The Obama administration has been so out there promoting the ever evolving health plan that no one could fail to be aware that we must think about all of this. It dings us every day because we know people who have such severe or not severe health issues and they cannot pay.
To begin, this spring I began to feel really crummy, as did my partner. We thought it was some kind of mild bronchitis and we soldiered on, and took some plane trips. Big mistake. We went to the doctor and he diagnosed pneumonia and said I should get tests involving x-rays. He knows that I DO NOT DO ANYTHING INVASIVE, so he prescribed a powerful antibiotic I took for ten days. I looked this up on the internet and it cost less than $50. My prescription provider said it cost almost $260, of which I paid $25. How crazy is this??
At this point we were still not feeling very well, though the pneumonia seemed to be gone and lungs were clear. Our ears were plugged up. Another doctor visit and more antibiotics (amoxicillin) for middle ear infection. Ears slowly clearing and we are no longer feeling like Mr. Mcgoo and his wife. Then we went on another plane trip, more ear problems- a dysfunctional eustacian tube? On to Cipro.
Actually, I am now feeling pretty much back to normal (though still fairly deaf in one ear). In all of this we have had Medicare pay, except for a low co pay. Our prescription insurance pays most of drug costs. But we know that Big Pharma costs WAY more than it should.
A dear friend of mine who is over 65 and presumably on medicare, went to the dermatologist for routine skin scanning, had a number of moles and issues, got them biopsied. Apparently, she did not get referred from her primary care doc ( who knew??) So her insurance will not pay the $2000 incurred from this visit. My friend has no choice: she will not get those squamous cell carcinomas removed, she will not get those precancerous moles removed. And she'll have sleepless nights wondering how she'll pay the dermatologist (who couldn't in the end help her.)
And how does one get dental help?? Our new neighbor up the road seems to have very few front teeth. Who would want that?
How could anyone in our country want less than easy access to medical and dental help? I don't know about any of you, but I find this a hard thing to do.
Another topic! Sara Palin! What do you think? Is it money, sex, or ethics?
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