alzheimers news-can we afford it

ALZHEIMERS NEWS-CAN WE AFFORD IT

if someone develops alzheimers disease
they may end up in some type of long term care facility
maybe for a year or two
that was the time my mother and younger brother spent
in those places

at a cost of $60,000-$85,000 a year for two years
equals $120000-$170,000 for just those last two years
of care
then theres care that is paid for up to the point of entry
into the nursing home
that varies based on how sick or how severe their disease is

so for this blog today
lets just use the $170,000 for those two years in the nursing home

now
my question is
this new drug im taking in the aducanumab study
well its going to be an expensive one
more expensive than the arthritis or ulcerative colitis or
cancer drugs
more in line with the new hepatitis c drug

the prediction is that it will cost someone
$40,000+ a year for these monthly infusions

so if it works or if it just slows down the disease
lets say for 10 years
then that allows the person to die from something else
like
cancer heart attack or stroke or old age if they are lucky

so i looked at some of the expensive drugs that are listed
by those drug controlling pharmacetical companies that
provide us all with our drug plans

i am on medicare part d drug plan
i have a $400 deductible i have to meet
then
there is this donut hole thing
that compromise spot the congress made to get the
medicare part d bill passed years ago
my donut hole is around $3,000

after the donut hole there is suppose to be a 5% limit on
how much one has to pay
however
as usual with these insurance things
it dont really work that way

many of you know this from using your health insurance or
car insurance or prescription insurance or
maybe more like homeowners insurance

so that means i may be on the hook for at least $12,000 a year
or the full $40,000 a year if its not covered at all

so lets see if i can do some math
if i treat myself for 10 years to stay out of the nursing home
ill save maybe $175,000 in nursing home care total
since maybe ill die fast after that ten years is up

ill spend anywhere from $120,000 total for the aducanumab drug
during those 10 years
so if it works ill save someone $50,000 total over that time period

of course
if i pay full price that will be $480,000 for the drug over 10 years

now
i do have long term care insurance that right now will pay
$160,000 for those two years in the nursing home
that would leave only $15,000 owed to the nursing home folks

so
if my math is right
it may be cheaper for me to just not get treatment but to just
slide down that alzheimers curve into those last two years
of nursing home care
many of us know how awful those last two years can be

so
doing my math it looks like i could probably afford to pay
for my aducanumab infusions for 10 years
let my medicare part d pay what it will if it does at all

i guess my life those last 10 years would be more tolerable
for myself and those around me

however if i have to pay full price
i may not be able to afford it
ill just use my long term care insurance instead

but
the question is
can society afford to pay for this new treatment or not
or
does society just fit the bill for the nursing home
by society i mean you and the government

tough question
with no answer

oh by the way
biogen and its investors will make billions off this drug
worldwide if it works
but
can we pay the price
is it worth it

in the mean time lets find a cure

support us at our next walk
or
donate and or walk at your local walk

santa barbara walk to end alzheimers october 28th

the organicgreen doctor

the intern

the INTERN
having been rained in for several days
having seen too much rio olympics
seeing all those stories about swimmers urinating in
a gas station
why not just save that for the swimming pool guys
having not enough football yet to watch
i said to my wife she
lets find a movie on tv
so on hbo
there was the movie the intern with robert deniro and anne hathaway

as i watched this
as many of you who have retired
as i did too early 5 years ago
you recognize that lost look
that
what am i going to do now
you can only clean the house
mow the yard
paint
read the paper
organize your papers
all those other things that need to be done
then
what next you ask

thats when
your life can either get better for everyone
or
you become stagnant

i chose like robert deniro did
to not to become stagnant
look at
you need to see the movie
the good
how much he made those around him
better
and
happier

there are a lot of retired folks who have a lot to offer
their numbers keep growing and growing each year
why dont we
schools government charities businesses
do a better job of taping into this source of knowledge and manpower
some of its free ie they just volunteer

thats what i did

i always wanted to help build a house with habitat for humanity
so
i showed up one day and started volunteering once or twice a week
i am on somewhere between 10-15 houses that i have helped with
most i have supervised and planned the landscape
with sometimes little funds

i would do it again

then
my mom got free meals
so
i volunteered for meals of wheels delivering once a week
on a 28 mile route spread out from the kitchen site
to close to where the country n is located

i have befriended several of the clients
helping one find the right medicare rx plan and saved him a
couple of thousand on his drug bills each year
i also helped with making sure his last will was handled like
he wanted along with other dedicated volunteers

i even planted a tomato for a 94 year old client in a movable
pot so she could grow fresh tomatoes
a proud possession is that tomato for her

i recently cut down a fallen tree off another clients wheelchair ramp

things i wouldnt have got to do if i hadnt decided to get involved
with meals on wheels
the clients life was made a little better by my decision
i feel good inside for doing it

i got involved with the alzheimers movement
doing alzheimers walks to raise funds
i having personally raised several thousands for the movement over
the last 5 years
i like doing alzheimers talks answering those questions about the disease
that people always want answers for but cannot get them
i am involved with alzheimers research as a volunteer subject
ive been stuck with needles in the arm and the back multiple times
endured numerous memory tests
hoping to do my part to find an answer for this disease
at the same time somehow making my memory better

wait
maybe it was because i chose like robert did
not to stay home and go stagnant
but
to get involved

so
if your are retired or if you just have some free time
you need to get involved
maybe
become an intern

the organicgreen doctor

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