tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30206473.post5446694015126671477..comments2023-10-23T11:24:13.532-04:00Comments on Diabetes Update: Who Is Really Getting EuthanizedJennyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17384082448952856117noreply@blogger.comBlogger23125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30206473.post-86685594922531146992009-08-11T21:09:32.058-04:002009-08-11T21:09:32.058-04:00"I don't think any of us are talking here...<i>"I don't think any of us are talking here about sex-change operations for inmates."</i><br /><br />Of course you're not. But that's the point, you will not have a say in what <i>they</i> will cover. <br /><br />In my state the government covers such foolish things...including hormones for inmates in "transition" and electrolysis. <br /><br />Who decides these An Astute Observerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02063310640435776103noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30206473.post-26267774803081707512009-08-11T09:34:33.240-04:002009-08-11T09:34:33.240-04:00Susanne, my husband and I pay for all of those thi...Susanne, my husband and I pay for all of those things (except birth control and immunizations) out of our own pockets. Compared with something like high speed internet, they are not very expensive.<br /><br />Nevertheless, if the items listed are still unaffordable, Medicaid has means testing to allow people to get services that way. Churches and charitable organizations will also provide Stargazeyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09566854038842118222noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30206473.post-748827739068085542009-08-10T22:53:56.514-04:002009-08-10T22:53:56.514-04:00I don't think any of us are talking here about...I don't think any of us are talking here about sex-change operations for inmates. We are talking about metformin, insulin and needles for diabetics, immunuzations for children, pap smears, mammograms and birth control for women, PSA tests for older men, high blood pressure medications to prevent stroke, basic health care that will do a world of good keeping Americans healthy. Insulin is much Susannehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00723061384682934999noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30206473.post-86259901359622809762009-08-10T20:40:18.697-04:002009-08-10T20:40:18.697-04:00My mother's medicare coverage (which I oversee...<i>My mother's medicare coverage (which I oversee) costs her a lot less than what I pay for my insurance and covers more.</i><br /><br />Who do you suppose pays for your Mom's Medicare coverage?Thomashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05016306902495905233noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30206473.post-16306323571043033592009-08-10T20:39:52.475-04:002009-08-10T20:39:52.475-04:00**The right wing fringe is trying to frighten the ...**The right wing fringe is trying to frighten the public <br /><br />They prefer the old system, where only those who are poor, unemployed, or have a chronic condition are forced to die because care is withheld.**<br /><br />No, they recognize a change is needed. WHat they fear is a new system being rushed though congress without input from the American people...just as so many other things haveLover, not a fighter....https://www.blogger.com/profile/03551257198428766808noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30206473.post-9867097258354000572009-08-10T14:18:04.475-04:002009-08-10T14:18:04.475-04:00Jenny, you and some of the commenters seem to conf...Jenny, you and some of the commenters seem to confuse health insurance with access to health care.<br /><br />If 40 million uninsured plus all the currently insured are placed into one national health insurance plan, that does not mean they will all receive optimal treatment.<br /><br />Providers will be even more stressed for time than they are now. Troublesome or complicated patients will find Stargazeyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09566854038842118222noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30206473.post-71089225507973121752009-08-10T13:25:14.389-04:002009-08-10T13:25:14.389-04:00My mother's medicare coverage (which I oversee...My mother's medicare coverage (which I oversee) costs her a lot less than what I pay for my insurance and covers more. <br /><br />If everyone might have to use the same insurance as those without powerful political friends the quality of that insurance would improve quickly.<br /><br />Personally I'd like any legislation to ensure that our lawmakers have to use whatever plan is the worstJennyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17384082448952856117noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30206473.post-12313715264956152362009-08-10T13:09:08.529-04:002009-08-10T13:09:08.529-04:00Thanks Jenny. I've an appointment with someone...Thanks Jenny. I've an appointment with someone from my congresswoman's office next week. Her town hall meetings are being disrupted by those astroturf demonstrations. But I'll tell them in person what I hope will come out of that legislation and the rules that will be developed to implement it.Bernardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14936264471078732019noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30206473.post-92100815282856805152009-08-10T12:10:07.340-04:002009-08-10T12:10:07.340-04:00You are making assumptions based on your own local...You are making assumptions based on your own locality. Many people aren't church goers. Or they attend churches that have no political clout.<br /><br />And if you live in Connecticut, where I used to live, the state insurance board is a wholey owned subsidiary of the insurance industry which is so huge an employer in Hartford everyone is afraid to challenge them. <br /><br />Your posts Jennyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17384082448952856117noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30206473.post-33190110550320310612009-08-10T11:13:39.925-04:002009-08-10T11:13:39.925-04:00Two more thoughts:
You said, Your reply assumes t...Two more thoughts:<br /><br />You said, <i>Your reply assumes that the patient has the energy and education to pursue the long, complex process involved in fighting a recalcitrant insurer. </i><br /><br />No. Don't fight with the insurer. Let the State Board of Insurance do it for you. Appeal once to the insurer, so you have documentation that you did it. Then go to the State Board. They don&Stargazeyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09566854038842118222noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30206473.post-539105517186799552009-08-10T10:17:35.909-04:002009-08-10T10:17:35.909-04:00Jenny, if a patient has difficulty filling out for...Jenny, if a patient has difficulty filling out forms, there is often a family member or a friend who can assist them.<br /><br />I realize that there are inequities in the system. Are you advocating that those with good insurance be required to accept Medicare-level insurance so that everyone will be able to have some level of insurance coverage? The bill as it is written now mandates that if a Stargazeyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09566854038842118222noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30206473.post-62953559059585493752009-08-10T09:52:57.575-04:002009-08-10T09:52:57.575-04:00Stargazey,
