Today's Date: March 19, 2024
Center for Disease Analysis Foundation Announces First Round of Grantees for the CDAF-Relink Grant   •   Spire Global to Enhance AI-Driven Weather Prediction in Collaboration with NVIDIA   •   EverWind Fuels Praises Historic Canada-Germany Agreement to Sell Canadian Green Hydrogen   •   Smarter AI for All: Lenovo Unveils Hybrid AI Solutions that Deliver the Power of Tailored Generative AI to Every Enterprise and   •   College of Saint Mary Selects YuJa Enterprise Video Platform as Campuswide Media Creation and Distribution Solution   •   SBS TO RECEIVE MULTIMILLION DOLLAR SETTLEMENT FROM VOZ MEDIA   •   EarthX to Feature Benji Backer, Author of "The Conservative Environmentalist," at Upcoming Congress of Conferences   •   New ASEAN Energy and ACTUAL Sign Cooperation Agreement to Develop Net-Zero Plan for the New $5B USD Pengerang Energy Complex   •   UL Solutions and SINAI Technologies Join Forces to Help Customers Enhance Decarbonization and ESG Performance and Reporting   •   Mitsubishi Electric Named to CDP Supplier Engagement Leader   •   Carlisle Companies to Acquire MTL Holdings, a Leader in Edge Metal and Non-Insulated Architectural Wall Systems   •   Consumers Energy Expands MI Clean Air, Allowing Customers to Offset Carbon Emissions   •   NAREB PREPARES MEMBERS FOR MAJOR CHANGES TO HOME SALES AGENT COMMISSIONS AFTER LAWSUIT SETTLEMENT   •   Statement by Minister Qualtrough on the Closing of the 2024 Arctic Winter Games in the Mat-Su Valley, Alaska   •   Hyundai Showcases Refined-Rugged SUV Experience in New Asian American Campaign for the All-New Santa Fe   •   TM Associates Announces Grand Opening of Luxury Affordable Apartment Community in DC, MDXL Flats Apartments   •   Mbanq and The Financial Policy Council to Host: “Business Banking Battles – Big Value in the Face of Bank Industry T   •   UNLOCK SPRING LEARNING: THE TOY ASSOCIATION™'S NEW STEAM ACCREDITED TOY LIST OFFERS 25 ENGAGING TOYS FOR KIDS   •   Using Banuba SDKs Gives Businesses an Advantage in the Case of TikTok Ban   •   Cadence and NVIDIA Unveil Groundbreaking Generative AI and Accelerated Compute-Driven Innovations
Bookmark and Share

California Minority Advocacy Groups Send Letter To Blue Shield Of California

California Minority Advocacy Groups Send Letter to Blue Shield of California Calling for an End to Discriminatory Practice that Denies Patients in Pain Access to Proper Medication

 

Latino and African American Advocacy Groups, and Area Doctors Send Letter to Blue Shield CEO Friday About Impact of "Step Therapy" on Minority Communities

 

LOS ANGELES, -- California minority advocacy groups including Healthy African American Families, The Wall/Las Memorias, Latina Breast Cancer Agency, Black Barbershop Health Outreach Program, and the Real Medicine Foundation today sent a letter to Blue Shield of California calling on the company to reconsider harmful and discriminatory coverage policies.

The letter to Blue Shield specifically calls for an end to the practice of step therapy, which requires patients to fail on up to five medications before Blue Shield will cover the treatment initially prescribed by a doctor. The California minority advocacy groups say that step therapy disproportionately affects minority and low-income communities in California.

"When Blue Shield denies patients access to timely and effective treatment, those who need medicine for chronic pain - including Californians suffering from arthritis, multiple sclerosis, and fibromyalgia - are especially hurt," said Loretta Jones of Healthy African American Families in the letter. "Many in the African American and Latino communities have diabetes, which includes DPN, a painful nerve condition. When Blue Shield requires those suffering from DPN to take medication that does not relieve our pain, more than our quality of life suffers."

"When a mother suffering from DPN 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," the letter continues. "It is not only unethical, but cruel, for Blue Shield 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."

The full text of the letter read:

Dear Mr. Bodaken:

We are writing to ask that Blue Shield of California change a dangerous coverage policy that denies California patients in pain access to critical medication. We are concerned that this practice particularly discriminates against members of California minority and low-income communities.

Blue Shield refuses to initially cover doctor-prescribed and FDA-approved treatments, instead requiring California patients in pain to try and fail on up to five medications before Blue Shield will cover the treatment initially prescribed by a doctor.

The result of this "fail first" policy 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 Blue Shield denies patients access to timely and effective treatment, those who need medicine for chronic pain - including Californians suffering from arthritis, multiple sclerosis, and fibromyalgia - are especially hurt. Many in the African American and Latino communities have diabetes, which includes DPN, a painful nerve condition. When Blue Shield requires those suffering from DPN to take medication that does not relieve our pain, more than our quality of life suffers.

When a mother suffering from DPN 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. It is not only unethical, but cruel, for Blue Shield 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.

The U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) adopted a policy in March 2009 that prevents health insurers like Blue Shield from requiring patients to take more than two medications before the insurer will cover the medicine that the doctors thinks is the best treatment. In addition, the new CMS regulations prevent health insurers from forcing a patient to take drugs that have not been approved by the FDA when a doctor initially prescribes an FDA-approved drug for the patient's condition.

This new Medicare policy, which goes into effect in January 2010, is an important step to ensure that Medicare patients have access to the treatments they need, when they need it. But Californians who are not covered by Medicare deserve the same protections.

For the reasons stated above, we respectfully request that Blue Shield ceases this harmful "fail first" policy and ensures that California patients in pain do not continue to suffer.

Sincerely,

Loretta Jones

Executive Director

Healthy African American Families II

Bill Releford, M.D.

Black Barbershop Health Outreach Program

Martina C. Fuchs, M.D., Ph.D.

Real Medicine Foundation

Richard Zaldivar

Executive Director

The Wall/Las Memorias Project

Olivia Fe

Executive Director

Latina Breast Cancer Agency

Media interested in speaking with any of the above advocates about step therapy and the impact on minority communities in California should contact Lucila Garcia at (323) 646-2150, or lucilagarcia@rational360.com

About Healthy 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.

www.haaf2.org

 

SOURCE Healthy African American Families 


STORY TAGS: california, ca, minority, advocacy, groups, news, medicine, medication, treatment, social justice, healthy, african, american, black, families



Back to top
| Back to home page
Video

White House Live Stream
LIVE VIDEO EVERY SATURDAY
alsharpton Rev. Al Sharpton
9 to 11 am EST
jjackson Rev. Jesse Jackson
10 to noon CST


Video

LIVE BROADCASTS
Sounds Make the News ®
WAOK-Urban
Atlanta - WAOK-Urban
KPFA-Progressive
Berkley / San Francisco - KPFA-Progressive
WVON-Urban
Chicago - WVON-Urban
KJLH - Urban
Los Angeles - KJLH - Urban
WKDM-Mandarin Chinese
New York - WKDM-Mandarin Chinese
WADO-Spanish
New York - WADO-Spanish
WBAI - Progressive
New York - WBAI - Progressive
WOL-Urban
Washington - WOL-Urban

Listen to United Natiosns News