Senioritis, Malfunction Junction, Medicine and Hoodoo
I am going to try to make a coherent and short statement about seniors and medicine in the USA. I won’t get into what things cost and who pays; except to say the USA spends more money and people are not benefiting compared to the rest of comparable countries. If I needed heart surgery I would be on the table swiftly, but if I have chronic issues, I am not going to get much help. Our doctors work office hours mostly and then you go to urgent care clinics or to an emergency room. “My doctor” has lost meaning over the last 20 years.
I am adjusting to the new way medicine is practiced. I just went to a nurse practitioner instead of a doctor. I really decided I needed a DOCTOR and made an appointment. A friend just had a lump removed by a nurse practitioner. I was horrified. It turned out to be malignant and she did another surgery. I was horrified. If I have a bump on my nose, I want an old experienced doctor not a young nurse. That is medicine here, now. I still want a doctor when it comes to knives or other cutting devices.
Now I will get to the hoodoo. The drug industry is making billions. The Statin called Lipitor got a patent and made billions and it is basically the same as red yeast rice used by Chinese for hundreds of years, and they wanted to ban the sale of red yeast rice. They made patented allergy medicine that went a hundred times higher than what was already sold. Ibuprophen got prescribed instead of aspirin and the cost difference was huge. They decided to test people for vitamin D and the prescription is $80.00 and the over the counter is 2 or 3 dollars for a 30 day supply, or you can get a multivitamin for a few dollars and get 100% of Vitamin D. A lot of our money goes for unneeded drugs.
I woke up oneThanksgiving morning with a rotator cuff problem, horrendous pain. After a few hours most of the pain went away and then I googled, did the exercises and have had no further problem. I had a torn meniscus, I went to the doctor, he sent me for x-ray and said my knee was normal. I Googled, diagnosed the knee went to an orthopedic surgeon and he did surgery and my knee has been fine for 3 years now. This problem is fixable but will not go away on its own. This problem is diagnosed with an MRI since it is a tissue problem and not a bone problem. It was good to know that the bones are normal. I chose a different doctor and I have not figured out why the doctor chose chose to the issue. My knee would lock pop and just colaspe. I have good medical coverage so payment was not the issue. Malfunction of a major life type should get medical attention quickly, but it did not.
We have doctors that are doing magical, mysterious and amazing work. The doctor did microscopic surgery on my knee and doctors and work on brains without damaging nerves or function. I am pretty good with a needle, but their work is amazing and unbelievable.They are dedicated and skilled doctors who deserve more money than they are getting. I just have a problem with our system and getting care when needed.
I am glad that I can and do read, and adjust to the system.If it is life threatening I can go to the emergency room, but the insurance says if you go and it is not life threatening then you may have to pay yourself. Makes you not want to make a mistake. I live in a large city, but some rural area don’t have urgent care clinics and have fewer options. They are lucky to find one doctor or one specialist. I will stay in the city.
This isn’t short so I have to stop. I am basically healthy and hope to stay that way. For my minor complaints, and many other issues, I Google and work on it. Remember. I got the emergency room, a doctor who isn’t available and an urgent care center that isn’t open at night, so for all other issues, I am on my own. So far, I am doing pretty good and am in good shape as soon as I cure my runny nose issue, I won’t worry till the next malfunction. I also try to not waste health care dollars by using a lot of expensive prescriptions, or any doctors or tests, that I don’t need.
I hope some find this interesting. I have had some experience with medical issues in three other countries, and they were all good and I was totally satisfied, but that was some years ago. We need some change in the USA.
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Wprivate hospital accomadation… e have a medicare ssysytem here inAustralia, Bloom where everyone regardless of income is entitiled to free medical care, it is funded by taxing 1.% of income… Seniors have only to pay a supplemt of $6 for all prescriptions and specialist surgery is free for all in Public Hospitals , private medical is also available for those that want their own Doctor and private hospital treatment for surgery ….. ithas to be on eof the best systems in the western world…. however the same private practice Doctors and Specialist are the same as those in the public hospital system , our Provincila Hospitals are in the main better and more up to date than our major City Hospitals , summing up ,a wonderful Health care system called :Medicare….:xx
Oh , Lani ,you are so patriotic !! We have a good health care system ,but I wouldn’t call it wonderful ! Would you ,really ?
I guess it all depends what we compare it with ….
nmod. How about NONE? No health coverage at all. I have coverage that is subsidized and it still costs quite a bit. People are being bankrupted by Illness here. A friend paid out over $30,00 in 18 months with health insurance. How does this compare.
Sorry Lani , I apologize unreservedly !!
Because compared to what Rose is saying about the health system in USA ..we do have a wonderful system !
But ,Rose ,if a kid is riding a skateboard for example and crashes against a tree fracturing an arm and a leg …and the parents have not private health insurance …what happen to that kid ??
Another case scenario : a single woman in her thirties lives alone on some government benefit is diagnose with a brain tumor what happen to that woman ?
I think that in USA there’s a system where an employer offers health insurance as part of a salary package to an employee.
But what happen to people who are unemployed ?
I know that a similar system is in place in Buenos Aires Argentina .where people get health benefits as part as salary package .
But people who have not secure jobs or are without a job they can get free treatment in a public hospital .
