Swampcare: The Great Betrayal

Healthcare. Sheesh. I retired, needed to buy my own plan. Not only is health insurance not affordable for the sick, but it’s not accessible. I visited the E.R. the other night, (not hive related), they were willing to keep me, but they use a grading system to help predict future events. I rated a two. Three or more need to be admitted. Two needs to be admitted if there is a likelihood that the person won’t aggressively follow through with subsequent testing and visits to the primary care doctor. I’ve had one of the three tests suggested done. The second is being treated like a ping pong ball. The insurance won’t approve it without the primary care doctor approval. The primary care doctor won’t approve it until she sees the E.R. report, which had not been made available yet early yesterday. No one at my primary care doctor suggested I visit my doctor there, though that was part of the 3 tests and subsequent visit to my primary care doctor suggested by the E.R. Doctor. (I’ve just been told I need to schedule to see my Doctor. OK, I’ll give them that, but there is urgency, I assumed they’d make provisions. Mea culpa).

To compound things, my “event” happened 3 hours after I took; as instructed to by my allergist; yet another drug for the Chronic Hives I have. Weeks after starting on twice the suggested dose of a prescription antihistamine, taking Zantac (150 mg) twice a day (it blocks Histamine receptors in the skin and stomach), and being put on Singulair (an oral asthma medicine that helps some hive patients), one of the doctors in the group that I spoke to said I should see my Neurologist to be sure taking antihistamines is OK. They’re supposed to look over your medical history and medication list before prescribing.

I suggest American medicine is in trouble on two parts.

1. Bureaucracy - I declined an expensive test that likely would not have shown anything. The E.R. was terribly busy that night. This beautiful hospital receives tons of overdoses and police escorted criminals. As I sat, listening to the screams of what likely was an overdose patient, I spent some time on my smart phone reading on my malady. I’ve had it twice before, this time seemed different, not as severe, but different. I learned enough to have a cogent conversation with the E.R. doctor, and he agreed that I could leave and aggressively pursue the requisite tests. I’ll need an expensive one, but why pay for one that night that was convenient but likely wouldn’t show anything, with an expensive test the following morning as an inpatient? I saved the insurance, and myself, money. Why have they made the follow-up tests so hard to get, why doesn’t the primary care doctor take this seriously?

If you want to save money, and outpatient care / outpatient testing is an option, why wouldn’t the insurance company and providers have ways to expedite this? My allergist has an emergency contact number. But most doctor’s offices, when you call off hours, tell you to go to the E.R., how is that saving any money?

2. Insurance. Trump’s HHS Secretary said obamacare is a card without services. Significantly he is correct. With high deductibles and copays, many people aren’t getting the tests and care they need. I agree that obamacare should never have existed. Alas, it does. Despite the democrats being solely to blame for it, America has a rich tradition of taking Republican issues; like ending slavery and promoting civil rights; and giving democrats credit for it. With a Republican and Trump inimical media, they’d do the same thing now.

In my opinion:

1. Eliminate the fine for not buying insurance.

2. The increase in premiums to anyone that has a lapse in coverage is OK by me. Trump’s HHS Secretary said people were gaming obamacare, paying for 9 months of insurance and getting 12 months of coverage. Under Trump’s proposal, you can lapse for 63 days before incurring the penalty.

3. There is no reason why Canadians purchase identical drugs at a fraction of the cost. There needs to be a critical examination of medical costs, including prescriptions. If anyone hasn’t watched and read about Martin Shkreli, this is why reliance on corporations to self regulate is not going to work. If sales are permitted across state lines, there will be collusions and acquisitions to reduce the savings to consumers and increase profit to the insurance companies.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=LPIQ_gyiHag

Martin Shkreli pleads the Fifth, then tweets about ‘imbeciles’ in Congress

Embattled drug entrepreneur Martin Shkreli — who vigorously defended his decision to hike the price of a life-saving drug from $13.50 to $750 — suddenly went silent Thursday at a Congressional committee, smirking and grinning instead of answering questions.

Members of Congress launched into fiery lectures directed at Shkreli, whose previous company, Turing Pharmaceuticals, came under scrutiny when it raised the price of Daraprim more than 5,000%. The pill is used to treat toxoplasmosis, a parasitic disease that afflicts people with weakened immune systems, such as those with AIDS and pregnant women.

“Drug company executives are lining their pockets at the expense of some of the most vulnerable families in our nation,” U.S. Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Maryland, said. “It’s not funny, Mr. Shkreli. People are dying and they’re getting sicker and sicker.”

The boyish-faced Shkreli sat quietly at the witness table, clasping his hands tightly and slowly rubbing his fingers together as he was lectured. He smirked several times and appeared on the verge of laughter at one point when Cummings was speaking.

After the hearing, he removed any doubt about his feelings. “Hard to accept that these imbeciles represent the people in our government,” Shkreli said on Twitter….