welcome to the organic green doctor blog

i am a family physician who was diagnosed with
early mild cognitive impairment(mci) amnestic type on december 21, 2010
this is a precursor to alzheimers disease
because of this diagnosis i have opted to stop practicing medicine
this blog will be about my journey with this disease
please feel free to follow me along this path
i will continue blogging on organic gardening, green living,
solar power, rainwater collection, and healthy living
i will blog on these plus other things noted to be interesting

Tuesday, April 1, 2014

care

CARE
this word care seems to be used a lot when its applied
to our health
theres obamacare healthcare.gov medicare
i think really it seems that our politicians dont care
about our health

i think back over the last year maybe last two years about
all the effort that was put into making our health care system
not work
what would have happened if that effort was channeled in
the other direction to develop a system that really worked

if we had one that worked we wouldnt have the worst statistics
for health care among industrialized countries
almost third world numbers in some categories
and
definitely third world numbers in some areas of the usa

we have the potential for the best health care system
we just allocate it so unevenly

ive worked with and through many of these care systems or dont care
systems this year

i started the year on a good health policy from my wife shes work
a good policy that spiked well it doubled in price this year
so i searched the obamacare policies and found
an equivalent one for about $200 a month less

i also helped several people from 4 different states to research
and find themselves a good health care policy
all found a policy that was cheaper than their previous
some were getting brand new policies

the care site that i used that worked the easiest was californias
in fact the person took just a few minutes to sign up using his
smartphone

another using the texas site which is healthcare.gov found a
policy for her teenage daughter that was $100 cheaper a month
with the same or better coverage

i think about texas a lot
we have such a bad record of health no care in our state
this state has worked so hard to make this not work
what if they had channeled that effort into a system to make
our health no care better

i was at a larger healthcare systems event yesterday
i looked at the massive building and saw all those patients
coming and going
and thought i bet these guys are big supporters of the
new healthcare law
since they are losing millions and millions each year from
being not paid for uninsured care

this year my long term disability company got involved with
my care
in the fine print it says you will file for social security disability
or lose your benefits
then they hired a lawyer to make sure i won my case
there was no benefit to me personally to do all of this
as it would cost me money if i won
so
they filed they appealed they won

so on social security disability i go which goes directly to them
with that also you get put on medicare a and b
whether you want it or not
you get it you pay for it each month
so
i started looking around
$850 a month for my private insurance with my wife she
$104 a month for my medicare a and b
that $954 a month for health care

so i checked out the next letter dealing with medicare
thats c which is the medicare advantage plans
i call them the disadvantage plans
you really have to watch and check each one closely
some are good and some are not
remember the feds are starting to defund these disadvantage plans
a little each year

no c for me i decided

then theres the d
thats medicare prescription plan
so i looked at all my drugs and put them into the plan
they actually pay better than my wife shes insurance
eg 90 days for $0 vs $30 for a  generic drug
that one looks good
i picked a value plan for $42 a month

then theres the medigap plans
that picks up most of what medicare a and b doesnt cover
no letter is attached to them
price $147 a month

so i added up the medicare price
a and b   $104
medigap $147
d            $42
total $293 a month
subtract $850 for my wife shes policy
equals $557 a month savings on just my health care policies

then thats $20,000 saved over the next three years
wonder what i can do with that money

what ive found over the last year
is dealing with social security and medicare and the medigap insurance
company has been so easy and efficient
there is not all these complicated choices that had to be made like
with the obamacare care policies

the effect im sorry to say is the political influence of lobbyists
for insurance companies drug companies health systems
and
worst of all
the discord that exists in washington
and in some of our state governments eg texas

my solution for all of this
after spending hours dealing with this this year
hours on the obamacare sites
listening to stories from family friends expatients and people i
dont know

we need a medicare for all
one system for all of us
you sign up
price adjusted maybe for age
the same rules that exist now on medicare
dont listen to doctors who whine about medicare
its all about the money
there wouldnt be this mass confusion that exists now
you pick this one policy
called medicare
you want to practice medicine in the  us you take  medicare
until this happens our system isnt going to work

bump up the medicare tax some and increase it all the way to the
top of the income bracket
remember the system is paying for this anyway
just in hundreds of different programs both private and public

we have a system that works
let just use it for everyone
i care
medicares
do you care
lets fix it please

the organicgreen doctor

2 comments:

  1. Why was any of this necessary in the first place? Corporate greed for one and ignorance on the part of individuals, second.

    When healthcare became a for-profit entity, investment interests whored out the medical profession. Well-intentioned doctors and nurses giving up more than a fair share of their lives to study and practice medicine, only to be forced to either provide or not provide based on the patients ability to pay.We've all heard the stories of overpriced trips to the E.R. and after contesting line-item costs, were able to lower the bill but that's not the doings of the doctors and nurses... that was done by people hidden somewhere in the back. People who knowingly try to push every barrier to gain every dollar possible, driven by managers, CEO's and ultimately investors who want maximized returns for their profits. Lobbyists fight to manipulate legislation to benefit investors of drug companies and they win... nearly every time.

    On the other hand, the average person is no match for the legal prowess of lobbyists, or how to fight hospital billing... they just want health care that they pay for through their employer or through other means including "Obamacare". There isn't a union or lobby or even a strong political effort to defend the average person when it comes to health care costs and legislation and thus the average, tax-paying, premium-paying, just-trying-to-raise-some-good-kids and make-a-living person... loses... simply so that greedy investors can satisfy their own addictions to money.

    This country is "sick" and as a result, it's basic components that once made it great are ailing. If 8 years in office with a democrat focused on healthcare can't fix it then we are in serious trouble. I voted for Obama, the first time around but didn't vote at all the second. I couldn't see old-school McCain or scatter-brained Palin actually running this country effectively and hoped that either Obama could shake things up and get conservatives back on the right path or maybe he could actually fix the healthcare system. While I believe he headed up the effort, I don't think he's smart enough to understand or to have actually been involved in the ACA. I'm sure lobbyists, politicians, etc. formed that effort and simply submitted it to him. I don't think Obama is nearly as smart as people believe. He's black, so he picked up votes by race. He's a lawyer, so he knows how the system works... but I don't think he truly "gets the big picture" of healthcare. I think he's been duped and doesn't realize it.

    It's a shame that our best efforts for healthcare are wasted on this mess and while investors fill their wallets, the average person gains little more than a change in their healthcare costs and benefits... and it may not be for the better.

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    Replies
    1. i must say i agree with most of what you just wrote
      togd

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