Opinion: I’ve been forced to go through ‘step therapy.’ Don’t make Medicare Part B participants do that
Insurers' overzealous use of step therapy is designed to bolster their bottom lines at the expense of people the people they're meant to serve.
For roughly half my life, I have suffered from debilitating joint pain and inflammation that left me drained, fatigued, and, eventually, struggling to walk. At first, no one knew what was wrong with me. Then I was misdiagnosed. Finally, just as I started my sophomore year in college, my doctors told me I had a severe case of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), an incurable, progressive, and ultimately crippling illness. I was forced to drop out of school for a while. For a long time I could not work full time.
That happened more than 15 years ago. Now, after three surgeries and countless medications, I am able to live what resembles a normal life. But
