THE FIGHT OVER HEALTH CARE IN AMERICA.  THE NEW UNCIVIL WAR?

 

1. When you get right down to it peiper, all economic systems, even medical care, ration. The difference is in HOW the rationing is done. In a free market, rationing is done by pricing. YOU decide if it’s worth it. Not some faceless gov’t flunky.

   Example: Right now my wife and I have medical insurance. It mostly protects us from catastrophic financial burdens, up to $2Million/life.

   That’s the whole purpose of insurance: it defers financial risk, to a point.

   As for actual health care, I’ve never had a problem getting what was required… yet.

   Earlier this year I took my wife to the ER because we thought she might be having a stroke. Sudden dizzines, power vomiting, etc. The ER asked for a CAT-scan. Needed to rule out a stroke. (good news: no stroke. Bad news: no one knows what’s up. She’s still under treatment.)

   I know, it’s my wife, but the few minutes it took to call the insurance company to get an estimate didn’t make a difference. There was a, now get this, a whole HOUR LONG WAIT for a CAT-scan! I spent three minutes on the phone with my insurance. They okayed it right on the phone. And if they’d declined? From what they told me, I knew I could afford it, after I negotiated a payment schedule.

   Been there, done that. Paid it off!

   I don’t know about the NHS. I highly doubt that I could do that in England. Or under ObamaKillKare.

   See, even if the insurance had denied the CAT-scan, I could still pay out-of-pocket. That ability—indeed, that freedom—is denied under ObamaKillKare. I’m not ALLOWED to pay for procedures out of my own funds. It’s a crime!

   Glad you’ve had a good experience. I can agree with you, to a point: my limited experience with the Veteran’s Administration hospital here in Dayton wasn’t bad. But… If the VA declined, I had other options.

   Do you have other options?

   Health care is no different from any other consumer good. You do NOT have a right to health care. That would imply that doctors are obligated to treat you. They are not. Their labor is no different than, say, the labor of blacks picking cotton 140+ years ago. You do not have a RIGHT to it.

   Posted by Christopher       08/14/2009  at  06:38 PM  



2. Hi Christopher.
   First of all ... my best wishes for your wife.  Sincerely hope all will be okay.

   Was off all day yesterday. Not a great day and dragging today. Draggy kinda weather too.

   This health care thing a major issue. Ppl over here are getting reports about the Republicans using the UK’s NHS example, especially after the Brit MEP appeared on Fox bad mouthing NH. So of course many feel defensive and I must say it is wasteful.
   It’s free (HA!) but expensive. Nothins free of course as it’s taxpayer supported.

   Someone wrote a letter to the editor in todays paper in which they said that a friend of theirs died in N.Carolina of a brain tumor because they could not afford treatment.
   I think they’re lying. That looks like BS to me. 
   I can not imagine even in our faulty system, that someone would have to die coz they didn’t have the money for treatment.

   I have never used the VA by the way. Have heard some very scary stories about it.

   My experiences when we lived in the states was pretty difficult with regard to our health ins.  The premiums kept raising up and up and up and even then, I didn’t have 100% coverage on everything. I had Blue Cross by the time we left CA.  Of course, I’m not covered by them over here and so had to drop it.

   Having past 70, and no telling how soon it’ll be before we can get back, I’m kinda doubtful I’ll be able to get health ins in the states. ??  Not much I can do from here at the moment of course. Have to wait.

   Posted by peiper       08/15/2009  at  11:17 AM  



3. Someone wrote a letter to the editor in todays paper in which they said that a friend of theirs died in N.Carolina of a brain tumor because they could not afford treatment.

   People die all the time because they couldn’t afford treatment. People die all the time even if they get the treatment they can’t afford. Treatment doesn’t guarantee a positive result. The whole debate is NOT about treatment, it’s about who pays.

   I personally have declined a surgical procedure to relieve neck pain suffered from an auto accident in 1982. Why? The doctors have all told me that I have a 20% chance of getting better, a 50% chance of no change, and a 30% chance of getting worse. Not great odds, eh? I just take aspirin or slather on some Ben-Gay ointment when the neck pain hits. A lot cheaper and no chance of worsening the condition. Again, that’s MY choice. No Obamacrat has denied such a surgical procedure.

   My wife and I have ‘living wills’ and ‘healthcare powers-of-attorney’ for each other. Mine specifically states ‘do not resuscitate’. My choice. Why? I don’t want to burden my family financially if they end up resuscitating a vegetable.

   If ObamaCare passes, and ‘healthcare is a right’, I will rescind that ‘do no resuscitate’ clause.

   Then Obama will be responsible for my death by denying me my ‘right to healthcare’.

   Posted by Christopher       08/15/2009  at  01:32 PM  



4. Oh, I almost forgot. The squirrel has weighed in:

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   Posted by Christopher       08/15/2009  at  01:39 PM  



5. Christopher,
   I always marvel at how ppl use their photo software. I’m a clutz to be honest. I have both Faststone which I like but can’t use all the features, and GIMP which I use little and don’t understand either.  Sometimes I find the instructions are meant for more tech savvy ppl then for OFs like me. So I plod along.

   Re. End game of life. Not a happy subject at all but as one gets older well.... can’t help thinking about it from time to time. Especially reading obits of those same age and younger.

   It isn’t only the financial burden tho that is a very important factor. It’s the stress and strain of caring for someone no matter how much love there is. I never want to be the curse to my wife that her mother was. I’m convinced it wrecked my wife’s health which wasn’t perfect to begin with. I’m waiting for the right time when I can post my journals and impressions and feelings of what I saw over the final 5 yrs. I’m a bit torn of course, while I’d like to post them on line and am reasonably certain my wife wouldn’t see em, it’s still her mom I wrote about.  I’ve shared a few things privately but never posted. It’s kind of a dilemma. Have to give it lots of thought.  But anyway ....  I really wasn’t aware that our system might turn away people who were really ill but too poor to pay the very high cost of medical care.  I guess I’ve been very lucky in that at least I had some ins. when I had two surgeries. But I have to tell you that we (that is Americans) have been getting gouged by ins. and hospital charges for years. And hospitals ALWAYS have an excuse for their ruinous charges, like charging enough for two pill that outside you could buy 30 for, and naturally the drug companies who ‘claim’ they are only trying to get back their R&D investments.

   Posted by peiper       08/16/2009  at  02:14 AM  

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