Dec. 07, 2003 - 20:41 MST

THE WONDERING JEW

Medi-who ?

As time passes it seems to me that the words, provisions and exclusions in government oversight of most anything complicate matters beyond belief (fubb).

Now its Medicare. Of course this doesn't take place until 2006, so eat, drink and be happy 'til then, for after that you might not be able to afford the medicine your body needs. And if it isn't in the Government Approved formulary -- you ain't got isht !

Looks like that to me anyhow. Maybe I'm just a local yokel, opinionated too. I've got a right, I've got seniority and a vested right to have opinions -=- shh don't tell Homeland Security that I have opinions.

Also it seems that Medi-gap insurance will not be allowed to cover the extra cost of medications.

In an article by Robert Pear of The New York Times he also mentions, "Health economists have long asserted that when beneficiaries are insulated from the costs, they tend to overuse medical services and hospital care." Yeaaaaaaaaaaaah Riiiiiight, we're a nation of hypochondriacs who take hours off work at the slightest sniffle or bit of heartburn and go to the doctor, fake it and go to hospital for observation. We go into the doctor and demand this and that pill, regardless of what he prescribes. UH HUH ! ! ! ! To me it seems that people being insulated works the other way around.

And the way it looks to me is that down the road a bit there will be more and more people who can't afford the essentials of medical care and can't be cared for under indigent policies. At some time in the future folks will eventually face up to, "Can I afford to live any longer ?" Government won't even have the courtesy of Kevorkian and ask if you wish to pass on, and will leave it to the health profession to break the news and inform the patient that they are not covered for this or that.

If it weren't for our HMO I would have been pushing up daisies long ago, Medicare started helping me there when I passed 65. I would venture to tell those economists that the situation is one of the health industry, realizing patients are insulated, escalate the costs immensely, making money on paper you might say and compounding charges. As it is, each year we have to pay more for less. They have it fixed to where they won't allow a family member to take someone to hospital and require them to be transported by ambulance. Ambulances are all well and good, but at the present day they are so equipped as to be hospitals in minature almost and seem to bill for the use of all of that on-board equipment each trip, so are horribly expensive. But they play the "what if tune" and ship them off in the shiny, sireny flashing ambulances when there is no real need to do so.

There are problems deluxe in our country and it seems that they are getting worse than better with all this government intrusion.

MEDI-WHO ???????

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