The Waiting Game Promotes Wondering

The holiday season is not the time of year I like to sit in doctors waiting rooms but this year I seem to be doing little else.

It has gotten me to wondering about what sort of experiences those affected by the ACA insurance debacle will be facing come the new year.

I recently got a new primary care physician.  I like him and have found that there are times when a change can be advantageous.  Even so, long term associations that have been good are hard to let go even if you get to a point of diminishing returns. Which I had.

Being of ever advancing years, I have a handful of nagging issues that had for years never been satisfactorily addressed.  On the other hand, I'm not in as bad a shape as I had thought.  With the new cholesterol guidelines and new blood pressure guidelines I see pressures to take certain meds along with ones I am taking to soon go away.  Goes to show if you wait long enough...

As for those nagging ones, my lower back has been an issue for years.  I finally reached the point where meds were no longer working.  I don't want even stronger ones.  So.  The new doc does his poking and prodding and figures the previous diagnosis had either been a red herring or I had a combination of issues.  So.  A new x-ray of a new spot.  Bingo!  A pretty good dose of arthritis in the last joint of my tailbone.  Painful. That area had never even been considered. Off to a spinal diagnostician I go and he decides to do an MRI to confirm the x-ray.  Do you see the costs going up here?

Okay.  A shot to my bottom.  Owwww.  Now I need an MRI of the old problem because I still show symptoms and the two don't relate.  That comes tomorrow.  No shot though because it hasn't been the required 10 days since the last one.  Nor could he do the MRI the same day because medicare wouldn't pay for two the same day.  However that works.  More $$$$ to be sure.  All this last minute rush is to get it in before January 1 when the new deductible cycle kicks in.

If there is to be another shot I may squeeze it in right after Christmas but I doubt it.  Why?  I still have to have a spot checked out which I suspect is the return of a pesky basal cell.  Removal, if in fact I'm correct, will again come after the first when it will be out of pocket.

Not that any of you are interested in all this but I've been thinking about all the new doctors I've seen and will be seeing all based on the change of my primary care physician.  Fortunately I wasn't wed to anyone from my past and am actually looking forward to a better level of expertise than I've experienced before.  But it is complicated, time consuming and fraught with anxiety. Will they fix the problem this time or not?

There are always the questions.  Who did that procedure, who did another one.  Over the years it's hard to remember names of someone you may have seen but once.  So familiarity has its blessings.  But so does a look see through fresh eyes.

Hopefully I'm settled in with this new entourage for some time to come.  Hopefully I'll remain in relatively good if not better health.  And hopefully the Secretary will keep her nose out of it.

For those who are just approaching major changes in not only their insurance but their health care protocols in total, I can empathize though I've had it relatively easy.  Many won't and that's enough to make anyone queasy.

We Seniors Are ABout To Get Ours!

I really wish Congress had learned from Obamacare that any bill with the Secretary shall in it spells doom.  But they haven't and it scares me.

They are scheduled, today, to vote on the "Doc Fix" which will give the feds, as in HHS, authority to dictate "applicable use criteria" for medical services for seniors.

It's tied in with reimbursements to doctors which is woefully low to begin with.  The reason why it's so difficult to find a doctor to take a medicare patient.  What has been a short term fix from year to year is now scheduled to become permanent.  Woe is us.  It gives the Secretary the right to make a judgement on things like CT scans and MRIs.  To make matters worse, the doctors went along with this in order to get higher reimbursements and while they have a say in the decisions it's a weak one.  The power is with the Secretary shall.

Now I don't know about any of you, but I do not want Kathleen Sebelius anywhere near my medical care.  She knows nothing about me nor my needs and even if she did she isn't qualified to make any determination about what is or is not appropriate.  That's between my doctors and me.

At the moment this is aimed at radiological services but contains a provision giving the Secretary the authority to expand it to other services.

I'm not saying that Medicare doesn't need reformed.  It certainly does, but I implore the medical and senior citizen community to speak up against giving this power over to the government.  If the Secretary could micromanage effectively I'd not be so worried but it is evident this one cannot manage at all what's more micro manage.  If we've learned anything from Obamacare it should be that government has no place in determining, on their own, what is and what isn't important or appropriate in health care, no matter your age.

Is there such a disconnect that no one notices the language in this bill?  Don't they see the same red flags?  Have they even read the legislation?  Or are they so anxious to get home for the holidays they'll vote for anything just to get out the door.

You know, in a way I hope it slams shut on their foot.  And when they go to the doctor to get it fixed they find that the Secretary has determined they can't get an x-ray, a cast or even a pain pill.

One day those who vote for these ludicrous bills will be forced to abide by them just as we are.  It can't happen too soon. They ought, too, remember they will one day be old and until then their parents already are.  Is this really what they wish on them?

A Shot In The Dark One More Time

I recently changed doctors.  Not because my former one wasn't in my network, but rather because he didn't take any insurance. But he was a good doctor and over the years we came to understand one another and worked together quite well.  Still, there are things I didn't address because of the out of pocket costs.

