EVERYONE PLEASE READ

[eitter]

GOTCHA!!!!!!!!!!! Only 36 people have read Kathryn Post about Calling Congress! I do not care how sick you are if you are well enough to read or post here then you are well enough to make ONE CALL to change the course of awareness for our SUCK ASS CANCER!!!!!!! Pun intended! Many of you could not make to Call on Congress so here is YOUR chance to make a difference from the comforts of your home lounging in your jamjams while eating bon bons and watching your soap opera! LOL Just Kidding, kind of sort of!

So I am re-posting Kathryn's brilliant post and make that call NOW, stop what you are doing and CALL!

And BTW the staff of FightColoRectalCancer.org is ringing the bell today on Wall Street to mark the end of ColoRectal Cancer Month!

Posted by Kathryn!

For all of you that wanted to attend Call on Congress for Colorectal Cancer, but could not, this is your chance. The phone calls have been really slow. We need more. It only takes a few minutes of your time.

PLEASE take a few minutes of your day to call in. This is one of the issues I went to Call On Congress for. Both the Digestive Disease National Coalition and Fight Colorectal Cancer had this on the agenda. This is a bi-partisan issue. It is not something that is at debate, but was an oversight in the original legislation that needs to be fixed. I spent a week in Washington DC working on this and other issues. Can you please take a few minutes out of your day to call? One person alone doesn't make a big difference, but ALL of us working together can make move mountains! Please come back and post after you call - let's see how many we can get together to make a difference on this issue.

There was a loophole in the new health policy, that was NOT intended to be there. If someone on medicare goes for a colonscopy, there is supposed to be no charge - it is a screening and should be covered 100%. (It has been proven that colonoscopies reduce the rates of CRC - paying for 20 colonoscopies will detect polpys that will be removed and prevent at least one case of CRC - which costs a LOT more to treat than 20 colonoscopies. One in 19 persons will get CRC in their lifetime. So the issue here isn't whether colonoscopies should be paid for.) The problem is if a polyp is found and removed, the procedure becomes a treatment rather than a screening. Suddenly this free service costs hundreds of dollars because they have to pay the co-pay on the FULL procedure. The wording was correct to keep them from paying the deductible, but not the co-pay. One of the GI doctors I was at DDNC with said that they have actually had people calling to cancel appointments for colonoscopies after hearing their friends had to pay after their appointments which found polyps, and they just don't have the $$ to pay on their fixed incomes. People that could have polyps removed and avoid CRC are not having it done because of this loophole. Fixing it will save lives and save $$. This is a no-brainer.

1-866-615-3375

Seniors' access to a screening colonoscopy is at risk and YOU can help!

We need you to call Congress and urge your Representative to support H.R. 4120!

Call 1-866-615-3375. At the prompt, enter your ZIP code and you will be directly connected to your Representative - at no cost to you.

When you reach your Representative's office, simply say:

•Your name and where you live
•Please cosponsor H.R. 4120, the Removing Barriers to Colorectal Cancer Screening Act of 2012
•Because Medicare beneficiaries should not be subject to unexpected coinsurance payments for colonoscopy screening
H.R. 4120, the Removing Barriers to Colorectal Cancer Screening Act of 2012, will fix a regulation that requires Medicare beneficiaries to pay coinsurance when their screening colonoscopy involves the removal of a polyp. The current policy can cost patients $100 to $300 and serve as a deterrent to screening.


We need cosponsors for this legislation if it is to pass into law & YOU can help! Your call will take two minutes of your time, but could save countless lives. Please take action and urge your friends and families to do the same!

1-866-615-3375

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And for the Social Media Buffs ie Facebook, please post a blurp to your frineds and family to have them call too!

And for those that have called, please tell everyone how easy it is!!!

[simon031003]

I just called. It really just takes about 2 minutes. I am from Texas and Rep. John Carter's sec is going to pass the word onto John Carter. The automated system on the toll free number tells you exactly what to say, and it is word for word from Kathryn's post. I have never called a rep office before, and now I feel like I may have just impacted something on a national level. Wow. great feeling.

[CheeseHead]

Wrong country, sorry. Hope this law gets fixed...

Cheers,
Cheese

[Raclette]

I made the call, but it didn't go so well! When asked for my address I had major chemo brain block and forgot my street number!!! Soooo embarrassed! Had to look it up while he held. Explained my chemo brain to the guy but not sure he believed me! So anyone else who calls make sure you remember your name and address. How humiliating! Ahhhhhh
R

[Gloria]

Call completed to Clifford B Stearns

[beth568]

I've been nagging my friends about this. It really couldn't be simpler or quicker. Just call!

[NWgirl]

Done. And am I going to play a cancer card here? You bet I am. Feeling too lazy to pick up the phone? Then think of Gaelen. She hauled herself to D.C. so she could meet with these folks in person and give it her all. It wasn't easy and it took a tremendous toll on her physically - but she was there leading the fight. And all YOU have to do is pick up a phone from the comfort of your own home - 2 minutes of your time.

In talking to a dear friend today about making a difference, I used Gaelen as an example of a really strong, loud and powerful voice in advocacy. I'm not that person. I'm not nearly as confident, knowledgable or powerful. BUT - if you group together enough people LIKE ME - then together our voices can be heard. So please, pick up the phone and join me in making the call. We CAN make a difference!

[eitter]

Done. And am I going to play a cancer card here? You bet I am. Feeling too lazy to pick up the phone? Then think of Gaelen. She hauled herself to D.C. so she could meet with these folks in person and give it her all. It wasn't easy and it took a tremendous toll on her physically - but she was there leading the fight. And all YOU have to do is pick up a phone from the comfort of your own home - 2 minutes of your time.

In talking to a dear friend today about making a difference, I used Gaelen as an example of a really strong, loud and powerful voice in advocacy. I'm not that person. I'm not nearly as confident, knowledgable or powerful. BUT - if you group together enough people LIKE ME - then together our voices can be heard. So please, pick up the phone and join me in making the call. We CAN make a difference!

GOOD POINT Belle! LOVE it and wished I had pointed that too.....Gaelen just a few short weeks ago was at Capital Hill for those that could not be there and she won her INCREDIBLE award all the while knowing what she was facing upon her return home!!!! And all we are asking is to make ONE phone call!

[Kathryn in MN]

Thanks Liz! It really is a simple thing people can do that doesn't cost a dime and doesn't take much time. Just one of us calling doesn't amount to much, but many calling in really counts!