- Dear Diary...
-
- Today was a bust. I wrote my Congressman and my Senator
about the terrible cost of my private pay health insurance. The last time
I did that, I was given a lecture letter by Hillary (Clinton) and
Chucky-Poo (Schumer). The letter went on about the joys and benefits of
Public Health Insurance.
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- They left out a few thingies though. They forgot to mention
what another bureaucracy would do to us. They forgot what happened in every
country which has public health insurance, like England, Canada and of
course, the lovely Australia. How nice their systems are. All I hear are
horror stories and excuses. "Uh, there ain't enough money. Got nuthin
to do with the system itself, the system works. There just ain't enough
money!" Then they begin speaking about how bad the US system is.
Well, frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn what y'all think about our
system. It's a damned sight better than yours. At least we get a choice.
Yes, there are problems. For example in our geographical area there is
a plethora of elderly and a serious lack of home health aids. For one thing,
they get paid squat. For another, they live in areas which they can afford
and that means to get up this-a-way, they require an automobile, which
they cannot afford since they earn squat.
-
- Another issue for home health care is that the HHC worker
needs to be a 24/7 aid. Working part time, say one to five or so hours
a day, is not worth their time. Two to four hours of expensive travel is
necessary to make less than the transportation costs and getting paid for
the transport is not always worth the earning time. WooF and PooF.
-
- I found it terribly interesting when I realized that
all three countries I mentioned also have antigun laws. So not only are
more people getting shot, innocent people, shot because they are unable
to protect themselves, but they are having trouble getting treatment for
their wounds because of the rotten treatment they receive from public health
insurance.
-
- Hmmmm! Something wicked this way comes. This way because
that is EXACTLY what the Fuhrers in the USA are attempting to do. Rid us
of our rods, you know, hot, two dollar pistols and then when we get shot,
we can't get the treatment we need. Most especially if one is elderly,
since in the extant systems, the elderly are treated worser than they are
treated here. The thinking by nurses and organizations is that well, these
people are old, they are not worth the treatment which the young get. At
least, if there is less time because there is insufficient help, treat
those who have a chance at life. It's the never ending game we all
play. Except of course, those of us who are the loving relatives of those
elderly and sick people.
-
- Another game we play is, "Well, this person is terminal.
Why waste time on them when we can spend time on those who can be cured,
healed and can live to be productive?"
-
- And of course, all of this is horse hockey, bull dingy
and utter nonsense. That is not how we treat our sick. Not. No matter how
old or sick they are. But it happens. And it happens a lot less than in
countries where there is public health care.
-
- Back to the beginning. I pay out an awful amount of money
for my HMO. This is because until we incorporated, we had to pay privately
... no group insurance was available. Bow that we are a corporation, we
can provide our employees with HMO health insurance and at nearly half
the amount of money we now pay. And the limitations of the HMO formularies
and choice of physicians is nearly eliminated.
-
- That's good. What's bad is the cost. Even at half the
cost of private pay HMO, the amount of money is humongous. Such is life.
I recall so vividly the beginning of the HMO. It was back in the late 1990's,
and at that time, only the worst of doctors chose to join. So, the selection
was poor. And the doctors were not the best, to say the least. An example
of why is simple to explain. If you were a well known physician or medical
group, why would you choose to belong to an HMO when the monies paid to
the physician was a lot less than he or she normally charged?
-
- The answer is, you would not. As the HMO became more
and more popular to the patient, more and more doctors were literally forced
to join. But that is when the change happened. The change was the cost
of the HMO to the patient. It rose extraordinarily fast. What cost me around
$65 a month 15 years ago now costs me around $2000+. Ludicrous in the extreme.
-
- So from the prospective of cost to the patient, the system
sucks. From the standpoint of the patient care, the system works. But it
works better for the insurance company than the doctors, hospitals and
patients. As usual, we all lose. And what we lose most of all is our money.
-
- Let's cut to the chase. There is a way for us to have
insurance and to have it at a reasonable cost. It's called, "Self
Insurance" and it's very much like putting money away over time and
using that money for your own care.
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- More to come so stay tuned to this bat channel.
-
- Morty, AKA The Bat di tutti Bats
-
-
- Jim Mortellaro,
- AKA, Morty
- Web Site: http://www.mortyscabin.net/
- Email us At:
- Morty@MortysCabin.Net
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