 On top of what an office visit cost, I still had my Medicare and supplemental premiums to deal with along with the deductibles that of course also out of pocket. It was pricey.  When he decided to convert his practice to a concierge practice, he priced me right out of his business.  Everyone does what needs to be done.

I was lucky.  I found a practice accepting medicare patients.  In fact since that find I've seen more and more advertising just that.  It's a good time to be on medicare.  The doctors are sure of you even if reimbursements are less.  And you're sure of your doctor.  Few drop you once they have you especially if you go on medicare after the fact.

So that brings me to where I am now.  Still with an aching tailbone that is beginning to affect other parts of the ole bod.  Especially the legs.  Not a happy thought.

The phone rang late Wednesday afternoon and it was my new doctor's office nurse.  She said he had been able to review my previous records and has some thoughts about how we can treat my problem and would I like to come in and discuss it.  Would I!  Boy, was I impressed.

Tomorrow bright and early I will make that call.  I didn't do it Wednesday because I was elbow deep in turkey and no where near my calendar though I'd cancel just about anything to see him.

We'll see what happens.  I'll swallow my pride and waddle in with the dregs of Thanksgiving dinner and the myriad of leftovers clinging to my frame. We'll talk.  I'm willing to do just about anything except dope up on narcotics.  We'll see.

But the idea that he called!  He did what he said he'd do when first we met a month or so ago.  And he says he has some ideas.  There's little more for which I can ask - except that those ideas work.

For those who are losing their doctors and their networks, I have the utmost empathy.  I know the gut wrenching feeling when you lose through no fault of your own a doctor you trust.

If they want to save the ACA cut the fluff from the programs that people neither want nor need and reimburse the doctors and hospitals in sufficient amounts to keep them in business and making a living.  Other than that get the heck out of medicine and insurance.  Let the market take care of itself and let the doctors take care of us.

I'm an easy case.  Most of what ails me is due to aging and less than perfect lifestyle choices.  I can complain but I can live with it.  For those with catastrophic illness to have to contend with what I'm going through it's a life changer and not for the better.  Hopefully it won't take some youngster with cancer dying to get their attention. That's a price the government should not be willing to pay.

It's Time To Change The Programming

The evening airwaves between four and, say, eight are filled with redundancy no matter which channel you favor. I've gotten to the point I want to lash out like Jay Carney did not long ago to a CBS reporter.  "I get it, ...!"

If I see one more clip of Obama saying we can keep our health care, period and the talking head proceed to bug a guest  into say the President LIED, I'm going to get violent.  Then the host usually trots out a litany of citizens who have either lost their coverage or have seen their cost skyrocket.  Okay.  I get it!  How many times is that dead horse going to be beaten?

I beg to question, however, why don't they get it?  The disastrous roll out of the health care website is due to a lot of things, none of which have anything to do with the actual content of the bill.  You could say it shows the government should never get involved in anything in which it lacks expertise. Which is just about everything. It's a given but about as possible under this administration as Ted Cruz's attempt to defund the bill.

They're going to meddle because it's the nature of the beast.  Those in high places always think they know more than the rest of us even though most of them are there for no more than having been a loyal supporter of the man who holds the top job.

In truth, the problem with the bill is it's content.  It doesn't take a rocket scientist to know that when unnecessary benefits are added, demanded, the price is going to increase.  It shouldn't take a rocket scientist to know that those increased prices are going to preclude a lot of the very people they need because of that additional cost.  It should be easy to see that by saying only 5% or 15% of the people are being effected is ignoring the number of bodies actually effected which is in the millions.  A percentage is far more palatable and masks the fact real people with real needs make up that percentage. I could break it down even further but for space and time constraints.

Could the pundits help the case?  I think so but they won't because they have no imagination as to how to program plus it's easier to harangue than offer something of substance.

What would I do?  I'd seek out the Republicans who have had good ideas about how to fix the problem sit down for a serious panel discussion all in one place at the same time.  I'd have each lay out their ideas.  I'd not interrupt. I'd not allow them to interrupt each other.

When they were finished I'd ask them why they don't take themselves off the air, sit down together and piece together the best of each idea.  Then they select the most dynamic among them to be the spokesman for the plan and present it to the people in every venue that would have them.  And fight for those who wouldn't.  Just to keep it fair.  If, say, MSNBC said no thanks, let it be known by every means available.

Yep.  That's what I'd do.  It's the Dogwalk solution for Congressional  inertia and media complacency.

Obama Has The Sadim Touch

What is the Sadim Touch?  The opposite of the Midas Touch. Where everything that is touched is turned into a mess.

In some respects perhaps we should be glad Obama has turned out to be a bystander President rather than a leader.  Everything he touches is either a pending disaster or an unmitigated mess.

Consider Fast and Furious, the IRS scandal, Benghazi, the NSA, violating reporter's privacy,  and now the ACA. Not just the roll out, but the consequences of poorly written and unread legislation  paired with too many "the Secretary shall"s. These are but a few of the unmitigated messes.

