Posted by
Don't Tread On Me on Sunday, August 09, 2009 8:59:28 PM
I missed a chance to tangle with some jack-booted ACORN thugs on the Island today. I had an appointment at my doctor's office for routine bloodwork. I'd made the appointment weeks in advance, scheduling it at my last appointment, in fact, and it is part of my annual physical, so it took higher priority than the call to crack some ACORNs.
On the way there I thought to myself, if Obama and his flying congressional monkeys go ahead and push health care reform through, who knows what could happen to my current level of care? I know, I know; Obama SAYS I can keep my current coverage (but only if my husband's employer decides to keep that plan, and only if it isn't changed at all), and the White House SAYS no one is "talking about single-payer" (except for Obama. And Barney Frank. And some others- but who's counting?) but I'm just not feeling all that reassured for some reason. Proponents of the health care reform are saying that talk of "rationing care" is just meant to scare people, but the paper titled "Principles for allocation of scare medical interventions" co-authored by Ezekiel Emanuel, Rahm's brother and an advisor on White House Health Care policy, does just that very effectively. I'm convinced that health-care reform Obama-style is a disaster waiting to be avoided, but, since I wasn't going to get my chance to convince over 50 angry ACORN mobsters, I thought I'd take the opportunity to ask whichever health-care professionals I encountered for their opinions on reform.
After my $20 co-pay was collected, I was taken to one of the waiting rooms and visited by a technician I happen to like. She is outgoing and down-to-earth and one of the best venipuncturers I've ever stuck by. She asked a bunch of questions about my vitals, my general health, etc., then got the phlebotomy tools out and drew blood. I didn't even feel the needle, and there was no bruising left afterward. Pro-fessional! Then she answered some questions about two different labs doing work for the office, gave me a cup for a urine sample to submit upon leaving and, before she left, I asked her about her opinions regarding health care reform.
She didn't go into great detail, but she conveyed to me the effect that rising costs were having on the office. Costs are going up everywhere on the Island, but medical supplies are rising a little more rapidly. Everything from the paper rolls used to cover the examination table to the band aids costs more, and it is squeezing the doctor's profits. Sensing that she was perhaps a little nervous to be discussing something that could turn into politics, and reasonably certain she had at least 5 other people to see just then, I thanked her for her time.
I had about 20 minutes to wait before one of the doctors came in to look over my history and ask more questions. This office has three doctors seing patients; a patient can request a particular doctor, but I don't like to "play favorites" and consequently, I never know who's going to walk in. Dr. S tends to be a little brusque, doesn't seem all that eager for questions. She likes to do what she needs to, then move along to the next patient. Dr. R is a big, garrulous guy and loves to go into all kinds of detail on how things work. Dr. B has all sorts of lauds on his walls and is consistently named one of the top doctors in medical trade magazines and patient-ratings websites. He gets those awards because he cares about what he does and the patients he sees, and has apparently gone "above and beyond" for many of them, whatever that may mean.
Today I drew Dr. B in the lottery. He gave me a "homework assignment" (collect stool samples for colorectal screening- Whee!), asked about my general health, thoughtfully answered some questions I had regarding a few issues, and talked about why my husband and I are getting these "homework assignments" every year despite the fact that we're only in our very early forties. He said, "Colo-rectal cancer is almost 100% treatable if caught early. If caught late, not so much. These are simple, non-invasive screening tests that tell us if we need to progress to other kinds of tests. I have a friend who is in his 30's and is being treated for this kind of cancer. Chances are he'll beat it, because it was caught early. But if no one had even begun screening until he was in his 50's, he would be dead." He went into more detail about the cause and diagnosis and treatment of this cancer, how our awful diets can tend to cause issues in the bowels (ech), and closed with "a lot of people don't take this test seriously. A lot just don't do it. But it's important, because we can treat cancer so much more effectively if it is identified in the early stages."
