What does shelving of SB 562 do for the average Joe? (Richard in the this case.)

Shelving AB 562 does what for the average Joe? The average Richard here.

I have type 2 diabetes. I was first diagnosed when I was 26. Went on diet and tried to maintain for years and was fortunate to slide through a few decades with fairly decent health. Since I hit my fifties it has been a different story. I have been taking Metformin (Glucophage) for years and still was regularly running a blood sugar of 300. That will make you miserable. I swore I would never use a needle to inject myself and tried hard to diet and lose weight to avoid. I few years ago I threw in the towel and started using insulin, but still have to take 2,000 mg a day of Metformin. 

I had a Doctor appointment at Potowat Village recently and my numbers still were not good, but better. I gave my doctor a notice from my provider that would not cover my insulin brand, "Lantus" anymore. My doctor was adamant that I needed to stay on this brand, as it was a long acting insulin and preached to me the need to stay the course. I went to the Pharmacy at Potowat to fulfill my new prescription and told them my doctor explicitly wanted me to stay on Lantus. They said that would be no problem but the cost was $800 a month! I am on a fixed income and that was way out of my budget. After consoling my doctor and the pharmacy I was put on Levemir which is a generic insulin that is not as effective as Lantus. So I was forced to make a decision concerning my health because of a Pharmaceutical companies greed to make money on the sick! 

I am tired of narrative that would be impossible to fund single payer health coverage. 40 civilized countries have some sort of single payer. We need to move forward on legislation such as SB 562 instead of shelving something that over 70% of the voters want in California. Just my take. And I am sure I am not the only one in this boat.