If a third world country ,with a system similar to your country’s can offer free treatment in public hospitals .to the needy . Why on earth couldn’t a first world country like USA look after their own people ?
nmod, I will comment on your last question first. The US is funneling too much money into private hands, and taking care of their own people is not a high priority. I hope that other countries do not copy us, or be influenced by us.
I amnot sure what happens to people without medical coverage. Some become a charity case. Some may be covered by a government plan for the poor, or disabled, or a veteran, or qualify for catastrophic coverage. Some may get no treatment until it is too late.
With employee plans, people lose coverage when they can least afford it. Medical insurance can cost a thousand dollars a month for one person. Two people just doubles it. Before Obama passed new laws, new insurance did not cover people with preexisting conditions, even though the condition may have been undiagnosed. It is better now but still many people are not covered, and many have poor coverage. The US needs a lot of improvement in health care coverage.
Rose , what would have happened to your friend if she did not have that amount of money ?
Would she have not received treatment at all ? And was/is your friend suffering from a life threatening illness ?
nmod. She did have that amount of money. She had a brain tumor and she died in 18 months. If they spend all their money and are out of work, they would qualify for a government program. When I have gone to am emergency room, I fill out insurance forms before I am treated. Luckily for me, I have had insurance when I have gone. Many people are ashamed of being poor here and people in my own family will not tell me about their insurance or the lack of coverage. With most insurance tied to employment, people lose insurance when they can least afford to do so and private plans are very expensive.
Lani, I am glad you are happy with it. We have medicare for seniors only, we need it for everyone. We have such a mix of government and private insurance, but some people are just totally left out. Our new plan called Obama is fixing some of the problems but there are still people not covered.
I had to give up all thoughts of living in the USA Rose,when I developed a certain condition while I was there…The cost of treatment would have been horrendous,so I returned to OZ and was treated and the condition arrested for $800….Yesterday I was at the Doc,s getting some scripts renewed,so he checked my BP and said its getting up a bit,I will give you a stronger med for it..I said” ,Are we treating the symptom and not the disease ? ” He said “Probably,,In many cases,Doctors dont know why otherwise healthy people get raised BP”…As an ex engineer I thought,Mebbe my pressure reducing valve is playing up 🙂 🙂
cappuccino. You need to Google, but you are right and here I know they treat symptoms. Blood pressure is up for various reasons. Do they just give more medications, or do they tell you to change diet and be more active and do lots of exercise of all kinds? They may do this here after you have a heart attack.
Thank you very much Rose for open up my eyes on that subject. You may don’t know we have a region here in Germany ( Frankfurt ) where the American army was stationed until the retreat back to the States 10 years ago.
The soldiers have lived here with their families and the choise was made to them of return to the US or to stay in Germany. Many of them decided to remain here because of the health situation and the tremendous costs for it in the US.
While in the army any kind of medical treatment was free for them but afterwards?? Many wouldn’t take that risk and remaind here with us which I think was no bad choice at all?
Interesting Michael. I knew that the US had a base in Frankfort. I know nothing of what happened ten years ago. Health insurance was probably not the reason, for choosing to stay. Most people get coverage through employer plans.Veterans also are entitled to benefits. I am not sure if their families are covered though.
Maybe the soldiers just liked Germany and Europe, but few US citizens give up their citizenship. I would be curious to know more.
I have private health insurance for hospital treatment …it’s not obligatory but it’s recommended ,I have had it , (still do )for many years now ,and although it’s subsidized by the federal government it’s still expensive for a pensioner to afford it , but I’m holding onto it for dear life . Just in case I need it for a non life threatening situation.
The Medicare levy is paid by everyone who has a job , pensioners are not charged , people in the workforce who do not have private health insurance
Are charged a penalty rate which equals and sometimes even surpasses what private health insurance might cost …on top of the normal Medicare levy .
Wages in Australia are very good compared to many other countries I guess ,but we also pay very high taxes …there’s income tax ,plus indirect and direct taxes in goods and services .
I hope this explains a bit of how our system works .
If anything I said it’s not correct or up to date , I hope other Aussies will correct me.
After all I haven’t watched TV for more than 5 years …so I may not be up to date with current information .
There are national studies that compare healthcare systems around the world.
The USA spends more and gets less for it than most other countries.The US spends more than twice the average spent on health care by the nations in a comparable group. The life expectancy is expected to go down due to obesity related illness. Our food is over processed and some is just junk, salt, fat, and sugar.
Hello Rose,
thank you for yor reply. Up to my knowledge right now please let me formulate it this way;
To get ill in the States means, one has to face two illnesses at the same time; the
illness itself and the cost for medical treatment on top.
I will keep you informed your question about the former US soldiers here later on.
Rose very interesting points you take up, and thanks for that!
I have lived all over. US , OZ, NZ, UK, and at present Sweden. I think a lot of the problem with healthcare (not all) is due to how much taxation is levied, and how prepared we are to pay for infrastucture, health care, and education. Sweden has the highest taxation in the world but we do get a “bang for our buck” I am moving back to the UK – but am thinking on keeping my Swedish residency in case of medical problems, even though the UK -NHS is fantastic, it doesn’t match the Swedish health care. One of my daughters did her Med. Doc. in England, and although she says the care is great, she would never have non- acute surgery done in UK – but would return to Sweden – I suppose we are lucky here – I feel so sorry for impoverished Americans that can’t afford care – one of the reasons I left (education being the other) – Thanks for making me think Rosexx