The pending disasters are more far reaching in that they are global.  Syria, where Assad gave up his chemical weapons in order to be able to continue slaughtering his people. Since Assad didn't really need them it was no punishment. Not following through on arming the once good guys thus allowing the extremists to gain a foothold.

Cutting off aid to Egypt because of the misguided assumption that because Morsi was duly elected he should remain in office no matter the increasingly dictatorial stance he was taking.

Libya.  What more needs to be said.  Over a year later no arrests for the consulate attack while the press has had a multitude of interviews with those involved.

And now he's about to ease sanctions on Iran with nothing in return.  No freeze on enrichment.  No dismantling of centrifuges.  Leaving everything in place for Iran's nuclear program to continue. Something that has been going on since June, actually.

So what happens now? No one has considered any of the U.S. actions in the middle east to be wise.  Essentially everyone will fend for themselves.  The Taliban in Pakistan has elected the man who threatened school girl Malala as their new leader. Iran will get its nuke.  Pakistan has agreed to sell nukes to Saudi Arabia. Saudi will continue arming the rebels in Syria.  Russia may provide the nuke for Syria if deemed  advantageous.  Jordan will probably fall,  Hamas and Hezbollah will be strengthened.  Iraq will lose out to Iran as will Afghanistan to the Taliban. Al Qaeda will continue to run rampant and spread across Somalia, the Sudan and throughout the weaker African states.

Then there is Israel. With friends like us they don't need enemies! Whatever they choose to do be sure we will not be forewarned.  We have opposed them, besmirched them and finally betrayed them.

All because Obama needed to divert attention from the ACA in an attempt to save his administration from total collapse.  What a trade off. Every mid eastern expert in the world takes exception to our policies if thats what you want to call them.  Peace in our time?  Not by this President's hand.

Unless the negotiations in Geneva come to a total stand still you'll hear the other shoe we've been waiting for - drop.

The Case Against Massive Legislation

I've long been an advocate of tackling large tasks piece meal.  The reason is that often the big picture is just too overwhelming  and it either never gets done or the end is sloppy at best.

Such is the case with Obamacare.  We first had thousands of pages in one bill, way too much for those who were to vote on it to read.  So they didn't.  The staff relegated to the task weren't necessarily knowledgeable about the intentions and implications of the content to give an accurate briefing to their Congress people.  Thus the infamous enjoiner from Nancy Pelosi that it needed to be passed so we could know what's in it.

Forget partisanship, the bill was a disaster in the making from the get go. Little more need be said when the very implementation of the basics are being delayed right and left because the mechanics aren't ready.  Pair that with the waivers being sought you're losing funding before it even gets out the door not to mention being unfair by playing favorites especially when it comes to Congress themselves and their staff.

Add the President to the mix with his unlawful awarding of waivers and delaying implementation of certain aspects over others, it's not a pretty picture of executive arrogance and constitutional malfeasance. He does not have the right to change or refuse to obey written and passed law on his own volition.  Yet he does and there is no recourse.  That is a slap in the face to the very essence of how our government is designed to work.

Beware immigration reform.  The same pattern is emerging.

So what will happen.  Being a pessimist by nature when it comes to government I expect two things.  Immigration reform will never happen even with the Gang of Eight working together.

Two,  heaalth care reform, once implemented, will bear little resemblance to the law as passed.  That can be good and bad.  It's bad under any circumstance if it's done by presidential dictate.

I suspect, however, what's happening is a clumsy effort to bring about a one payer system.  National Health Care.  Do you think we have an economic crisis now? You haven't seen anything yet!  It's the details you know, those devilish details. Your witnessing what happens when they're ignored or not even considered.

Secretary Sebelius says the current goings on aren't bait and switch.  We'll see.

Gamesmanship Versus Fair Play - There Is A Big Difference

We have a problem in this country which I don't think the founding fathers anticipated. The President as renegade.  It is what happens when the President is accountable to no one and when he chooses to flout the law there is no recourse.

It seems to be emerging as common practice with Obamacare.  The latest has Congress complicit right along with him.  Just when I thought Congress may finally be getting it, they prove me wrong once again.  You see Obamacare was written so that Congress would have to buy into it just as the rest of us. Lots of us have been calling for that for a very long time - you pass it, it applies to you as well as the rest of us.  No matter what the content.

Some of the worry about Obamacare is the cost.  How it's going to be unaffordable for many or their premiums will increase dramatically rather than decrease.  Congress would have to give up their Cadillac plans and participate side by side with us.

But if you can imagine, they are whining that they can't afford the premiums and need an exemption.  Not only they themselves but also their better paid staffers.  Consider the Congressional salary of $174,000.  And many staffers making $100,000 +/-.  Also bear in mind that this is written into the law the President signed.  But of course we know no one had read it.

So rather than telling them to learn how to budget, he promises to fix it.  And he did. He made arrangements for  the Office of Personnel Management to write regulations allowing for the financial relief for members of Congress and their staffers - all government employees.

This type of shenanigan requires passage by Congress.  Obama didn't fear the Republicans would object but rather that they'd want to add more.  Of course he is right.  Republicans want that sweetener just as much as the Democrats.

