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Drug crisis is a national catastrophe

By Harry M. Covert For years, illegal drug use has been invading every community of the nation. One of the world’s biggest purveyor of drugs is on trial. And the talk is how opioids are destroying young and old alike. Use of pot, officially called marijuana, has creeped into public acceptance. States have jumped on the bandwagon allowing medicinal use and public sales. We all know illegal drug use is devastating school students, some as young as fifth graders. So, the matter is talked to death. The question? Who is at fault for the cruel assault on the young lives? Movies and ...

Seeking real clarity on drug pricing

Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar wants to make prescription drug pricing more transparent. We agree, but his well-intentioned plan will only confuse and mislead consumers. What’s the good of listing drug prices in advertising if almost no one pays that “list price?” When patients say, “My drugs are too expensive,” they’re not talking about the list price — they’re talking about their co-pays at the pharmacy. While pharmaceutical companies determine a drug’s list price, known as the wholesale acquisition cost (WAC), health insurers and pharmacy ...

Drug prices: It’s time for change

The angry protests around the 2016 Mylan EpiPen scandal brought into focus the perils for patients when the price of a life-saving drug spikes precipitously. As a Type 1 diabetic who has been dealing with escalating insulin prices my whole life, I was heartened to see the outcry over our country’s anemic attitude toward setting affordable drug pricing policies. My concern now is that, without additional crises to capture the public’s attention, the issue will recede in significance. The realities for patients living under the price-spiral sword have not receded. Diabetics ...

True Christians love Jewish people

My heart was broken when I heard about the massacre at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh last month. I was sitting in my study preparing my sermon when the alert came. I immediately prayed, asking God to protect the people there. It was not until later that I heard 11 precious lives were taken by a very wicked man, and that others, including police officers, were injured. Upon hearing the news, I was both angered at the shooter and sorrowful for those who were injured, killed or now deep in grief. Personally, I cannot understand how anyone can go into a place of worship ...

Listen closely to voices from your empty chair

A stranger appeared just as we were sitting down for Thanksgiving dinner. And he sat in the chair that we always leave empty to symbolize those, who due to death or distance, could not be with us this year. The stranger then began to talk — and even sometimes sing. “Let us bow our heads. Dear Lord, we gather together to seek thy blessings, to remember and to reflect, to share sadness and joy. We draw inspiration from many people and places. From Jackie Robinson, who endured bigotry with grit, grace and excellence. From Lou Gehrig, who faced death with dignity, saying he ‘was ...

Quick cancer treatment reason to give thanks

This Thanksgiving, I am thankful to not have cancer. I hope. Six months ago, my family doctor sent me for a CT scan because I went in to be checked out for something that felt weird which ended up being nothing. However, the CT scan did reveal some nodules in my thyroid. A local endocrinologist did a fine needle biopsy and said one of the nodules was 30 percent suspicious of malignancy. I went to another doctor out of town who did the same test that came back inconclusive and then another test, which revealed the same nodule was about 40 percent suspicious of malignancy. I ...