I wonder if it has more to do with state regulations. I had a kidney stone and the pain killers were handed out with great generosity. Then a "surgical" removal of a kidney stone just a year ago and received plenty of pain killers for that.

The only difference was that the pharmacy had to have someone with a written prescription actually present that written prescription to the pharmacy. They could not take a prescription over the phone, but it did not have to be me that went in to get the pills.

I didn't even ask for it. I was asked if I wanted some pain pills.

Things have changed. Weather it is from shortages due to manufacturing or supply lines or if it's from some conspiracy of drug companies, rich people that want to control everything or incompetent power hungry nut jobs or just plain incompetence, what does it matter?

The results are the same.

I'm thinking that we, as people that must and will take our survival and fortunes in our own hands, must flat out quit depending on the government or others. We need to do whatever is necessary to secure what we need for ourselves and our families and loved ones.

If we reach the point where we rely too much on others or the government we might as well go to our knees and beg for the crumbs they might give us. There are those who would be happy to have us as beggars or worse, depending on their whims. There are those who would have us on our knees, beholding to them for our very existence.

We have never been afraid to work, to sacrifice, to dare and risk our fortunes and efforts to advance ourselves and our families and loved ones.

I don't know where you all are getting your ideas, but it doesn't make any sense to me.

Your woman-friend complains that "Her doctor said when she is done with the three narcotic pills he probably can't get them renewed". Well, if the doctor writes a prescription, then why won't the pharmacy fill it? Is it a matter of Medicare or Insurance PAYING FOR IT? Then, skip asking Medicare for payment and get a better insurance coverage.

I have very good insurance coverage, BASED ON Medicare, but not Medicare. I can go to ANY doctor I choose, any hospital I choose, any pharmacy I choose, and treatment that I choose and which my doctor will prescribe. The insurance will bill Medicare first and then settle with the doctor/clinic/hospital/supplier/pharmacy/ for the rest, after my payment of a small scheduled copay. I pay a lot for it, but I love it. At my age, both my wife and I need substantial medical coverage; We go to the best doctors/hospital/treatment in town (L.A. has powerfully good medical care available) without caring about the cost.

Your doctor, if he is in private practice, is free to prescribe treatment that he thinks in right for you, subject only to his medical judgement. A good pharmacy will follow the doctor's request, subject only to the law and, like rent, that he gets his payment. If Medicare disallows, then the pharmacist must be paid, but he can fill the prescription, unless it is illegal to do so, in which case, a good doctor would have considered that to be "good medical judgement".

I am surprised if you are dependent on government Medicare, after your support for free enterprise. I think that you don't have ANY BASIS AT ALL to even suggest that "Someone suggested our government is limiting what doctors can prescribe". I think that it just comes down to who pays.

In the minority, I can't in good conscious, tell someone how to get narcotics that are not prescribed. No one knows who is online-many, many scammers out there. Many are addicted and looking to score. They prey on people's vulnerability and kindness. Just saying to be careful.

AllyM

We both have been this form for years and you seem to be open to thinking outside the box.

I wonder if you might find what this Dr has to say,

search

Dr Liebowitz ozone

Look at the clip with Randy Alverez

Hes not the only Dr that offers this.You can research it yourself.

The "elderly" that you are talking about appears to own rentals. Other than that, I have no idea what the extent of her fortune consists of, but I do know that she, and perhaps also you, are strident advocates against dependence on government programs and the wish to be left alone to one's own devices in life. So, now, you say, she needs government help? and, the government should be responsive to her need? and, anyone who objects should be castigated for being uncaring, because someone in her circumstances just doesn't find it "that easy" living on a budget?

I'm 85 years old, I arrived in the US in my late 20's with a wife and child, with only the promise of a modest stipend to look forward to. My step-father-in-law staked me to a wardrobe before I left the old country, because he didn't want the Americans to think how poor I was.

But I worked hard, made a lot of money in this amazing land of opportunity, as can anyone else. Its not that hard, here. You have no idea how I grew up.

But my hard work got me to my present insurance plan, and now I am the one that is suggesting to decline the government benefits and instead to take care of myself.

How ironical!

So, you paid into Medicare? So, you think you are owed something?