Laws are becoming what they are at the pleasure of the President, not because Congress passed them and he signed them. Strange bedfellows they may be but bedfellows never-the-less. This goes way beyond class warfare.  This is a war between those in politics and the people.

I can't help but  think even those politicians I look on with a smidgen of hope aren't doing anything for my benefit.  Even though the reason may not be readily apparent, be sure it's for them.  I'd guess re-election so the game can continue.

Do they even know their approval rating is 14%.  If they know it, do they care?  More importantly how many of us know it and even more, do we care?  I don't care that it is so low, but I really care about why!

If Obamacare Is So Great Where's The Bandwagon?

By a fluke Obamacare became the law of the land.  Thank you Justice Roberts.  Ever since then, however, it has been battling strong headwinds when it comes to implementation.

Nobody seems to want to be forced to buy something they know little about and keeps changing to boot.  That creates a problem with funding.  If people don't buy in the government can't afford it and let's face it, they can only tax us so much.

First HHS tried to get corporations to contribute but ran into trouble when it was questioned whether or not these were companies that they regulated.  Oops.

Okay, lets look at recruiting role models to promote it.  Professional sports.  Are you kidding me?  At least the NFL has had the good graces to say no.  They have enough image problems without having their 'role models' promoting unpopular legislation.

Okay, bad idea.  Let's look at someone who has a squeaky clean image.  Librarians!  There are two main problems with this idea.  One, librarians can and are likely to read what it is they are to promote and probably have the good sense to say no.  Secondly, in this day of  e-books, could they reach enough people to make the effort worthwhile?  I doubt it.

These are pretty bad ideas from the get go but I save the worst for last.  They want to get the kids to encourage their parents to enroll.  This is akin to having truckers keep an eye on the motoring public.

 Well, maybe not quite.  I don't think the truckers receive any government paid training. In California they are actually going to use tax payer money to teach children how to promote Obamacare to their families.   Los Angeles alone, a cash strapped school district to begin with, is going to dedicate $1 million of a Federal grant to this purpose. I won't even begin to tell you where the remainder of the grant money will go, but it won't be to the three "r"s.

Is it just me or does this smack of Hitler Youth programs where children were trained to do the governments bidding against their own families.

When the government has to stoop to indoctrinating our children to do their bidding we have a problem. Do children have the ability to sort out the appropriateness of such actions?  Will they bow silently to authority figures?  I'd usually advise respect for authority figures, but in this case perhaps a rebellious nature would serve them well.

Today it's Obamacare.  If this succeeds, what might be next?  I envision a rather lengthy list.  If we're lucky and history repeats itself, however, such methods to further the ambitions of a wanna be dictator will fail.  One can only hope.

Congress - If You Vote For It You Ought To Have To Live With It

"We have to pass the bill so we know what's in it...," so said Nancy Pelosi.  That statement on health care reform had to be one of the biggest groaners of this administration.

Enough time has passed that those of us aghast at was was foretold has come home to roost.  Nearly everything about cost containment has been proven wrong.  People are losing their full time jobs because their employers can't afford to pay for it.  States, as well as the government are behind in getting the exchanges set up.  It's a mess.

There would be a silver lining  however.  You see those in government who have legislated themselves exempt from nearly everything they impose on the rest of us have erred.  It would seem this bit of legislation will nudge legislators and their staff personnel into government exchanges.  Just in case you don't know, they get Cadillac benefits subsidised by the government. If this takes hold and they want to keep the same level of care they now have their premiums will go through the roof.  Strange, I don't feel at all bad about that.

Because of this, many are considering that feeding at the public trough isn't as appetizing as it has been and are considering bailing out. If they leave now they can stay under the current system.  I see this as a plus.  Instead of voting them out of office, which we seem reluctant to do, we'll drive them out with their own petard!  Some are worried about a brain drain just when Congress is about to tackle some tough issues like tax reform and immigration.

That doesn't worry me in the least.  Congress has no monopoly on brains when it comes to the issues.  In fact the opposite may be more accurate. Finding new people to serve who actually want to serve the country rather than themselves would be a refreshing change of pace.

It's all probably wishful thinking.  I'm sure there are enough of them who will vote for an amendment that will exempt them or raise their salaries to cover the cost.  It's a vote for which we should all watch and shout bloody murder about.

I have little sympathy for someone who makes $174,000 a year plus perks who can't figure out how to pay their insurance premiums.  It doesn't surprise me they are flummoxed though.  No real person budgets for themselves or their families the way Congress budgets for the country - or doesn't.

By the way, the immigration bill they are so worried about is up to 1500 pages and counting.  How many do you think will read it before voting?  They never learn!  Nothing needs to be 1500 pages long but they put out these massive missives time and time again.

One way to shorten them up would be to make it a law they have to obey what they pass.  They won't because they don't have to.  It doesn't drain any one's brain to figure out that many in Congress are brain dead.

Maybe that's why they won't read.  Some truths are just not arguable but we wouldn't want that in writing, now would we?  The written word is too difficult to obfuscate.

What Value A Human Life?

