High Cost of Prescription Drugs
Question:
A few problems ONE: most states don’t have such a program TWO: the costs of these programs are so high as to be virtually usless for most of us. Wisconsin has a cost of $17,600/Year for a couple aged 60 AND no coverage of pre-existing for 6 months (a cost of $8,800 in front) AND a $1,000/year deductable, AND a 20% coinsurance PLUS it provides Medcaid payments to the providers, and many providers are dropping out of medicaid due to the low reimbursment rates. Nice thought though – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – > All spam comments aside, there is a little known strategy I learned from the > insurance commissioner in Wisconsin, and I assume it may work elsewhere. > There is a Health Insurance Risk Sharing Pool for people who cannot get > health insurance elsewhere – sold directly by the State (not insurance > agents). It’s usually used by folks under 65, but there is a HIRSP medicare > supplement as well, and it covers drugs! The supplement is not cheap, about > $300/month in Wisconsin versus about $125/month for a regular supplement > from an insurance company, but if drugs are included there may be a case for > such a strategy. > Contact the Insurance Commissioners Office in your state to see if such a > thing exists in your local. > Romeo Raabe in Green Bay, WI >Hello All, >My husband and I are on a fixed income and unfortunately the cost of his >monthly medical bills was becoming unbearable for us. I came across a >company called Pharmacy Brokers International >(http://shop.pharmacybrokers.com) and have placed several orders through >them with success. They have very reasonable prices, are a dear to deal >with, and they are very fast. They were even thoughtful to send a > birthday >card on my husbands birthday! >Anyway, just wanted to pass along this information for others who may be > in >a similar situation and need to find relief from the high costs. >Anyone else have any experiences they could share about their >successes/failures in using organizations like this to purchase their >medications from? >Best Regards, >Marg Williamson
Response:
when filing spa, complaints always remember to CC a copy to out false claims about their product. It may take a while, but the FTC will investigate, and take appropriate action. Many times just the fact that the FTC was CC’d along with all the other people you notified, is all it takes to get an ISP to enforce their TOS. Mack Type 1 since 1975 http://www.insulin-pumpers.org
Response:
Here’s the letter I received, from the spammers’ affiliates program contact. Why she/he signed their name "RM" as initials, instead of a full name (since I complained to them in my full name) makes me kind of curious… I’ve snipped out anything in the letter that would give them any further "advertising": Ginnie Organization: P <snip company name> References: 1 Dear Sir/Madam, Thank you for bringing this to our attention. We appreciate reports of abuse concerning any of our affiliates who are using our service. Over the last 48 hours, we have received numerous complaints about this specific affiliate. P <snip company name> does not support, nor condone any type of unsolicited internet marketing activities such as the ones you have outlined in your message. Each of our affiliates agrees to such conditions as outlined in section 4.3 of our Affiliate Program Agreement. Violations of that agreement entitle P<snip company name> to terminate our arrangement with the offending affiliate and freeze any proceeds derived since the beginning of such a violation. I am pleased to report that effective immediately, we have terminated our relationship with this affiliate and have frozen any and all funds since March 28, 2003. Rest assured that this affiliate will not benefit from their activities which were in clear violation of our company policies. Further, we have cancelled the ability of our affiliates to use sub- domains off of our domain (ie. in this case, <snip domain name>) for their sites due to incidents such as this. On behalf of all of us at P <snip company name>, we would like to extend our appologies to you and the greater Usenet community for any problems this affiliate may have caused. We also encourage future reports about any of our other affiliates as they will be dealt with in the same swift manner as this matter has been. Sincerely, RM Director Business Development P<snip company name>
Response:
>>> I came across a company called Pharmacy Brokers International >> (http://xxxx.abcdefghijklmno.com)
I can’t believe two numbskulls quoted Marg’s ENTIRE post, including that URL. Were you born with absolutely NO brains at all?
Response:
Well folks we have another troll here in the crossposting "firecheif" I never posted anything even vaugely like this Firefraud is making up posts. He isn’t from OUR group, so whatever group is home to him, y’all watch out. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text ->>> I came across a company called Pharmacy Brokers International >>>(http://xxxx.abcdefghijklmno.com) > I can’t believe two numbskulls quoted Marg’s ENTIRE post, including > that URL. Were you born with absolutely NO brains at all?
Response:
Hi Ted, Firechief is from alt.support.arthritis, where he loves to criticize any body who has a go at spammers. Does genuinely suffer from arthritis, though.
> Well folks we have another troll here in the crossposting "firecheif" > I never posted anything even vaugely like this > Firefraud is making up posts. > He isn’t from OUR group, so whatever group is home to him, y’all watch out.
– Al, Melton Mowbray, uk, LADA dx Jan97 Control basal/Beef lente bolus/Novorapid I do not experiment, I AM the experiment.