Your argument also assumes that the pa...Stargazey,<br /><br />Your argument also assumes that the patient can afford to see the doctor in the first place. Back before Massachusetts instituted its full coverage program endos in my region were billing $450 for a first appointment, and not offering free appointments to those who couldn't afford them. I'm sure it is like that other places. <br /><br />The doctors may not even know Jennyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17384082448952856117noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30206473.post-40285253105251582322009-08-10T09:41:51.252-04:002009-08-10T09:41:51.252-04:00Stargazey,
Your reply assumes that the patient ha...Stargazey,<br /><br />Your reply assumes that the patient has the energy and education to pursue the long, complex process involved in fighting a recalcitrant insurer. <br /><br />When I had a child with a severe condition requiring two surgeries and an insurer who refused to pay for them (and bragged in the Wall Street Journal that they were so profitable because of their legal department which Jennyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17384082448952856117noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30206473.post-6606798405555806032009-08-10T09:31:39.616-04:002009-08-10T09:31:39.616-04:00In case uninsured and underinsured people are read...In case uninsured and underinsured people are reading this--I deal with coverage-related issues in my husband's medical office all the time.<br /><br />If you are uninsured and need a particular drug, the drug companies often have a Patient Assistance Program. Ask your physician to refer you to the local drug rep, or you can look in the front of the Physicians' Desk Reference (PDR) for Stargazeyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09566854038842118222noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30206473.post-30505219747473077352009-08-10T09:19:50.333-04:002009-08-10T09:19:50.333-04:00I think the biggest irony is the fact that right-w...I think the biggest irony is the fact that right-wingers are suddenly playing the "fiscal conservative" card. I would like to ask these same people where they were during the last 8 years and approving deficit-after-deficit to pay for a war that was clearly not supported by all Americans. Now, when it comes to the health and well-being of those who actually pay these taxes, apparentlyScott Shttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03286529314567223617noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30206473.post-17634552451926092742009-08-10T07:45:55.590-04:002009-08-10T07:45:55.590-04:00The availability of insurance varies from state to...The availability of insurance varies from state to state. So just because you live in a state where people aren't left to die on the street, don't assume other states are the same. <br /><br />In some states there are programs for the poor and availability of insurance. In others, nada.<br /><br />I would not have written about this if I didn't personally know hard working people Jennyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17384082448952856117noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30206473.post-8144821175626850192009-08-10T06:25:15.047-04:002009-08-10T06:25:15.047-04:00People who choose not to take care of their DB due...People who choose not to take care of their DB due to lack of healthcare are making a choice. Where I live, there are free clinics and the teaching hospital also welcomes those who cannot pay. Anyone who needs healthcare in this country has it available. Not taking advantage of that is either ignorance or a freely made choice.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30206473.post-44638243734371546562009-08-10T02:13:22.819-04:002009-08-10T02:13:22.819-04:00Here in Australia, being a medical doctor is still...Here in Australia, being a medical doctor is still a high prestige, high income job, in spite of the fact that we've had universal healthcare for many years.<br /><br />There's still the option of taking out private health insurance to cover the things that Medicare doesn't (private room in hospital, shorter waitlists for elective surgery, etc.) but the basic health needs are Ianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00940219569473225266noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30206473.post-91256583023745315182009-08-09T23:40:25.431-04:002009-08-09T23:40:25.431-04:00Wow. I didn't subscribe to this blog to hear l...Wow. I didn't subscribe to this blog to hear liberal media attacks parroted. I subscribed because I found some valuable information on diabetes. As a man who has been laid off twice in the last 8 months, I know what it means to be diabetic without insurance, and I know how much it costs. I'd rather bear those expenses than have the socialist health program that is currently proposed. Thomashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05016306902495905233noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30206473.post-2158154424304679542009-08-09T21:14:12.663-04:002009-08-09T21:14:12.663-04:00Here is an interesting article: Cancer Survival Ra...Here is an interesting article: <a href="http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/561737" rel="nofollow">Cancer Survival Rates Improving Across Europe, But Still Lagging Behind United States</a>.<br /><br />It says lots of sobering things, including this, <i>The greatest differences were seen in the major cancer sites: colon and rectum (56.2% in Europe vs 65.5% in the United States), breast (79.0% vs Stargazeyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09566854038842118222noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30206473.post-2365273431430162692009-08-09T18:36:02.201-04:002009-08-09T18:36:02.201-04:00I too am uninsured. A trip to the emergency room w...I too am uninsured. A trip to the emergency room would be an economic disaster for me. <br /><br />I try to keep my carbs down, avoid risky sports, and in general lead a healthy life, despite my slowly increasing blood sugar levels. <br /><br />I applied for Cobra when I left my job and the premium was over $1200 a month, which I could not afford. <br /><br />In this great country it is a Susannehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00723061384682934999noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30206473.post-45598672787778252492009-08-09T18:19:13.011-04:002009-08-09T18:19:13.011-04:00I agree with you 100 percent. And I'm pretty ...I agree with you 100 percent. And I'm pretty sure you didn't mean Drs. shouldn't be able to earn a living wage. In fact, there has been considerable pressure to decrease income to Drs over the last years (unless perhaps they bring in lots of money for "procedures") but I don't think it is Dr salaries that are causing the problem! Rather it is the vested interests in Drs. Cynthia and Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16081685734249334402noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30206473.post-2376337163651799262009-08-09T18:00:22.889-04:002009-08-09T18:00:22.889-04:00Where is it written that some people have a god gi...<i>Where is it written that some people have a god given right to get wealthy off the sickness and suffering of others? </i><br /><br />A licensed physician must have an education that costs hundreds of thousands of dollars to obtain. He or she must rent office space, buy office equipment, employ staff and buy malpractice insurance. He or she will eventually have children and other family membersStargazeyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09566854038842118222noreply@blogger.com