The problem with my style of blogging, which seems to lean toward finding fault and wondering why there seems to be so much, is there is never a dearth of subject matter. It isn't always political either.

Today I'm going to lament the decline of human decency, compassion and the lack of value of a human life.

Just a few weeks ago 28 people met their end due to the slaughter at Sandy Hook.  Most of them children.  The populace was so upset it got the politicians off their duffs and over reacting as usual.  I don't think it was the numbers as much as it was mostly children.

Let's reverse the situation.  What of one person lay dying and twenty eight people stood around and did nothing? I can't be sure of that figure of 28, but it was a good many.  Staff.  In the dining room of an independent living facility an 87 year old woman collapsed while staff, including a nurse, did nothing other than call 911. The nurse refused to administer CPR as did all others watching.

The dispatcher pleaded with them, begged them, asked if there wasn't someone they could flag down to help.  No.  Wasn't anybody willing to help the lady?  She even assured the nurse no one would be held liable if the CPR didn't work. No matter.  "Not at this time," the nurse replied.

By the time the EMTs arrived it was too late.  The woman died.

This bothers me on a number of levels.  One because it happened in an assisted living facility.  The reason people go to them is to live, not to die! Would no one have utilized the Heimlich Maneuver if she had been choking? As I get closer to the age when I may have to look at such an alternative, it scares me to death!  That's probably not the best phrase I could have chosen, but  I now have a deeper understanding as to why the elderly resist such moves.  Not only does it take them from their homes and comfort zones, they don't trust them.  Small wonder.

When questioned, the administrator defended the nurse saying she followed protocol.  They call 911 and wait for help to come.  And allow a person to die.  What have we become?  Sheep?  No.  Sheep are benign and not too bright.  We've become worse.  Monsters of a sort that would stick to a rule and allow someone to die.  Even when their own lives were in no way endangered. Where is the common sense?  Where is the line between right and wrong?

One has to sign a contract to reside in such a dwelling.  The executive director informed the media each resident is informed of the policy before they move in.  To make the story even worse, the policy does not apply to the assisted living and skilled nursing facility adjacent to it. Do you have to live in an assisted living facility to get assistance to live?  In my mind each and every person witness to this episode is guilty of murder and should be so treated.

There is a lesson to be learned, for sure.  Always read the fine print then run, limp, even crawl away from it as fast as possible if such a clause is to be found!  I ask you, is what happened here any less horrific than the loss of the 28 in Sandy Hook?  Too bad you can't ask the dead.

Dying To Stay Healthy

I'm feeling the need for a break from politics today so this is a generational post. As I age I find myself thinking more about my mortality.  I'm thinking more about years now rather than decades.

Forgetting what Obamacare is going to do to make maintaining my well being more difficult, I can't help but think about the commercials that emanate from television and the constant stream of contradictory studies that are reported religiously be they valid or not and the tests I'm encouraged to take.  What am I to do?

The commercials for various medications are the most intrusive.  By the time they list all the disclaimers the last thing I want to do is take the stuff.  I especially like it when they tell me to be sure to tell my doctor if I have high blood pressure or corns or whatever. If my doctor doesn't already know why would I have him in the first place?

It seems everything we eat is suspect.  Take wine for instance.  I enjoy good wine.  Too much is bad for me, just enough is supposed to be a tonic for my heart. What is it now, no more than a glass a day for a woman?  What size glass? A standard pour?  Is that four or six ounces? It can depend on whether you're buying wine by the glass at a wine bar or if you're in a tasting room! Actually,  I don't need a study to tell me.  If I have too much both my head and my stomach let me know in the morning.

Coffee - good or bad? How much?  Again, when I get the jitters it has been too much!  Sugar bad.  Artificial sweeteners came along and now the jury is out on them.  I could go on forever.

And the tests.  Bone density, mammograms, colonoscopies, blood sugar, cholesterol, etc.  My Mom never had any of those, didn't worry about them and lived to a ripe old 95.  I fear if the disease doesn't kill me the worry about getting one will.

Why just today two headlines caught my attention. One informing me that butter flavoring may be linked to Alzheimer's and chemotherapy can boost cancer growth! Well, I don't like artificial butter or any other artificial flavoring.  My theory is a reasonable amount won't kill you.  What about my cholesterol?  If I'd get off my duff and away from this computer, and get out into the yard where something always needs done I'd have little to worry about.

I'll leave you with a couple more to ponder. High blood pressure drugs may be linked to lip cancer and you might be able to determine someone's sexuality by gazing into their eyes.

Maybe I'm too old for romance but the thought of kissing those lips and gazing into those eyes might give me pause.  Too much information and all that.

I often speak of my Mother's mantra, "I lived in the good old days."  Yep.  I finally get it.  The key word here is 'lived'!

Death Panels Do Exist

Abdel Baset al-Megrahi, better know as the Lockerbie bomber, is dead.  Good riddance some say.  Others say not so fast, we've not yet learned who his accomplices were.  For better or for worse, however, he is dead.

Had he not been released on compassionate terms he'd have been dead three years ago when he was diagnosed as having but three months to live with the latter stages of prostate cancer.  Yet he lived - and lived - and lived.

