Page 5 - NBY News January 2019
P. 5

Microscopic View of Carpet Threads


                                              toxic petroleum-based solvents. To add
                                              insult to injury, the waterproofing and
                                              anti-microbial treatments now common in
                                              everyday carpeting have been linked to
                                              cancer, birth defects and hormone
                                              disruption. Last but not least, carpet
        Dear EarthTalk: I need to replace the  padding is typically made from scraps of
      wall-to-wall carpeting in my basement.  polyurethane recycled from older
      Any tips for finding something new that  furniture and mattresses—and as such
      won’t aggravate my allergies or otherwise  likely contains carcinogenic chemical
      pollute my indoor air?                  flame retardants now banned in new
                       — Jasper Manheim, Los Angeles, CA  furniture.
        Carpeting is an oft-overlooked culprit  Well that’s all well and good, but what
      when it comes to compromised indoor air  choices do we have? Actually, lots.
      quality, but the chemicals used to produce it  Carpeting labeled with the Carpet & Rug
      are typically far from natural. According to  Institute’s “Green Label Plus” or UL
      the non-profit Environmental Working    Environment’s “Greenguard” emit low
      Group (EWG), most carpeting is made from  amounts of VOCs and are safer for you and
      synthetic fibers derived from non-renewable  your family. Wool is the most common  One way to avoid all of these issues  non-profit Carpet America Recovery
      petroleum-based sources and emits harmful  eco-friendly choice, but jute and cotton  entirely is to forego carpeting  Effort (CARE) is working to develop
      volatile organic compounds (VOCs) into the  varieties are coming on strong. Stay away  altogether and go with tile, wood, cork  the infrastructure needed to recycle
      air.                                    from stain fighting, waterproofing or  or natural linoleum flooring with low-  carpet efficiently across the U.S. In the
                                              antimicrobial treatments. For carpet  VOC sealant. They don’t off-gas VOCs  meantime, you can search on Earth911
        Meanwhile, carpet backing is typically  padding, go with felt rather than synthetic  or harbor allergens and pollutants, and  for a carpet recycler near you.
      made from synthetic rubber derived from  rubber. And make sure to use low-    they’re easy to clean while lasting
      styrene and butadiene, also respiratory  emitting, non-solvent adhesives and/or  decades longer than carpeting anyway.  CONTACTS: EWG, www.ewg.org;
      irritants. And that new carpet smell we know  fasteners during installation.  Throw down a few wool area rugs      Green Label Plus, carpet-rug.org/
      so well comes from the off-gassing of 4-PCH,                                  (easily cleaned outside) and you’ll be  testing/green-label-plus; Greenguard,
      a potent VOC byproduct of the synthetic   No matter what kind of carpeting you  good—and green—to go.              greenguard.org; CARE,
      rubber manufacturing process known to   end up with, make sure to vacuum it                                        carpetrecovery.org; Earth911,
      cause respiratory problems, eye irritation  regularly—the American Lung Association  Now what to do with the old   search.earth911.com.
      and rashes. EWG adds that it can also react  recommends at least 3x/week with a  carpeting is another question entirely.
      with other chemicals to produce         HEPA filter-equipped vacuum—to remove  Carpeting is difficult to recycle as it’s  EarthTalk® is produced by Roddy
      formaldehyde, a known human carcinogen.  dust, allergens and pollutants that you (or  made from multiple components with  Scheer & Doug Moss for the 501(c)3
                                              your pets) might track in. “Carpets are ...  different chemical makeups, so your  nonprofit EarthTalk. To donate, visit
        Likewise, the glues and sealants used to  the perfect environment to harbor dust  local curbside recycling hauler is  www.earthtalk.org. Send questions to:
      install most wall-to-wall carpeting come  mites, mold and mildew, which are all  unlikely to take it away for you. The  question@earthtalk.org.
      chock full of more VOCs and in some cases,  common allergens,” reports EWG.

          ~ Congress Implements Ban on Gag Orders for Prescription Drug Prices ~


        Congress Takes Small Step to Lower Drug  forbid pharmacists and staff from telling  for a prescription is less than using
      Prices, “Gag Orders” Banned                                                                                        drug plan, you may still submit the proper
                                              customers when the price of their     insurance, pharmacists will no longer  documentation to your plan and insurers
                                              prescription was cheaper without      have to keep that a secret.  Patients,  must count it toward patients’ out-of-pocket
                                              insurance.  Pharmacists were at risk of  however, still need to ask their
        Until it closed, a small locally - owned                                                                         expenses.  Total expenses are important
      pharmacy in Gordonsville, Virginia, would  being fined or dropped by insurance plans  pharmacist before filling their  because that affects how quickly you
      fill prescriptions, but customers weren’t  if they violated the gag clause.  The extra  prescription whether the price is lower  spend through the deductible, and how
      always asked for their insurance cards —  money for prescriptions collected by the  without insurance, in order to get the  long you spend in the “doughnut hole”
      especially when it was for a common generic  pharmacy, was sent back to the insurers  lower price.                 coverage gap.  Keep your receipts.   For
                                              and big pharmacy benefit managers.
                                                                                         Eliminating gag clauses is just a first
      drug, such as the antibiotic Amoxicillin.                                                                          more information on how to file a
      Often customers never noticed.  But if asked       According to research published in  step to lowering drug costs, because it  claim, call your Part D or Medicare
      why the insurance card wasn’t needed, a  the Journal of the American Medical  does nothing to lower drug prices    Advantage plan and ask how you can
      staffer would say, “we fill prescriptions the  Association, Part D enrollees overpaid for  themselves.  In addition, while the  file a claim for covered drugs.
      lowest-cost way.”  In other words if the cost  prescriptions by $135 million in 2013.  In  legislation removes gag clauses, it
      of the prescription would be lower than the  fact, co-payments in Part D plans were  doesn’t address how patients who pay  Source:  “No More Secrets: Congress
      insurance co-pay, the pharmacy would    higher than the cash price for nearly 1 - in  cash outside their insurance plan can  Bans Pharmacist ‘Gag Orders’ on Drug
      simply charge the customer the lower price.  - 4 drugs purchased in 2013.  For 12 of the  apply that expense toward meeting their  Prices,” Susan Jaffe, Kaiser Health News,
                                              20 most commonly prescribed drugs,    policy’s deductible.                 October 10, 2018.  “Trump Signs Bills
        Despite sounding like a consumer-friendly  patients overpaid about one-third of the       There is, however, an obscure  Aimed At Increasing Drug Price
      way to do business, insurers have, until  time.                               Medicare rule that Medicare beneficiaries  Transparency,” Maegan Vazquez, CNN,
      recently, written “gag order” clauses into       Some states and municipalities have  can follow.  Remember, you must ask  October 10, 2018.
      their contracts to make sure pharmacists and  banned the practice of gag clauses, and  first if the drug would cost less without  Celebrate Martin Luther King
      their staffs couldn’t do this.  Insurers’  now new bi-partisan legislation supported  your insurance.  If the covered drug is  Jr. on January 21, 2019.
      contracts with participating pharmacies  by TSCL, was signed into law in October  purchased at a lower price without insurance,
                                              that ends the practice.  When the cash price  and at a pharmacy that participates in your  Maybe you have a dream....

      January 2019                                                                                                                                       5
   1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9   10