USA Today article please read

[JUNEBUG27]

USA Today, the #1 newspaper in America in terms of circulation, with more than 2 million readers daily, slammed psoriasis Wednesday as a “cosmetic thing” and suggested that forcing psoriasis patients to pay co-pays of thousands of dollars annually is justified since it is for “the cosmetic treatment of the rash caused by psoriasis.”



We cannot let this false depiction of psoriasis go unchallenged. While Psoriasis Cure Now has already lodged a protest with USA Today, we need you to take just a few minutes TODAY and write a “letter to the editor” to USA Today setting them straight about the seriousness of this incurable disease.



We should try to fill the USA Today letters page with descriptions of the true nature of psoriasis. Remember: Congress and health insurers will be reading. If we are silent now, we will only encourage more insurers to punish psoriasis patients for seeking treatments for this “cosmetic thing.”



You can read the USA Today article here (the attack on psoriasis patients is at the end): http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/money/20060104/drugs04.art.htm



Your letters should be emailed to this address: editor@usatoday.com



Letters should be respectful and as brief as possible—no more than 250 words, and preferably much shorter.



As this article makes clear, what happens in Medicare often soon follows for private insurance. We must speak out now against America’s most-read newspaper depicting psoriasis as trivial.



Thank you and feel free to contact me with any questions. In the coming days, we will be reporting on USA Today’s reaction to this on our Latest News page: http://www.psorcurenow.org/latestnews.php



Thanks and have a wonderful and healthy 2006.



Michael Paranzino

President

Psoriasis Cure Now

[RichJ]

hi Michael Paranzino,
thank you for sharing that. i found it very intersting. here is a pic on what my feet are starting to get like again. i hope they don't think it's cosmedic. maybe they should walk on them for 10 hours like i did today

http://www.psoriasis.org/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=12299

[SamanthaW]

Hi Michael,

I just sent a letter to the editor of USA Today. I am not the best writer out there, but I think I got my point across.....

Thanks for bringing this to our attention.

Samantha

[guyincognito05]

this time was an exception. Here's my letter:

I think the 2-3% of the World's population who suffer from the often devastating effects of psoriasis may take issue with writer Julie Appleby's flippant editorial reference to the condition as a "rash" requiring "cosmetic treatment" in her article entitled "Medicare expands tier pricing system."

Unfortunately, for a significant number of those afflicted with the condition a more appropriate description might include the words "crippling," or "debilitating." Psoriasis is not only a disfiguring and painful physical disease, but can also wreak mental and emotional havoc on those afflicted.

Ms. Appleby's thoughtless remarks are not only outdated in their perception of psoriasis, but are highly damaging to the extremely hard work being done by many people, worldwide, such as the National Psoriasis Foundation, to increase awareness and understanding of this incurable disease, as well as the funding needed to find a cure. Her thoughts also add ammunition to healthcare companies who often try their hardest to justify depriving psoriasis patients of the biological treatments they need and deserve.

[MikeK]

I've been here from the VERY beginning and I've never seen this many people get this fired up about something! I think that it's wonderful that there's now three separate threads about this very offensive article! JUNEBUG27, thank you very much for bringing this back to everyone's attention. Hopefully more and more people will write and tell USA Today EXACTLY what they think of the article!

Thanks, again!

Mike

P.S. Here are the links to the other two threads: http://www.psoriasis.org/forum/showthread.php?t=18018 and http://www.psoriasis.org/forum/showthread.php?t=18017. Keep those letters coming people!!!

[RacerX]

Well that totally torqued me off! :mad:

I sent a comment to Eric Michael, the pharmacy consultant who said that:

This is directed towards Eric Michael, pharmacy consultant in regards to his comment in USA today: "Patients would pay more, for example, if they sought the expensive rheumatoid arthritis treatments Humira or Enbrel for a less serious use, such as for the cosmetic treatment of the rash caused by psoriasis.".

You are an idiot to say that such a comment that Humira/Enbrel is used as a cosmetic treatment for Psoriasis! I have had Psoriasis for over 10 years and nothing has worked for me except for Humira. You do not understand how it feels to have you skin burn like it is on fire or have your skin crack and bleed in the wintertime! Or have people stare or move away from you because they think the Psoriasis lesions are contageous. Or not to be able to take you daughter swimming because psoriasis lesions cover 70% of your body! Maybe you need to go back to college to learn a few more things about medical conditions because you have no clue!

I guess I could have worded or differently, but that comment just had me PO'd!

[MikeK]

There's nothing wrong with calling it like you see it! Good for you, Tom.

Mike