To Bill Fisher Oregon State Rep
December 4, 2000

My last correspondence concerning this bill was a phone call to a 'lawyer' named Linda Wah [or
something like that] 503 986-1243.  Actually I was a couple of days late getting back to her as I was looking for the paper where I wrote everything down so I left a message on her "voice-mail" but I suspect the issue is dead.  Linda wanted me to check on available laboratories and of course the only ones available are the ones associated with a hospital and they won't test any ones blood without a doctors orders.  'duh' I finally talked to a place in Eugene (I still haven't found my paper on who exactly I talked to) who finally at first adamantly told me it was a Federal Law.  Interesting.  They finally indicated it was some kind of accreditation for the lab and not a law against getting your blood tested.

There is defiantly something pretty weird going on with this.  I went up to Anchorage to visit my mother and while I was there I went in and had my blood tested for 48 different things (I can provide a copy if you want). I have no strange urges to get my blood tested again.  I have no overpowering feelings of need to take massive quantities of prescription or non-prescription drugs to compensate for any perceived illness or deficiency.  Also, among the tests (all for under $200) was a Guic test.  This test can be taken in place of a rectal exam costing maybe $1000 and is %95 accurate where as a rectal exam is %98.  'My' doctor in Oregon wanted me to have a "rectal".   Doesn’t it make sense to do what’s cheap first?

There is another thing,  I added these figures to a spread sheet containing years of blood tests results and any trends or chronic problems tend to jump out at you. Do I know that? Probably not but I can hand it to my doctor or in this case mail it to my doctor and they can tell at a glance many things that a single test will never tell.  Does my doctor put all his patients blood testes on a spread sheet?  No, and neither does any other doctor but they will be the first to tell you how helpful it is and at no extra cost to you/me.

But in the state of Oregon we are denied this simple self help item along with hundreds of other possible benefits of knowing what is going on with ones own body.

Isn’t government wonderful?  If my name was ‘Gates’ or ‘Bush’ or ‘Kennedy’ this would been resolved yesterday instead of some ditsy lawyers giving you the run around until you give up.

I want to thank you for helping anyway, it is certainly an education.  Let me tell you the difference as a true representative of the people between you and Susan Morgan is night and day.

Thanks
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