“Women’s health expert calls new drug for hot flashes life changing, but fears only those with ‘golden’ insurance plans can afford it.”

WVU Today, May 23, 2023

Dear Insurance Companies,

I recently asked my doctor if he thought the new hot flash drug Veozah, which costs $550.00 per month, would be covered by insurance, and he said he wasn’t sure, as hot flashes are not life threatening or even dangerous, which made me realize how little my doctor understands about hot flashes.

I realize, of course, that my life isn’t in danger, but the lives of those around me definitely are, and after my doctor’s comments that now includes him. Also my husband, a few of my children (I’m beyond the age of pretending to love them all equally), Amy in HR, all men who work at Home Depot, and my neighbor’s sheepadoodle. I know that’s sad, nobody wants the dog to die, but this is why it’s really important that my insurance company cover this drug. 

When my doctor said that thing about hot flashes not being dangerous, I have to be honest that it spiked my core temperature a little bit right then and there, and I might’ve started staring at him in a way that was maybe “pointed” or terrifying. I noticed he looked increasingly uncomfortable, probably because it was at that point that I started to turn red and sweat. I began to peel my clothes off, which he clearly did not find sexy, and I whispered, Would you like to re-think that? What you said about hot flashes not being dangerous? 

I then leapt to my feet and plunged my whole face under the faucet in his tiny sink, letting the cold, cold water cascade down my neck and shoulders and onto my thick, beige bra. When I pulled my face from the sink, black mascara running down my cheeks in violent jagged streaks, I screamed VEOZAH VEOZAH VEOZAH! as though I were summoning a demon or casting a spell. My doctor fled from the examining room and shouted for his nurse, but Janet, too, was having a hot flash, and she cackled at him maniacally from where she lay splayed on the floor behind the reception desk, scrubs rolled up to her thighs. She was eating a popsicle, whose orange color now ringed her sweaty, hysterical mouth.  

The poor doctor flung his clipboard and continued running right out into the waiting room, where he was pounced upon by a pack of menopausal women, probably because they’d heard me screaming for Veozah and, having developed something of a mob mentality, just decided to attack first and ask questions later. I don’t really want to talk about what happened next, at least not in an official written document. 

In closing, Insurance Companies, I think it’s really important that we get this hot flash drug covered as quickly and fully as possible before anyone else gets hurt.

Sincerely,
Jennie Young