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LOUISVILLE,
Ky.—A few weeks ago Congress was talking about not keeping up the
compensation for Medicare doctors—as they usually do after the budget
is voted upon. The corporate media and politicians, Democrat and
Republican, say that Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security are
insolvent and they need to be “reformed.”
Yeah,
like Medicare prescriptions—a billion-dollar give away to the drug
companies—and the recent Health Care “reform,” which was a windfall for
the insurance companies. What they don’t tell us is that income over
$106,000 is not taxed for these programs. If it were, the programs would
remain in good shape indefinitely. And if we stopped funding all these
useless wars, we could fund real health care for all.
The
coming gutting of Medicare and Medicaid will be a social disaster. But
social disasters are disasters for individual working and middle-class
people. I speak from experience. I and a good friend, Jean, are both
disabled. I do better because of the way I had earnings spread out. But
Jean’s husband’s income and her disability amount are below the poverty
line. Think of that, this is the richest country in the world,
but her disability payments are below the poverty line!
As
it is now, even without any cuts the system is horrible. Most doctors
that you find are less than competent or so overwhelmed by caseloads
that they have no time for patients. One doctor Jean saw for a
“comprehensive” exam was in the room with her for 10 minutes—except for
the two times he left the room! Many subjects didn’t get discussed, and
only one was treated. If they prescribe a medication like an
antibiotic, they always prescribe the cheapest, which means the oldest
and least effective. Even if you know the drug doesn’t work.
If
you happen to have an illness that causes moderate to severe pain, you
might as well forget it. You’re automatically considered a “drug
seeker,” and they give you medicines you know won’t keep your pain
under control.
Now,
a psychiatrist (and drug-dependence counselor) is doing her pain
management, because she can’t find any pain specialists in the medical
system who will use medication while searching for other treatments.
Any specialist who will do that will not take Medicaid’s low payment
schedule.
Problems
have been extreme—like one doctor saying an implanted pain pump had
been approved, stringing her along for months on insufficient
medication, while he hadn’t even submitted a request for the pump.
Another pain specialist physically restrained Jean from bringing her
Medicaid advisor and husband into the room to help her explain the
situation.
So
unless we want to see a terrible wave of human misery and unnecessary
death, we must begin now to renew the fight for a single-payer plan.
And a plan, to boot, that the health-care professionals and patients
run. No more fat cat corporation managers only concerned with profit—or
the government, owned by them—making the decisions, but the people it
directly affects controlling it.
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