Considering the Dr gave him different meds which caused the problem had I of known I could of taken him myself…

I just want to add that Universal Health Care is socialized medicine, but that term doesn’t have to be a bad term. I hate Michael Moore now, but as he puts it, it’s no different than having the police, fire and public libraries. Those are Government funded and run programs, too, and they are great! Just imagine if you had to pay the fire department to come out to your house in a fire, instead of them just responding to all. Fire and police only for those who could afford it? That is a basic need, just like healthcare. We should all have the healthcare we need. All of us.

Healthcare just isn’t about finding a way to help poor people find insurance to go to the doctor. What about our nursing crisis? Nurses are the backbone of the healthcare delivery system but they are dropping in numbers, getting older, moving to more lucrative and less stressful employment. Studies clearly show that patient outcomes are dependent upon quality and quantity of nursing care, and we’re already experiencing serious shortages with worsening predictions down the road.

This is just one of the many tentacles of this healthcare monster that is out of control, but we’re going to have to address each one. There is no one package to fix “the healthcare crisis”.

My Dad has Medicare. So he is in an HMO. I was looking at his policy to see if he had certain benefits. Someone from Blue Cross had been in touch with him on it. Turns out the big new benefit is that they give you information on your condition. Less info than you could find on the internet or in the library! She had sent him a DVD. He does not even have a DVD player. I told the lady that I guess this is what the insurance company provides these days instead of actual services. And they call it a benefit. I also told her that the DVD she sent was really not helpful - it was more appropriate as a cursory overview for lower level HC workers.

Sadly, we actually had a chance for wise stewardship towards sustainability and were robbed of it by the usual extremists who pretend to have all the answers then continue to raid the treasury of money and the “bank” of our hope, once they gain power. Elitists ideologues motivated by ego, lust for power and greed on the left and the right are killing us. I hope more people get off the damn treadmill and join me on what constantly gets ignored as people are sidetracked: curing the disease and not just treating the symptoms.

People are easily sidetracked by manipulators that present black and white only positions like pro-choice versus pro-life. Somewhere in the mix pro-solution and pro-compromise get lost. And then these manipulators profit from the division. Yes, people can actually start out sincere in their beliefs when they start an organization. But does anyone honestly think a large organization really wants solutions once they gain power from the division? Solutions equal loss of power and paycheck for these organizations.

I do not pretend to have the answers how even to achieve long-term sustainability and reform of the human spirit, but at least I recognize the problem and will nag the crap out of people until they at least spend some energy on these important issues! I’m looking for solutions, not more of the same.

Medicare Part B payments are deducted directly from SS payments and are a percentage of the SS payment. Other income has nothing to do with Medicare once you are retired and receiving SS/Medicare benefits.

Of course, we’d have to find work for all the insurance company clerks whose job it has been to deny coverage and deny claims, but maybe we could put them to work as hall monitors in the George W. Bush Presidential Library.

Carolyn Kay
MakeThemAccountable.com