Why?  Because, as hard as it is to believe, he received better medical care in Libya, his home country, then he did in Scotland.  It had nothing to do with his being in prison or that he had been convicted of a heinous crime.  It was because the medications needed were denied not only to him, but to any man in Scotland by it's National Health Service.  That to my way of thinking is death by committee or a death panel.

According to The Wall Street Journal the Scottish Medicines Consortium, the rationing body of the NHS, decided that although certain drug combinations were known to be effective the cost effectiveness had not been demonstrated.  NHS.  National Health Service.  Health care run by and dispensed by a governmental committee.  Take note.

Upon arriving in Libya Megrahi was given the medical treatment needed to prolong his life and he survived an additional three years.  Today the needed treatments are available to only those qualifying under certain circumstances because this Consortium insists the 3000 pound per month price tag isn't worth it.  Tell that to the man suffering from what doesn't necessarily need to be a death sentence.

You may feel Megrahi got what he deserved and the extended life was certainly undeserved.  I'm wondering if too many will look at his circumstance from that point of view rather than what's really at stake - an individuals ability to obtain life saving drugs is being dictated by a committee who is looking at nothing more than the price tag.

Could it happen here?  You bet it could.

When Sciatica Isn't Sciatica

For five years and counting I've been going to doctors trying to find out what has been causing nearly debilitating pain through my buttocks and down my leg. As years passed the pain increased and crept steadily down my leg to the point where my knee doesn't work without a wince of pain and pause to let it pass.

Five years. I think I've taken every muscle relaxant, anti-inflammatory and pain killer known to man. All to no avail. Everyone was convinced it was a back problem and I was convinced it wasn't since the pain emanated from my hip. Finally, my pain doctor, who is an anesthesiologist by training, and my acupuncturist told me it was indeed not a back problem. It was a muscle and nerve problem. Something called Piriformis Syndrome. A malady where the piriformis muscle is pinching the sciatic nerve. I apparently am a text book case.

Five years. My family practitioner at the outset told me nothing showed on the x-ray so there was really nothing to treat. A specialist had looked at an MRI and found some torn muscles in the region but nothing on which to perform to do surgery so take a pill and call in a month. Chiropractors, massage therapists. physical therapy - no one focused on the area I insisted was where the pain began.

Five years. An anesthesiologist and an acupuncturist. Even with the pain specialist I've gone through a pot full of pills and shots to no avail. It took awhile to pin point the problem though I think I explained it as well as the journal he showed me. One more shot is on tap. Botox. Hub is having a fine time with that one. Botox in my butt! It is funny. The pain isn't. The theory is that Botox will relax the muscle big time and release the pinch in the nerve. One hopes! Meantime physical therapy, especially stretches of that muscle, continues on and on and on.

Five years of having my life like nickel and dimed away by a lack of diagnosis and ineffective treatment. Funny, there is so much about the ailment on the Internet you'd think the doctors would have thought of it! Talk about having to be master of yourself and tenacious! If you don't want to settle for "there's nothing there" you've got to push and push and push.

One more shot. I hope it's not in the dark.

It's Only Freedom Of Thought, Not Ethical Malpractice!

Ethics. The fine line between abiding by them and crossing over the line seems to be at issue with a urologist, a staunch Republican, who posted a sign on his practice suggesting you go elsewhere for your urological needs if you voted for Obama. If he were in any other profession than medical it would probably have gone unnoticed. But because he's a doctor who is upset with the health care reform, he's opened his situation to great scrutiny.

He is being accused of pushing the limit. Why? He hasn't turned anyone needing attention away nor does he question anyone about their politics. He's making a point. He's angry and frustrated and is letting it be known. I don't see that as being ethically challenged. I see him as a man as frustrated with the legislation as many of the rest of us.

According to the story, civil rights protections prevent patient discrimination. Well. Let's have a look at patient discrimination. Just last week I wrote of a conversation telling how local doctors will not see patients suffering chronic pain. Is that not unethical?

A subject that is near and dear to my heart is the number of doctors who will not take Medicare or Medicaid patients. Or only "some insurances". I understand the need for decent reimbursements for services in order to keep a practice up and running. I also understand that many patients have no choice as to what insurance, if any, they have.

I have always thought if one is to be a doctor there is an ethical obligation to treat a person in need no matter what. That's why doctors used to take chickens or eggs as payment when no cash was at hand.

In my own situation I've returned to a doctor who takes no insurance what-so-ever. I have to pay for his services out of my own pocket even though I have Medicare. Why did I take this step? Because he spends whatever time is necessary to talk through an issue before I leave his office. It doesn't matter if it takes five minutes or an hour.

The Medicare provider I had previously gave my 15 minutes tops and one topic. We never, in four years, spent time investigating the issue of my back. Oh sure, I was sent to specialist on occasion, but without thought as to which might best address the situation because the situation wasn't known! I couldn't get beyond high blood pressure and cholesterol. I can tell you where the high blood pressure came from!

