Life … Liberty… pursuit of Happiness… those are pretty vague terms. Does LIFE mean life and death .. or life or death? Does LIBERTY mean that just about anything goes.. no restrictions…peddle to the metal … and again THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS… pursue whatever makes us happy?… no restrictions… no limitations… individualism to the nth degree…
Fifty years ago.. government and healthcare were totally separate and distinct entities.. there was no Medicare… there was no Medicaid… and here we are today with 100,000,000,000 people covered by either Medicare, Medicaid or both.. that is ONE-THIRD of our population.. while we have 100,000,000,000 people/workers supporting this system.
Depending on a person’s particular situation… someone on Medicare can for as little as $135/month… get Part A,B & D.. add another $100/month and all of the person’s deductibles/co-pays – other than Part D – DISAPPEARS !… virtually unlimited, unrestricted access to hospital, doctors,labs services for no out of pocket costs to the patient. Those people who are on Medicaid.. have similar unlimited, unrestricted access.
Now that Obamacare has been declared constitutional and we are on the brink of another 30 to 50 million people to be granted unlimited, unrestricted access to our healthcare system… do I need to elaborate on the consequences to everyone seeking healthcare services.. particularly in regards to wait time to get an appointment to be seen.
We have all heard horror stories of people showing up at a ER… running a temp of “100” and a runny nose… wanting service… they don’t have a primary healthcare provider, they have elected to pass a doc-in-a-box or nurse-in-a-box to get a treatment for their medical needs. As a society, are we going to be able to “grow a pair” and start telling people with such “medical emergencies” that they have to get a primary care provider and TURN THEM AWAY to go find care from a more appropriate location.
As I remember, Congress has mandated that hospitals make a patient stable and then discharge… where does a patient with a temp of 100 and a runny nose… fit into the definition of “emergency” and/or “medically unstable”?
I was recently temping in a BIG BOX store… got a call from a prescriber… what “cough syrup” for a 6 y/o can I prescribe that is not a OTC .. so that Mom will not have to pay for it and Medicaid will? Is this where we are headed – BIG TIME – we have to spin our wheels… back and forth phone calls/emails/faxes … so that a person doesn’t have to pay out a couple of dollars out of pocket for something to treat an acute symptom(s)?
When Obamacare is fully implemented, are we looking at the same type of tsunami of appointments and demand on primary healthcare providers by patients wanting treatment for conditions that could and should be treated by going to a local pharmacy and consulting with a Pharmacists… of course, they would have to pay for the inexpensive OTC medication to take care of their needs.
To date, have we created a portion of our society.. that the only perceived “quality” healthcare… is provided by a hospital/ER… how are we going to change this mindset… or are we going to continue to allow patients to determine how/when they are to be provided and receive healthcare?
Filed under: General Problems
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