The following compelled me to write a letter to Blue Cross of California... Take a deep breath, and read

Initially, I went onto their website and wrote an email to them but it wouldn't go through. After several tries, I decided to keep it real. My letter will be in the mail tomorrow.

It reads as follows:

Hello,

I am contacting you because I recently read a news story about Blue Cross in which the co-pay for Pulmozyme jumped from $30.00 to $784.00. The report went on to describe the implications of this change for the family of a 10 year old boy who has cystic fibrosis. You must know that the gap between those amounts is not just about rational numbers on a page but about the struggles and sacrifices that his family will have to make so that he can have a bearable life. From what I understand, the co-pay increased because of a change in how Pulmozyme is listed within your health coverage plans. I suppose this wouldn't be such a big deal if there were a generic version of Pulmozyme, but there isn't. There is no substitute, so basically that family as well as anyone else needing that medication are at the mercy of organizations such as yours. So where is the mercy?

I hope that my letter is not the only one that you have received regarding this injustice, and that is what this is, an injustice. In times like these, with so many breakthroughs in the area of medical science, it is not only robbery that you are committing against your fellow citizens with outlandish co-pays but crimes against humanity. People die and suffer because they lack critical care, medications and treatments-not because they don't exist but because they are kept just out of reach by a society that justifies prosperity at the expense and suffering of others. Those critical elements aren’t goods to be bought and sold, but items that belong to the public at large. How much is a human life worth? How about that of a sick person? Putting values on things like medications puts a value on human lives because only those who can afford the prices, which they have no voice in setting, really count. This tyranny will not last.

Please spare me a fill-in-the-blanks reply. If you send me anything back at all, I ask that it be something, anything, that shows there was a moment where someone in your organization considered the larger implications of keeping healthcare just out of reach of those who need it most.

Sincerely,