We discussed one or two other things, and then I asked him about health care reform. he said, "Obama is right, we do need reform. When patients come in, we treat them. We care about them, and we want to do what's best for their health, so we run tests and do what we need to for the patient. But health care is not like other industries, where costs are passed on to the customer. When you have work done on your car, for instance, if the price of oil or oil disposal, or tires, or labor goes up, you, the customer, end up paying more for the service. In this industry, though, we get reimbursed for costs through the insurance companies. If a person comes in and they have leg pain or back pain, we do what we need to and submit forms- pages and pages of forms that can take hours to fill out- for reimbursal. If the insurance company feels we haven't provided enough information regarding the care, they'll request that we send them more information about the treatment, or thay may send the patient a request for more information, before they will reimburse for expenses. And sometimes, they don't reimburse at all. So we eat the cost."
"Now, I'm not against insurance companies making a profit, but they could really help us out by making just a little less profit and paying for tests we feel are necessary a little more often." Here I should tell you that Dr. B's practice is in a rather small building, and the front office area has had one ceiling tile missing for two years now. The furniture is not leather-and-chrome. The reception area is tightly packed with file shelves and office equipment, stacks of papers, receptionists and file-claims people (4 in all?), and always looks as though its about to be renovated at any minute. The place is not dirty or unkempt, but it does not say "this practice makes some money!"
He continued: "Then there's the matter of other costs, which are high to start with on Long Island, as you know, but are going up even more. The dumpster out back that we toss our non-biohazardous stuff into- the cost for pickup went up $40 recently due to fuel surcharges. Electricity is up because of fuel surcharges. Those costs aren't passed on to the customer, and the insurance companies aren't reimbursing us more to help cover these increases. That's our expense. All the supplies are more expensive, because they need fuel to be made or to be transported here. Again, we pay, not the patients."
"So, yes, we need health care reform, but it needs to be focused on the insurance companies, I think, and this other stuff Obama is talking about, well," (Dr. B. makes a noise and a hand gesture to indicate that the other Obama ideas like single-payer are "out there".)
So I left, thanking Dr. B for his answers and his time, and he thanked me for asking questions. On the way home I reflected on the utter lack of debate surrounding reform. The Democrats are pushing it, no one really knows what is in the bill, and anytime concerns are expressed about certain elements of the various bills, those voicing the concerns are attacked. Ordinary Americans who will be affected by changes to the health care system are avoided by their representatives or dismissed by the media (taking direction from the White House) as "angry mobs", "Nazis" or "astro turf" protestors who are paid to rabble-rouse by the insurance companies and "Big Pharma". Nancy Pelosi and Steny Hoyer apparently have authored an op-ed to appear in Monday's USA Today which smears those protesting the rush to reform as "Un-American".
With the far-left calling all the shots, dissent has stopped being a noble action. It is no longer "the highest form of patriotism" as it was when fewer numbers were protesting the war in Iraq. Now it is "Un-American". People are asked to turn in "fishy" information from private emails and websites to a White House address (an illegal request, I might add, and one that would have drawn howls of outrage and probably demonstrations from the left had Bush done it!); the White House has mobilized ACORN and the unions to intimidate those trying to protest rapid reform or ask questions of their representatives, sometimes to the point of physically assaulting them. THIS is how the White House is "managing their message"?
With coordinated attacks from special-interest groups on dissenting Americans?
We need real debate on this issue, and we need time to make the right decisions about how to enact reform. We don't need a rush job on yet another expensive bill. As long as the White House is run by a Chicago thug, and not a statesman, and the Democratic party is allowing itself to be hijacked by the far-left fringe, then it is the patriotic duty of Americans all over this country to protest these bills' being rammed down our throats. I expect that the counter-protests manned by ACORN and the union members will escalate in violence as the White House continues to lose control of their message and support for reform keeps dropping. To those who meet the thugs anyway, I say be on your guard, be prepared, and do your utmost not to stoop to their level.
If we need reform, let's get it done correctly. Not quickly. I doubt that my doctor will mind waiting a little bit longer.