when I fall I'll be able to get help.

I never got around to mentioning our trip to testify in Hartford on the 15th. I went as a Connecticut resident, US Pain Foundation representative but, in this case, I was there primarily as a patient currently struggling with an issue directly related to the bill before the Insurance and Real Estate Committee. Due to my Primary Immune Deficiency, I received an IV every 4 weeks from November of '06-March(or April) '11. The IV was necessary to help to keep me from getting sick. While we don't know what the major disorder is that I have, it does seem that when I am ill, primarily upper respiratory infections, I tend to weaken more quickly. When I recover I don't always recover to the level I was at. In any case, prior to starting the IVIG(immunoglobulin G, IGg) I averaged 7-10 sinus infections along with various colds and viruses. From Nov. '06-March '11, I had just 3. That was 3 total, not an average, just 3. Since having to stop the IVIG, I have had 9 sinus infections, but have suffered from various other respiratory infections continuously. Now, here's the reason I had to stop, and what HB 5486 would mean for me and many, many others who require "Upper Tier" medications. An "Upper Tier" drug is usually injectable, or a higher tier drug which one requires to either maintain their health status or it's actually life-saving as in the case of drugs required by hemophiliacs and others with chronic illnesses. On my private insurance it went from being covered to a co-pay of $350. Along with my other medications, that was more than I could afford every 4 weeks, with some months having a fifth week, and then it would be $700. Due to rising drug costs, I am switching to Medicare for my health care, probably taking Anthem under the Advantage Plan. In their drug "Formulary" the drug for my IVIG, Gamunex, is listed as a "Tier 6" drug. Tiers 5 & 6 carry a 33% co-pay. As each "dose" runs approximately $2,500-$3,500(depending on the infusion method/administrators), my co-pay would be somewhere between $800 and $1,100. Way out of my "league". Under HB 5486, an insured would only be responsible for $1,000 "out of pocket" per calendar year. That means that I would pay $1,000 towards my first "dose", and not have to interrupt my treatment due to the inability to afford the medication. It may not do away with the tier system, but it certainly does take a major step in the right way. That is Section I of the bill. The remainder of the bill deals with improving testing and screening for breast cancer, and helping to make it more accessible and affordable. I have not been privy to conversations relating to the breast cancer section so I really can't speak to the specifics. However, if it helps to locate and treat the cancer sooner, than I'm certainly in favor of those aspects. If passed, it would take effect January 1, 2013........

I have been on my "soap box" long enough, my best to you all, and I appreciate the time you take to read it.

Peace,
Wendy