Just a quick one for now:  More people have been unable to get their rx’s.

Sacramento resident Randi Sanford, 50, who has cystic fibrosis, had to go without the antibiotic infusions she needed to fight an infection because the new Medicare prescription drug benefit would not cover the procedure when administered at home.

John Slack, 66, went to Kaiser Permanente’s hospital in San Rafael earlier this month to pick up nine prescriptions, including medications to fight rejection from a liver transplant. But the pharmacist told him he couldn’t get his drugs because he had been switched to a different health plan.

Patricia Franks, 69, of Gerber in Tehama County had to borrow blood pressure medication from a brother-in-law after her pharmacist refused to fill her prescriptions.

San Francisco’s Johnny Wilson, 49, who is HIV-positive, had his medication only because he had laid in a three-month supply before the new program started. By the time he got his Medicare drug card, he was down to his last few pills.

All were eventually able to get their rx’x although they received conflicting/confusing information re:  Medicare D and had to fight through a bureaucratic nightmare in order to do so.  However, Slack, who also suffers from renal disease, had to be admitted to the hospital, where he received the necessary rx’s.  

The overwhelming concensus is that most prefer the Medicaid sytem and wish to turn the calender back to December 31, as Medicaid was still in effect, as there is so much uncertainty re:  next month and Medicare D.