Blue Cross Blue Shield of Tennessee Discriminates Against HIV/AIDS Patients in Violation of the Affordable Care Act, Reports Consumer Watchdog
"What's the good of an insurance policy if an insurer is allowed to create roadblocks to the very medications you need to stay alive?" said Consumer Watchdog Litigation Director
Download the lawsuit that was filed in the
http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/sites/default/files/bcbst_hiv_complaint.pdf
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- Due to the complex nature of HIV/AIDS drug regimens, patients rely on their community pharmacists who, working directly with patients, monitor potentially life-threatening adverse drug interactions and side effects.
- Mail-order delivery of these medications, often requiring large refrigerated containers, is not a viable option for many patients and can raise major privacy implications, particularly for those individuals who have not revealed their medical condition to employers, co-workers, friends, and family members due to the social stigma that continues to be associated with the disease.
- Because there is no cure for HIV/AIDS, the virus continually mutates around the medications prescribed to treat it, requiring constant monitoring and immediate provision of new medication regimens to address changes in the disease that can only be provided by community pharmacists.
- Community pharmacists, who often have greater contact with HIV/AIDS patients than physicians and know their complete drug regimen, provide essential advice and counseling that help HIV/AIDS patients and families navigate the challenges of living with a chronic and often debilitating condition.
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Tennessee's specialty pharmacy program replaces these life-saving interactions with an 800 number that places the burden of securing life-sustaining medications on chronically ill patients.- HIV/AIDS patients must call-in each month to renew their prescriptions—and work their way through automated robocalls, messages and multiple call center staff—increasing stress and fatigue for patients who are literally fighting to stay alive, exacerbating their condition.
- The use of mail-order providers also creates the very real risk of delayed, lost or stolen shipments, resulting in dire consequences for many patients who must strictly adhere to their medication regimes or face serious illness or death.
- If HIV/AIDS patients do not obtain their medications from a specialty pharmacy, they must pay full-price for their medications—easily thousands of dollars or more each month—to purchase their medications at their community pharmacy.
Consumer Watchdog is a nonpartisan consumer advocacy organization with offices in
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View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/blue-cross-blue-shield-of-tennessee-discriminates-against-hivaids-patients-in-violation-of-the-affordable-care-act-reports-consumer-watchdog-300547293.html
SOURCE Consumer Watchdog
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