{"id":253782,"date":"2017-06-05T06:06:59","date_gmt":"2017-06-04T20:06:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/?p=253782"},"modified":"2017-06-05T06:06:59","modified_gmt":"2017-06-04T20:06:59","slug":"340b-program-helpful-nmi-patients","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/340b-program-helpful-nmi-patients\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018340B program helpful to NMI patients\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Cancer<\/a>
Cancer patient Louise Concepcion is hoping the 340B Drug Pricing Program would finally be implemented in the CNMI. (Jon Perez)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Louise Concepcion has Stage 4 colorectal cancer, with cell growth already spreading to her lungs. She accepts that she\u2019s dying but before that happens, she hopes that she and other patients would still get the chance to obtain affordable medication.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s why she supports the plan of the Commonwealth Healthcare Corp. to apply for the 340B Drug Pricing Program since it would help CNMI patients, especially the middle class, to afford the medicines they need.<\/p>\n

CHCC chief executive officer Esther Muna, in a report on the Saipan Tribune, said the hospital could enjoy low-cost medicine, improved quality care, and possible profit generation if the hospital controls the outpatient pharmacy.<\/p>\n

The 340B program under the federal government was created in 1992, requiring drug manufacturers and pharmaceutical companies to provide outpatient medicines to eligible healthcare groups and other entities at a much-reduced cost.<\/p>\n

Concepcion, who is now 58 years old, is a retired procurement officer of the CNMI Public School System and lives solely on her monthly pension. She believes the hospital could qualify for the program, but politics gets in the way.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe 340B is a good program, that\u2019s why I don\u2019t understand some people. It is a drug-pricing program that provides 20 to 50 percent discount on manufactured medicines. Why is the program not implemented here when it was in 1992 when the program started?\u201d Concepcion told Saipan Tribune.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe program began in 1992. Why not implement it here? It is worth trying but they are not trying at all. The hospital could have qualified but there are some political issues. Something is wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n

She added that she\u2019s trying to start a petition but her declining health prevents her. \u201cThe territories are included, for those who would qualify. But if I don\u2019t get my medication in a timely manner, everyday [cancer cells] would multiply.\u201d<\/p>\n

Concepcion also reacted to the statement of Sen. Teresita Santos (R-Rota), who does not support CHCC\u2019s plan to take over the pharmacy\u2019s operations from PHI Pharmacy, whose lease at the Commonwealth Health Center would expire in August this year.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt broke my heart what Sen. Santos said. It really hurts me when Sen. Santos said that [the hospital\u2019s] funds should be focused on toilet tissues, pillowcases, and bed sheets. What good is that when people are dying,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

She pointed out that cancer is not a cheap disease and she could have save a lot if 340B is implemented here. The doctor has put her on Stivarga, an oral chemotherapy pill that costs $6,000 for a supply that lasts only 21 days.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn 2015, the cost of chemotherapy per treatment, one cycle, is $20,000 and sometimes I need to have six cycles. I don\u2019t make $120,000 a year. You see how expensive it is? People don\u2019t want to get cancer and that\u2019s the reason why 340B needs to come in,\u201d said Concepcion.<\/p>\n

She said healthcare is supposed to either prevent diseases or save and extend lives. \u201cIt really hurts me when people or public officials are saying that. My life now is too short. How many deaths or people like me would be sacrificed for this? The 340B program is not only for poor people, it is for all, even for people who fall between the cracks.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not wealthy but I\u2019m not poor. I\u2019m from a middle income earning family. I\u2019m retired, living on pension. You tell me my life is not important? That\u2019s why I\u2019m asking [government officials], please support the hospital. Is the private sector more important than people\u2019s lives?\u201d<\/p>\n

Concepcion believes she could have gotten the medicines she needs at a cheaper price if the 340B program was implemented years ago. \u201cI\u2019m dying and I have nothing to lose. If 340B could have come here, I could have afforded my medicines at a cheaper price. I don\u2019t qualify for Medicaid.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAllow CHCC to apply. Things have changed and people made mistakes before. But please allow them to make the changes and to improve. Allow me and other patients to have affordable medication.\u201d
\n\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Louise Concepcion has Stage 4 colorectal cancer, with cell growth already spreading to her lungs….<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":48,"featured_media":253783,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[900],"tags":[26,17090,67,38],"class_list":["post-253782","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","tag-cnmi","tag-louise-concepcion","tag-people","tag-saipan-tribune"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/253782","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/48"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=253782"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/253782\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/253783"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=253782"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=253782"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=253782"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}