Response:
Ted, not starting a flame here, just pointing out that you might want to read your next-to-last post on this thread. Scroll all the way down… You left Romeo Raabe ’s AND Marg’s entire letters quoted after yours. Ginnie – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – > Well folks we have another troll here in the crossposting "firecheif" > I never posted anything even vaugely like this > Firefraud is making up posts. > He isn’t from OUR group, so whatever group is home to him, y’all watch out. >>>> I came across a company called Pharmacy Brokers International >>>>(http://xxxx.abcdefghijklmno.com) > I can’t believe two numbskulls quoted Marg’s ENTIRE post, including > that URL. Were you born with absolutely NO brains at all?
Response:
> Ginnie
Another crossposter!! How long you been on Usenet? Doesn`t take long to learn the rules of acceptable behaviour, so why don`t you learn them? — Al, Melton Mowbray, uk, LADA dx Jan97 Control basal/Beef lente bolus/Novorapid I do not experiment, I AM the experiment.
Response:
>Well folks we have another troll here in the crossposting "firecheif" >I never posted anything even vaugely like this
uh Ted? why did you cross post it back leaving our newsgroup in the header? If you want to reply to cross posted groups in a flame war and don’t want to perpetuate it in the group you actually read you should remove that group/s name from the list. It pisses off the trolls when they suddenly realize their troll post got only one heated reply from it’s actual target and then the rest of the flame war continued on without you. Mack Type 1 since 1975 http://www.insulin-pumpers.org
Response:
You are correct! My apologies to all, and particularly to firecheif It was buried so far down that I missed it Mea Culpa. I don’t often make a mistake like that, and, after clipping, I could not identify the post, but he was right, and I was wrong, on both counts Again, my apologies – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – > Ted, not starting a flame here, just pointing out that you might want to read > your next-to-last post on this thread. Scroll all the way down… You left > Romeo Raabe ’s AND Marg’s entire letters quoted after yours. > Ginnie >Well folks we have another troll here in the crossposting "firecheif" >I never posted anything even vaugely like this >Firefraud is making up posts. >He isn’t from OUR group, so whatever group is home to him, y’all watch out. >>>>>I came across a company called Pharmacy Brokers International >>>>>(http://xxxx.abcdefghijklmno.com) >> I can’t believe two numbskulls quoted Marg’s ENTIRE post, including >> that URL. Were you born with absolutely NO brains at all?
Response:
All spam comments aside, there is a little known strategy I learned from the insurance commissioner in Wisconsin, and I assume it may work elsewhere. There is a Health Insurance Risk Sharing Pool for people who cannot get health insurance elsewhere – sold directly by the State (not insurance agents). It’s usually used by folks under 65, but there is a HIRSP medicare supplement as well, and it covers drugs! The supplement is not cheap, about $300/month in Wisconsin versus about $125/month for a regular supplement from an insurance company, but if drugs are included there may be a case for such a strategy. Contact the Insurance Commissioners Office in your state to see if such a thing exists in your local. Romeo Raabe in Green Bay, WI
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> Hello All, > My husband and I are on a fixed income and unfortunately the cost of his > monthly medical bills was becoming unbearable for us. I came across a > company called Pharmacy Brokers International > (http://shop.pharmacybrokers.com) and have placed several orders through > them with success. They have very reasonable prices, are a dear to deal > with, and they are very fast. They were even thoughtful to send a birthday > card on my husbands birthday! > Anyway, just wanted to pass along this information for others who may be in > a similar situation and need to find relief from the high costs. > Anyone else have any experiences they could share about their > successes/failures in using organizations like this to purchase their > medications from? > Best Regards, > Marg Williamson
Response:
> I do hope you do not mind but I sent a copy of this work of art of yours with > all these listings to the affiliates business link at the web site they are > spaming for. Now let’s see if I get a response.