Well, by accounting, you are, of course, but is that a good measure of how to live your life?

You have a contract with Medicare and with BC/BS. All the other posters here insist that you follow those contracts without relief, and those contracts specify exactly what is and is not covered with their limits. You are asking the government program and the insurance provider to make exception to the limits that they counted on when they agreed to the contract.

Well, contrary to the opinions on MrLandlord, I believe that when no one else will help, the government must try to solve such problems to the extent that they are able. People without money need a place to stay, so do ex-convicts and people with evictions on their records. HOW to solve the peoblem is a matter for discussion,, but GOVERNMENT must mandate a path to solution. Thats how we make a better world.

My pharmacy, in nasty old CA, KNOWS when I have exceeded allowable limits, KNOWS (by computer) when I have exceeded the Medicare allowable limits. If they don't get notified when I submit the prescription, then when Medicare processes the pharmacy request for payment, then they surely will, and that doctor's name will be on a list.

There is no question in my mind that government, as the helper of last resort, MUST help people in need, but I also think that it is incumbent on everyone to try to make their own way in the world.

Medicare, like any government program, has limits for the program to be successful. My opinion is that government is the last resort, and that those of us who are successful don't need the government help, but there are people who DO need it.

The CDC issues guidelines to physicians concerning opioid prescriptions. To oversimplify, the CDC tells doctors NOT to prescribe opioids (like hydrocodone) except for extreme cases like end-of-life pain management. The CDC offers a list of pain management alternatives to doctors to be explored before resorting to opioids as a last resort.

Moshe, get a clue.

Doctors are NOT free to prescribe as they see fit.

In Ohio (where we currently live) the opioid epidemic has resulted in draconian oversight. My husband has had three major back surgeries, and that was before he got hit by a drunk driver going 60 mph. He's been in pain daily for the last 40 years, and has managed his pain medication very carefully to avoid addiction.

Then his PCP retired. To get the pain meds he's been using (effectively and responsibly) for several decades, he had to:

--go to a pain clinic

--get scans of his back

--try several different weak pain meds that he knew wouldn't work

--get injections ($7000, not covered by insurance, that reduced the pain for two months)

--try a slightly stronger pain med that didn't work

--do radio frequency ablation (helped a little for a short time)

--try a stronger pain med that took the edge off

--state with great emphasis that he was still in great pain daily

--finally got a medication that helped him enough to be functional, but not enough of it to take daily.

All told, it took over two years to jump through all the hoops to convince the doc that he could be trusted with powerful pain meds. Doctors who prescribe "too freely" can lose their license, and they're completely paranoid about prescribing pain meds.

Robin the words you used "draconian oversight" have, I think another issue behind them Why are they doing this? Thousands of pounds of fentanyl are being pushed into this country at the border and they are expending energy on policing sick people? I think there is a much more diabolical purpose that was touched on above: population control. This has to stop and I don't know how we can get control and sanity back.

Doctors ARE free to prescribe what is good medical practice.

Even Robin admits that "All told, it took over two years to jump through all the hoops to convince the doc that he could be trusted with powerful pain meds." So the problem was convincing the doc that her husband could be trusted with powerful pain meds, not that "our government is limiting what doctors can prescribe". And why do you suppose that the doc needed two years before he was convinced?

Sounds like very sound medical advice to me. Certain medications SHOULD be prescribed ONLY under most severe conditions, and doctors are discouraged from prescribing those except under appropriate circumstances, but not at all "limited".

What is my point is that Robin and Allym see this as government interference with basic and humanly necessary rights, with the intention of putting down the important work that government does.

Allym asserts that "our government is limiting what doctors can prescribe." Robin claims that "it took over two years to jump through all the hoops to convince the doc ...". and she blames the State of Ohio. Did the doc have good reason not to prescribe that medication? Did he discuss it with the patient and help him come to a conclusion that got the patient the best treatment possible, all things considered? If not, get a better doctor.

I suppose it takes an educated patient to understand how government programs are constructed and implemented. The problem of doctors dispensing opiates too freely was constructed by experts (thats right, NE) and implemented with expert advice, and I expect that it has worked out successfully to solve the problem without unduly restricting necessary health needs. I seriously doubt that there was NO WAY for a competent doctor to not be allowed to prescribe a treatment that he can defend as being best for the patient.