With the millions of dollars slated to be cut from Medicare reimbursements, along with chunks of the program targeted for elimination, the government and ethicists should be looking at themselves rather than the doctors who will have their livings and, along with it, our care, slashed.

To me a sign on the doctor's door is a pretty sane method of expressing displeasure. If they think this is "pushing the limit" they have yet to talk to me!

Inside Information

For most of the past five years I have had burning, aching pain in the areas shown in the illustration. I have changed family practitioners, gone to physical therapy ad nauseam, tried acupuncture and chiropractors, orthopedic surgeons and spine experts, all to no avail. Increasingly stronger doses of medications do not work. Finally, my current GP sent me to a chronic pain specialist.

Herein lies the story. It is not about my discomfort. It is, surprise, about the health care bill!

I was in this morning for my latest whammy; shots in both hips to see if we could quell at least some of the inflammation. While waiting my turn, the medical assistant asked me if I'd like something to read and laid a selection of magazines next to where I was sitting. An issue of Newsweek with Obama on the cover was on top. She turned it face down commenting that he wasn't very popular in that office of late.

Everyone in the room joined in the conversation. The Dr. doesn't understand how seniors can be happy with it considering the cuts.

The nurses all made a point of being concerned about both their salaries and benefits. You might say they just don't understand. I think that is beside the point. The fear is palpable and Obama running around the country still trying to sell it isn't helping.

The conversation turned to the reimbursements the doctors are now forced to live with and the increases coming. They talked about how family practitioners will no longer take chronic pain patients because they are a "pain". I was beginning to feel guilty being a Medicare patient on top of it!

Doctors are going to be leaving their profession looking for more lucrative opportunities. This particular doctor is thinking of creating a blog to talk about chronic pain and also, from what I've seen, help you wade through the information out there from a physicians perspective. At best it will be a difficult undertaking.

Staff? Those who are part time have decreased opportunity to go full time. Benefits, you know.

I've had similar conversations with the staff in my GP's office. They all have fear of what's ahead. My pain doctor had read my post where I commented I was off to see him while he still took Medicare. He laughed. I was dead serious.

Hub has for some time now thought I am a hypochondriac because none of the doctors and specialists I have been to have been able to pin point anything. I understand where he's coming from but he doesn't have the pain.

Then again, maybe he's right and it's all the fear factor in my head that the care may not be there when I really need it. I'm no longer sure. One thing I am sure of, however, Obama's ongoing campaign telling us we're going to love it won't ever convince me it's a good bill. It's not. That is not my imagination!

It would seem many in the medical community agree with me.

Just Who Should Apologize?

So things got a little contentious in the House as Bart Stupak was reneging on his promise to vote no on Health Care Reform. Representative Neugebauer shouted "baby killer" according to reports. Mr. Stupak took it personally, Neugebauer contended it was not. Stupak then added, if not perhaps Neugebauer should apologize to the House.

For the outburst, okay. The House seems to be sensitive to emotional outbursts. They consider it a lack of decorum. Threats and bribery are not, but outbursts are. Go figure.

Actually, Mr. Stupak should apologize - to the people. He changed his vote for $800,000 and a meaningless executive order from the President. Once the law is passed, which it was, an executive order cannot change it. If Mr. Stupak did not know that he should not be in the House.

Taking it a step further, the entire Democratic wing of Congress, especially the leadership, should apologize to the American people for their lack of decorum for the shenanigans involved in getting this legislation passed. Yes, deals are made all the time but usually not so blatantly nor so much against the will of the people.

Do we matter at all? Or only Congressmen who've had their feelings hurt.

On that note I'm off to see a chronic pain specialist while he's still taking Medicare patients.

A Flock Of Sheep ~ Baa!

This is not how I intended to return to blogging after our mini-vacation but I am so disgusted with our government I need to get it out of my system! Actually we don't have a government. We have elected a flock of sheep who follow the wolves in sheep's clothing.

Of all the sound bites I heard while gone, three stick with me. One from Nancy Pelosi sometime around Thursday when she said no more "deals" would be made. Of course she went right on making them up until the vote and we have absolutely no idea of what many of them are. Another from Ms. Pelosi I commented on in a previous post where she emphasizes, quite proudly, if we want to know what's in the bill they have to pass it. Well, they did but we have no idea what more has been given away of our money!

Then there was the most egregious bleat from the President as he urged votes "to save his Presidency". How great is that for a leader? Asking members of his own party to put their careers in even greater risk than they already are for him. For his legacy. For legislation the majority of the American people do not want. It's not about the people. It's about him.

There is much in this "bill" with which I disagree. That is nothing new to you who read me with any regularity. Forgetting the fine points for the moment, the most glaring is forcing Americans to buy a product many don't need nor want under threat of fines and imprisonment.

I didn't think anything could trump Bush taking us into an unprovoked war but Obama has succeeded. This is the most un-American action I've ever seen carried out by the government we've elected, against us.

Well, I'm back. Do I feel better? Not at all. Disillusionment is depressing.

