Comments on: Come Saturday Morning: This Guy I Know

By: Phoenix Woman

Phoenix Woman — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 21:56:40 +0000

The VA really is the Best Care Anywhere. They do a fabulous job.

By: Phoenix Woman

Phoenix Woman — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 21:56:03 +0000

TT: A-yep. And if you’re wondering about motivations, click here.

By: OldFatGuy

OldFatGuy — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 19:01:21 +0000

Unfortunately, there isn’t. Ran into the same problem with my father, who was forced to lose all of his assets before government aid kicked in. Medicaid forces you to use up all assets (even your home if your the only one living there, if you have a spouse living there, then you can keep the home) before kicking in. And, it requires any “gift transfers” within the last THREE YEARS count as your assets. So, let’s say that farmer “sold” his farm to his nephew for “$1″. If he can wait three years before receiving treatments (unlikely with cancer), he’d be fine. If not, that “sale” will count as a gift, and the farm assets will be required to be used up before Medicaid pays a dime.

Also, I’m a veteran and get ALL OF MY CARE at the VA. And let me tell you, before that, I was a lifelong proponent of universal health care. Since then, it’s just more so. I go to ONE place, the VA clinic in Martinsburg, WV, to see my primary care doctor. I call and make appointments just like in the “real world.” He sees me, then if I need anything else (X-RAYS, BLOOD WORK), ANYTHING, I just go somewhere else in the same building, get the test, and all results, all history, all medications EVERYTHING is in the computer, the results of the X-Rays are usually in the computer by the time I get back to the doc. All prescriptions, he inputs in the computer, I walk over to the pharmacy, and pick them up.

Most amazing, stress free, efficient health care I’ve ever seen. And I used to manage a Pediatrician’s Office as part of 19 offices owned and operated by our hospital. Wow, talk about inefficiency. We had to have TWO FULL TIME GIRLS in our office to just deal with all the different insurance issues.

This current system is INSANE, and those that support are even more so.

Single payer, or VA like socialized medicine, is really the truly best solution.

Sorry for the length again. I’m a blowhard. :o

By: ohbytheway

ohbytheway — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 18:10:32 +0000

I have a story I must tell which illustrates the difference between “for profit” health care and “for patient” health care. At age 58 I was treated for breast cancer at BMAC (Ft. Sam Houston Army Post medical facility). My late husband was retired military so I am eligible for military medical coverage. Hematology-Oncology clinic at BAMC is one of the world’s leading cancer treatment centers with state of the art equipment but because they are military, not as well known as say Mayo Clinic.
After their treatment, I went into remission and have been for eleven years. At age 65, we can no longer use the military facilities but we have excellent coverage with Medicare and Tri Care for Life. It’s like a gold card in the “for profit” medical world. Recently, I had a Urologists diagnose a return of my breast cancer. Now as a previous patient of BAMC’s Hematology-Oncology clinic, I had the guarantee of lifetime treatment no matter my age. I told my Urologists this but he wanted me to see his referral circle oncologists. At that point, I not only had to say no but I had to get involved in the referral process required to get me back to BAMC. This Urologists insisted that I see his man and not go out to BAMC. That in itself is malpractice because everyone knows how good BAMC is. The motivation for this Urologists is money. He’s willing to send me to a lesser clinic because he had a financial interest.

I can’t imagine a better illustration of the misuse of the “for profit” system than this. I have my appointment with BAMC this week but older or less agressive people are being mismanaged like this everyday.

By: PJEvans

PJEvans — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 17:58:55 +0000

Another congresscritter who really doesn’t get it, seen at the Yarn Harlot (her right sidebar, Twitter):

“They don’t have the appreciation of life as we do in our society” American Congressman Paul Broun, re: healthcare in Canada and the UK.

By: Gitcheegumee

Gitcheegumee — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 16:49:21 +0000

Think Progress » KBR gave troops ice tainted with ’traces of body …The lawsuit also accuses KBR of shipping ice in mortuary trucks that “still had … “The wild dogs could be seen roaming the base with body parts in their …
thinkprogress.org/2008/12/04/kbr-lawsuit-human-remains/ -

By: Gitcheegumee

Gitcheegumee — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 16:47:16 +0000

I ran across a super post by a member of the Acton Institute.
Hope it links.

“Ray Nothstine, Associate Editor at the Acton Institute, had his Acton Commentary, “Veterans First on Heath Care” republished by The Citizen, a newspaper in Fayetteville, Georgia. Nothstine explains in the article that the federal government needs to prove that it can provide adequate health care for 8 million veterans before we can trust them to provide health care reform for the entire United States. Nothstine points out flaws with medical system operated by the Veterans Administration. It is a timely piece especially among the constant health care reform debate that is occurring in the United States.”

BTW, WHY has the government,who is allegedly appreciative of the troop’s sacrafices, allowing KBR to continue with no bid contracts,electrifying showers,and providing troops with ice containing deceased;s body parts-and NOTHING HAS BEEN DONE to hold them accountable?

By: jaango

jaango — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 16:40:07 +0000

My apology for the typos in my post @44.

Jaango

By: lambertstrether

lambertstrether — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 16:36:17 +0000

How can we “work toward it” when the legislation is going to be crafted to avoid that — and doesn’t kick in until 2013 anyhow?

And given the 2013 date, why NOW NOW NOW on HR3200 anyhow? Seems to me the more pressure that can be brought to bear, the better program we’re going to get.

The scenario I can see here is whatever emerges from reconciliation going to the floor for an up or down vote, and why should I trust that process? If single payer advocates hadn’t been consistently denied a seat at the table, I might have more trust, but the way things played out, my trust is not zero, but negative. And why wouldn’t be?

Show me the scenario where I don’t end up being forced to buy junk insurance because of the mandate, and then end up without health care anyhow! Those are the incentives of the current system, and those incentives are not changes with so-called “public option”.

By: Gitcheegumee

Gitcheegumee — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 16:34:29 +0000

The Republican 10 Point Plan for Health Care
By Jon Perr Saturday Jul 25, 2009 8:00am