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Comment by tomcam | Hacker News Reader

Holy cow. What happened?

Long story short, my Medicare records got screwed up. Some database entry isn't in the correct state that allows their processes to proceed. None of the humans I can get in contact with has the authority (or knows anyone with the authority) to manually correct the record, because that would be outside of their processes. Since the record isn't in a valid state, my access to medications I need to stay alive is being cut off. The retail cost of the just one of the medications is more than 100% of my income.

Have you sued DHHS / CMS?

No; It is my understanding you cannot sue the federal government or its constituent parts, they have sovereign immunity.

they have to assert it in court and usually don't

I would never join a cartel like the American Bar Foundation myself, but that's not my understanding.

https://www.aarp.org/health/medicare-insurance/info-2020/obs...

I hope you all the best. We live in a Second World country.

You need to talk to an attorney, as this understanding is incomplete. Parties can and do sue the federal government all the time. Look at the Supreme Court decisions this week alone which include several cases against the United States.

But I also suggest physically going to your congressperson’s office (the local one in your district, not DC) and explaining the situation. Instead of calling/waiting for a response.

Good luck.

can you buy it from overseas mail order pharmacies, by driving to mexico, on darknet markets, or on alibaba?

Currently looking into overseas mail-order. I'm too far from Mexico or Canada to drive there; I haven't considered darknet/alibaba because if I get sold a fake, I won't be able to tell without lab tests, and I can't afford the lab tests. There's also some concern that by the time I have negative lab results that would indicate a fake it may be too late to save the kidney anyway.

best of luck

Have you contacted your US senator or US representative? They can often clear up these kinds of issues by locating the single person in government that you actually need to talk to.

The Medicare people advised this as well. I have attempted to contact my Congressional representative, but have not received an answer yet.

I wonder what would happen if you contacted your representative's political opponent, esp this being an election year. You might be able to use the leverage from the opponent to make the incumbent fix the problem.

Entirely serious suggestion: Make an aggressive sign, go stand in front of a federal office, and call a few news outlets.

A man who is going to die because of an incompetent government clerical error is the kind of thing that makes for a great outrage story.

And will also likely get someone intervening at a high level immediately once it's the subject of the news.

You shouldn't have to do this, but as far as methods within your grasp to fix it - it can be one of the most effective.

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