I have an answer to Sylvana Maakad’s Aug. 4 letter to the editor titled, “Prescription Drugs: Seniors must wonder who’ll help them?”
For the past three months, I have been working with seniors in Snohomish County and listening to their concerns. With a fixed income, seniors are most concerned with the prices of their drugs. They are concerned with prices skyrocketing out of control. They are angry that they have worked through the Depression, fought for their country, and paid into a social services system that won’t pay them back. People with disabilities also feel the slap in the face from DSHS with the Medicaid cuts. Those folks who are on Medicare and Medicaid now face the lack of services offered through both, and far fewer pharmacies from which to purchase their drugs. Feeling neglected and marginalized from society, seniors on the whole feel like it is time for elected officials to pay attention to their needs, specifically prescription drug needs.
It is your turn, seniors, to help yourselves. History has taught us you have to join together in solidarity and fight for what you want. We have seen strength in numbers, especially through union rallies and the Civil Rights Movement. During this legislative break, seniors need to tell DSHS how they feel about the Medicaid cuts. Seniors need to make phone calls and write letters to the elected officials, demanding some change in the Medicare system to cover prescription drugs by negotiating with drug companies to lower the prices. More importantly, seniors need to join together and visit their elected officials.
There will be a town hall meeting about the rising costs of prescription drugs facilitated by a non-profit organization called Washington Citizen Action, which works on health care issues, specifically prescription drugs. It will be held Aug. 9, from 9 to11 a.m. at The Everett Station. Come tell your legislators how you feel. Legislators scheduled to be in attendance are U.S. Rep. Rick Larsen, Sen. Georgia Gardener, and state Reps. Aaron Reardon, Kirk Pearson, Jean Berkey, Kelli Linville, Hans Dunshee and more.
Seniors can help themselves by educating themselves, and telling their elected officials how they feel about the rising costs of prescription drugs and the need for a prescription drug benefit. Seniors have been neglected too long, and it’s time legislators and seniors fight for change together.
Everett
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