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About Siletz news / (Siletz, OR) 199?-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 1, 2002)
Cha-may weeya Medicine Talk Siletz Community CHS Restricts Pharmacy Annual $500 Limit for Retail Purchase Unlimited Mail-In Distribution Pharmacy costs reached a high in 2002 and will continue to increase because of the rising cost of medications. In an attempt to remain within our budget, Contract Health Services (CHS) must adjust the pharmacy benefits effective Jan. 1, 2003. The Siletz Tribe contracted with Pequot Pharmaceutical Network, a tribally owned business, in 1996 to provide pharmacy benefits to tribal members nationwide. Tribal members living outside the 11-county service area have a $500 pharmacy benefit annually. Distributing drugs from the Pequot pharmacy in Mashantucket, Conn., allows it to dispense to other tribes or tribal members at the federal supply schedule price. This reduces the cost to CHS by 40 percent if the prescriptions are mailed out. Restricting pharmacy to mail out distribution will reduce costs to the tribe. Currently, we allow dispensing from the retail market - Fred Meyer, Rite Aid, and other providers in the pharmacy business. CHS will allow you to continue doing so, up to $500 annually, in cases of emergencies or acute conditions. Asking your doctor to write two prescriptions - one for now and the other for mail-in for continued use - will stretch your benefit amount. If you have private insurance that requires a co-pay, you can pay the co-pay and mail your receipt to CHS for reimbursement. Continuing to use the Chemawa, Grand Ronde, or Siletz pharmacies reduces costs to CHS. These clinics should be used whenever possible and this does not count against your $500 limit. If you feel more comfortable pick ing up your prescriptions at the Siletz Clinic and would like to use it for your pharmacy needs, please call 72 hours before pick up. Call 1-800-648-0449 or 541-444-1030. This will allow time to fill your prescriptions. You can receive mail-in envelopes and information by calling Pequot directly at 1-888-779-6638 or contact the CHS department or your nearest community health advocate in the area offices for envelopes or with any other questions you may have. Your Pequot cards will be adjusted for acute and emergency use; a $500 limit will be set for retail purchase. A review and adjustment of the limit will be done on an annual basis. Please use your pharmacy benefit wisely. If you spend your limit before the annual review is complete, you may have no recourse but to use mail-in from Pequot or go to an IHS or tribal pharmacy. Women of all ages join together for dinner, inspiration, and information Health Clinic December Diabetes Dates Dec. 18: Wellness Wednesday - Noon to 2 p.m., Admin lunchroom Dec. 26: Diabetes Day If you’re not current on any of these exams, call and make an appointment: □Dental □Medical □Foot □Testing Supplies □ Diabetes Education The eye doctor is at the Siletz Clinic every Monday. Make sure to get your eyes checked annually! Contact John Jasper or Laura Duarte (Bremner) at the Siletz Clinic, 541 -444-9611 or 541 -444-9671, or 1 -800-648-0449, ext. 611 or ext. 671. TPEP Presents Profiles on Quitting Shannon’s Story by Shannon Chrisman Growing up, practically my entire family smoked, or so it seemed. Of course, when my parents were kids and young adults, they were just finding out about the hazards of smoking. The tobacco companies were at the pinnacle of their dishonesty campaigns, claiming that it was all an attack on them. With that said - I basically grew up with smoking as the norm in my family and in my town. I was in about the sixth grade the first time I ever puffed a cigarette. I walked in on my older cousins smoking and they told me I had to smoke one. Then since they made me do that, I too would be in great trouble if I told. I don’t blame them because at the time, I thought it was pretty gross. I did experiment here and there with cigarettes from about the eighth grade on. It seemed normal and it seemed a little cool. I always would just have a few. I hardly smoked from grade nine through 12 because I wanted to play sports and I could get kicked off the team for smoking. By my junior and senior years, however, I would smoke occasionally in the off-season and by the time I got to college, it was only on weekends. Then it was parties, then the stress of finals, and then I just kept on smoking. When I finally did quit for good about 10 years later, I was up to a pack a day. I can’t remember how many times I tried to quit, about eight or so. I noticed that my throat hurt and my smile wasn’t as bright as it could be because my teeth were starting to turn yellow. I especially noticed all the coughing! I couldn’t walk up a hill. Playing sports was pretty brutal, although I kept on trying and pretended I was fine. I tried to go hiking with my husband in Alaska and made it about 10 minutes before I had to stop and turn around. I couldn’t breathe. The last time I quit was because my husband and I wanted to have a child. It was really hard at first, but when I found out I was having my daughter, the reality set in. I knew I didn’t want to smoke while I was pregnant or raise my child in a cloud of smoke. My husband had begged me for years to quit and finally I was able to. It’s been almost five years now since I quit. I stay quit for many reasons. It got easier as time went on. In recent years, I’ve lost seven great aunts, uncles, and grandparents to illnesses from smoking. I stay quit for my family, my daughter, and for me too. I wish I had never started and I hope other young people will not waste their younger years with a cigarette stuffed in their mouth. Quit now! Better yet, don’t ever start. at the Women s Circle of Life Gathering held at the Siletz Tribal Community Center on Nov. 6. The event was sponsored by the Oregon Breast & Cervical Cancer Program. 26 □ Siletz News □ December 2002 TPEP note: If you would like to share your story, please contact the Tobacco Prevention & Education Program at 541-444-1030 or 1-800-648-0449. What you share can make a difference in someone else’s life. Thank you.