GO for it!! Here’s the complaint I sent to both the affiliates link AND to sympatico.ca: And again, I apologize for the crossposting, but we’re cleaning up from a war. Read and see some new info I dug up: I’m complaining about your probable affiliates, "Marg Williamson", "Jack Stevenson"; and "Mary Stanford", IF those are their names, whose posts sound suspiciously alike. The full headers in their emails disclose THAT ALL THREE PERSONS ARE USING THE SAME COMPUTER! They have been spamming newsgroups this past week, with repetitious, crossposted fake posts, meant to look like casual parts of the newsgroups they appeared in. But they are ALL planted advertisements for your company, <snipped for this ng post> and include your URL: <snipped for this ng post> Advertising in ANY guise is forbidden in newsgroups, and is especially hated by the members of those groups, when it’s *disguised*, as it is in these instances, as casual, helpful advice. Many of the groups had already spotted it as SPAM by the time I got there, but some didn’t. And your affiliates were taking advantage of vulnerable people, many of them newly diagnosed with a dangerous or deadly illness, and coming to these newsgroups for guidance and critical support. It’s beneath contempt to take advantage of these groups, in ANY manner. Your affiliates didn’t get away with it. I posted SPAM alert messages in every single group, cautioning newsgroup members that their posts were NOT casual, helpful advice, but carefully placed advertising in disguise. for HotMail, the email accounts used by Marg Williamson and Jack Stevenson. And I have sent the same complaint to sympatico, because while Mary’s posts appear to be from Yahoo, they are from the same computer and email service as Marg and Jack. "Marg" is the biggest offender, if that is her real name. I’ve included the full headers from two of her messages. Within the March 29 to April 3, 2003 time period, she spammed similar messages to every one of these newsgroups: And it’s obvious she is spamming, because she took the trouble to log onto those groups, without joining in any discussions. All her posts were single hit-and-run posts just planting the information about the pharmacy, some of them by cross-posting: <snipped list of *43* (up from 30!) ngs for this ng post> "Mary Stanford" posted to all these groups: <snipped list of *12* ngs for this ng post> "Jack Stevenson" posted to all these groups: <snipped list of *17* ngs for this ng post> Your affiliates have done more damage than you can undo. There’s no legitimate, acceptable way for you to promote your services to a newsgroup, and I doubt there’s a tactful way you can apologize, without being flamed for further advertising. I also included two of marg’s messages from different groups, with the full headers, plus all three of "Mary Stanford’s" full header-messages, and both of "Jack Stevenson’s" full-header messages. It was maybe the Mother- In-Law of all emails. The actual Mother-Of-All-Emails I reserved for complaining about T.H. "doe" Ironbrain. Ginnie
Response:
Hi, jamiekate, Hi ruada, Ginnie from Migraine and chronic-pain groups… Jamie, you think YOU’RE tired of this shit? This "Marg" person has two more cohorts doing this same spamming!!! I just did a few minutes on Google? It’s not just "Marg Williamson" TROLLing with these pharmacy plugs, it’s "Jack Stevenson" and "Mary Stanford", too! And their combined "hit list" in the last 6 days is: (that I can find!) alt.support.alzheimers, alt.support.anxiety-panic, alt.support.anxiety-panic, alt.support.asthma, alt.support.autism, alt.support.cancer, alt.support.cancer, alt.support.cancer.breast, alt.support.cancer.prostate, alt.support.cerebral-palsy, alt.support.depression, alt.support.diabetes, alt.support.diet.low-carb, alt.support.headaches, alt.support.headaches.migraine, alt.support.hepatitis-c, alt.support.herpes, alt.support.impotence, alt.support.kidney-failure, alt.support.lupus, alt.support.menopause, alt.support.personality, alt.support.sinusitis, alt.support.skin-diseases.psoriasis, alt.support.sleep-disorder, alt.support.stop-smoking, alt.support.thyroid, alt.support.tinnitus, misc.consumers.frugal-living, sci.med.cardiology, sci.med.pharmacy, soc.senior.issues Mary — alt.baldspot, alt.food.diabetic, alt.infertility.primary, alt.psychology.help, alt.skincare, alt.skincare.acne, misc.fitness.weights, rec.drugs.misc, rec.drugs.smart, sci.life-extension, talk.politics.drugs, talk.politics.medicine Jack — alt.drugs, alt.fifty-plus.friends, alt.fiftyplus, alt.health, alt.med.allergy, alt.med.fibromyalgia, misc.consumers, misc.health.aids, misc.health.alternative, misc.health.diabetes, sci.med, sci.med.cardiology, sci.med.diseases.lyme, sci.med.diseases.osteoporosis, sci.med.prostate.prostatitis, soc.retirement, soc.senior.health+fitness So, they’re MORE than annoying. And I just reported the lot of ‘em. I’m sick of this mystery meat every time I turn around, too. :D Ginnie
Response:
Well, obviously someone who is so inconsiderate as you should try avoiding newsgroups where people who have real concerns are. Sticvk to the alt newsgroups and those promoted by your spammer friends – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – > Oh take a chill pill… yes it’s good newsgroup style to remove previous > messages especially those which spam, but I would imagine that people post > to these newsgroups because they need support, not a lecture 
) >cc’d by email >YES, it DOES matter >if no one tells them, they won’t learn. >AND, some of the people who quoted unmodified should have known better
Response:
Oh take a chill pill… yes it’s good newsgroup style to remove previous messages especially those which spam, but I would imagine that people post to these newsgroups because they need support, not a lecture )
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> cc’d by email > YES, it DOES matter > if no one tells them, they won’t learn. > AND, some of the people who quoted unmodified should have known better
Response:
- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – > Hello All, > My husband and I are on a fixed income and unfortunately the cost of his > monthly medical bills was becoming unbearable for us.
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