The President's Math Versus Mine

I really love it when two stories on the same day butt up against one another. Today they are on Yahoo . Obama seeks to reassure seniors on health care and Social Security to start cashing Uncle Sam's IOUs.

It seems Obama is in Ohio today trying to assure us his bill would make preventive care cost free and close the Medicare prescription gap. He goes on to say his proposal will add nearly a decade of solvency. First of all, nothing the government does is cost free! Forget that idea. Then, a decade of solvency? What? Then we have to go through all of this again? Or is it that he thinks we seniors will all be dead by then. He obviously isn't keeping track of the number of Boomers coming onto the rolls! I know for myself, I expect to be around for at least a decade, hopefully more!

Moving on to the next story, it tells us how this year is the first since the 1980s that Social Security will pay out more than it takes in. $29 billion more! This does not bode well.

Making matters worse is the fact that there are $2.5 trillion worth of IOUs from the government to Social Security. Heck, the national debt is $12 trillion and counting as I write this. We're talking real money here that is supposed to belong to us!

This of, course, creates another problem. If the demand to collect on those IOUs becomes reality there is no money. The government will have to borrow it from foreign investors! Sound familiar? I wonder what retirement communities in China are like.

Robbing Peter to pay Paul is nothing new and both parties are guilty. What angers me is that there is no money! We can't pay for what we are owed what's more foreign governments. Yet this administration is going full tilt to pass more legislation, full of special deals in the billions, that the people don't want.

I may not make it through another decade, but Mr. President, if I do, my voice will not be silenced. Unless you choose to do that too.

Et Tu Nancy?

Eric Massa resigned from the House because of allegations he made inappropriate comments to an aide. Perhaps he did. The House leadership seems to have known about it since October. As is typical, nothing was done. He was a Democrat and since they are the party in power their members get passes for a whole lot more than if a Republican was the offender. Unless said Democrat dares go against what the leadership wants.

If being confronted by a naked Rahm(bo) in the locker room isn't enough to shake you up then they sic the ethics committee on you. Sweet.

Now they are after John Stupak, the pro-life Democrat and leader of the band of 12 against federal funding for abortions. The language is not in the Senate bill so he and his supporters had vowed to vote no. No more. According to NPR they are all getting pounded.

There is no intention of changing the language under the rational that if the Stupak amendment is added "more children will be born and, therefore, it will cost us millions more." I'm not sure I buy that. Somehow I don't see an upsurge of women having irresponsible sex and ending up pregnant just because they can get a Federally funded abortion! Lust and carelessness don't work that way.

Whether you agree with Stupak's stance or not, the way he's being treated is reprehensible. He is a pro-life Democrat. The Democratic party apparently has no room for him or the like minded. Don't they all have the right to stand firm on their beliefs without being threatened? Are their careers on the line? Are they being promised jobs with lobbying firms or ambassadorships? Another visit from Rahm(bo)? Good cop, bad cop tactics? What does it take to make a man go back on his beliefs? For most politicians, not much. Mr. Stupak seems to be a different sort.

What has he been promised? An investigation by the ethics committee. On what basis? I have no idea. Maybe it's because he has some.

Just STOP!

I'm beginning to think the Democrats have a death wish. It's puzzling to me since the Republicans are in no position to take advantage of it.

Back to health care once again. If you've been following it on the news you know Obama is on another of his campaign trips trying to convince us we're going to love the bill once it's passed. Since we don't know what they plan to do with it, I'd say that is iffy at best.

If the House passes the Senate bill without getting the language they dislike changed on the promise it will be fixed after the fact they are even dumber than I think. There is no honor in either of those august institutions any more.

However, the "no" votes seem to be in jeopardy. How can that be if they have the courage of their convictions? Easy. They don't. After all, what are all these closed door meetings with the President about? More deals! As Kathleen Parker pointed out in her column this morning, the "Cornhusker Kickback" wasn't rescinded, but expanded upon. Rather than eliminating the favor to one state, it has been adjusted down but extended to all the states adding billions to the cost! There was also the "Louisiana Purchase". Now there are special perks for Florida, aptly named "Gatorade" and goodies for "The Frontier States" of Nevada, Montana. Wyoming, North Dakota and Utah!

Where does it stop? Every little favor granted adds to the bill and we all know who gets to pay the tab. People are beginning to ask if the intent is to lower the cost of health care why is it costing $10 trillion to do so! Good question.

I have never, in my relatively long life, seen an administration spit in the eye of it's constituency the way this one does. How can there be any more doubt that it's all about ideology and having nothing to do with what the people want.

Today's piece of theater is Harry Reid attempting to change the Senate rules to get rid of the filibuster which is the minority's weapon of last resort. The timing is telling. It's one more slap in the face. It's their way or the highway.

I doubt he will succeed. As I said, it's theater. To me it's just another attempt at intimidation.

Powerful people who supported Obama have for some time advised him he was trying too much too fast. He doesn't listen to them either and has willing accomplices in Reid and Pelosi.

If the Blue Dogs who oppose the health care bill fold and Stupak and his people fold you'll know they've been bought. We do have recourse, though. Stronger than the filibuster. It's called the ballot box.