Here is an update that I didn’t really want to have to make as I am getting really frustrated with this.
I have spoken with many of my Dialysis friends here in Miramichi and they are beyond frustrated with the transition from Dialysis Pharmacy to their local pharmacy.
I spoke With the Dialysis Pharmacy regarding my medication‘s last week. They sent me a list of what my pharmacy is going to charge for the drugs and how much my Blue Cross is going to pay and how much the co-pay was going to be for me. I asked wasn’t that portion going to be forwarded to the George Dumont Hospital and that they were going to pay for it? They said yes that option is available if that is what you would like to do or you can pay for it yourself. I wished I could’ve been speaking to the pharmacist in person and for her to have seen the look on my face when she told me that. What person would want to pay out-of-pocket for something that the Hospital was going to pay for!!! She then told me that some people said they wanted to pay it out-of-pocket and not forward it to the George Dumont.
I can’t imagine one of these Dialysis patients turning down someone else paying for their medication. Most of the ones I spoke with this morning said they heard back from the Dialysis Pharmacy and that they were going to have to pay out-of-pocket for these necessary drugs, vitamins, skin lotion , etc.
Some of my Dialysis friends  told me they cannot afford this and will have to not take those drugs  and suffer the consequences. They said they were told  they will need to speak with either their social worker at the hospital or get referred to Social development to see if there are other programs. If it’s going to end up going through social development, possibly at the end, all funded by the same government why make them jump through all these embarrassing demoralizing hoops to achieve the same end?
I was told by the pharmacy department at the hospital that we are the last Dialysis clinic in the province to be transitioned to use our local pharmacy. I was also told one of our other satellite locations in Bathurst was transitioned two years ago and this point nobody had to pay anything extra. I would think that by now after transitioning every other clinic in the province, they would have a handout sheet or some better method of relaying how this is actually going to work to the patient instead of scaring everybody with worry over not being able to pay for their medication’s or to have to pick and choose which ones they will take.
I still find this very vague and confusing that different people are going to have to pay different amounts when I was told it was not going to cost us any extra out-of-pocket. If this is the case, why am I needing to use my Blue Cross? If this is the case why are other people saying they’re not going to take those drugs anymore because they can’t afford them. I have tried to get something in writing from the pharmacy department like a statement saying why are these changes being made and what the whole process is going to entail . We have received nothing as a group or as an individual. It’s hard enough just trying to stay alive with this disease and struggling to do our everyday tasks.
If everything I have been told is true I know it wasn’t the current government that initiated this, but it is still going forward. As they said this has been ongoing for the last few years.
Susan Holt advised there were no program cuts and that she would talk to the two health authorities regarding this. Is there any update that they can provide from the health authorities?  And why are we being asked to use our own private insurance to cover these drugs now and why are other people saying they’re going to stop taking these drugs because they can’t afford to pay for them or hold out hope that there is another program that can help pay through social development or through our social worker at the hospital. I also had another person tell me that it was the kidney foundation that was paying for these drugs, but I spoke to the regional Director for Atlantic for the kidney foundation, and there was no mention of any program that they funded for these medications. I don’t like being given false information from people that don’t have the answers. I asked that the health authorities provide the proper information on how this is being transitioned and who really has to pay for what and why is it not being told to us in a way that explains it and is fair and equal for everyone. These very ill people are very scared.
My interview with CBC News from New Brunswick has not been aired yet and I’m anxiously awaiting for when it will be aired. I’ll let you know when I know when it’s on and I’m sure there will be a digital copy online that I can share afterwards. As a side note to this, I was a bit disappointed that the reporter was asked to leave the Dialysis parking lot saying they were not allowed to be on site, I thought that parking lot were public property. Maybe this is how the law works, but it was a bit disappointing all the same. All she was doing was finishing my interview that was done at my home by filming me walk into the Dialysis unit and did not enter the building. Disappointing I repeat disappointing. 
Well, that is my update/rant for today. I’ll let you know when I hear any updates. Thank you everyone for all your support and for forwarding this message and signing the petition.