The problem is not the government, the claim that "I think there is a much more diabolical purpose that was touched on above: population control. This has to stop and I don't know how we can get control and sanity back." is absolute nonsense.

RE: Head in the sand

"The doctor said she has to "fill out a form to get me the antibiotic since the government does not want doctors handing out "too many antibiotics".

So, let her fill out the form. Part of what the doctor charges goes toward her time, doesn't it?

Do you really believe her excuse that "the government does not want doctors handing out "too many antibiotics". First of all, thats a very unprofessional remark. I myself go to only first-class doctors, and none of them would have answered me that way. Certain medications NEED to have some controls to make certain that they are not being prescribed capriciously except under the EXACT conditions for which they are authorized (for safety reasons). Another reason could be because of cost. As an example, I understand that Kaiser HMO refuses to pay for LANTUS for diabetics (24-hour insulin), forcing patients to take insulin shots before every meal. I have a friend who belongs to Kaiser, but gets LANTUS from the VA pharmacy. Is that the reason for the "form"?

If she "needs" to fill out a form, let her fill out a form. Thats part of what her fee includes.

"'they' don't want to "fill out forms". It takes up their time so they won't easily give out the antibiotic."

So who is to blame?

The government? Federal. State, or local?

The medical professionals (as a group)/

The pharmacy?

How about YOUR doctor? Too lazy to fill out a form for her patient to get treatment?

Are you sure that she didn't want you to have that treatment, that recommending that was not her best professional recommendation, as she shuffled you off with such an inept excuse?

Too lazy or excuse making, I would get a new doctor, competent and professional, to give an honest opinion, and then follow it.

AllyM I have never been successful in trying to post a link here but go to youtube and do a search on the subject I previously posted, I think if nothing else, you will find it very interesting, there are a number of Drs/clinics that do this in your state.

ITS NOT FOR YOUR CURRENT PAIN,

Baloney!

She just doesn't think that that prescription is best for you, and so she just blew you off with an inane excuse.

Maybe she is not confident of her ability to indiscriminately prescribe potentially hazardous treatment, But if thats the case, then you need a better doctor.

No competent physician is going to lose their license over prescribing treatment that they can defend. If she cannot defend it, then she has no business prescribing it, or, for that matter, having a medical license in the first place.

I go to excellent, first-class doctors, in a distinguished academic medical center, who don't have any problem to inquire, discuss, research and ask questions about potential treatments. In fact, they are the ones who write the papers that describe how other doctors should treat a condition.

Your fear of the government is total nonsense. I repeat my advice: Go find a serious doctor, who will tell you honestly and competently if this desired medication is the right treatment for your problem or not. You can discuss it with her, and together come to a satisfactory decision about what should be done for your health and get the prescription that will authorize the pharmacy to deliver it to you. Such a serious and competent doctor (preferably a board-certified specialist) wont have any fear of defending her decision to prescribe, and won't be afraid that "they" (the government) are going to shut her down because she "writes too many prescriptions" for antibiotics or painkillers.

Your fear of government is matched only by that of RobertJ and NE.

Ally,..I don't really understand your response to me.

Allym,

I'm sorry that you don't have the resources that you need.

But, inflation is tough, isn't it?

I'm glad that you don't have to pay rent, because rent inflation has been the largest component of the present rise in prices over the last few years. Now, you can understand how so many members of or society have such a valid complaint about rising prices and seriously need SOMEONE to do SOMETHING about it.

Its hard when "they" take money for taxes that you need for food prices which "they" caused by raising fuel costs. So, the government has a serious problem that NEEDS to be solved, but is difficult. I wish them success in solving this important problem, and I am sure that you do, too.

By the way, as to those "big trucks" and diesel fuel, CA is going to forbid sales of fossil-fuel vehicles by 2035, and hopefully you'll get some relief. CA is the leader of several other state, too.

I worked hard for my "cushion", and especially benefited by the rise in rents and other investments over the last few years. To paraphrase the song, "If you can't make it here [in CA], you can't make it anywhere". I'm sorry if you haven't had the same good fortune.