“Dad, I have cancer”

Flopping Aces ^ | 01-06-15 | DrJohn

[Starman417]

Obamacare is going to kill you. Or one of your kids. Or one of your parents. Someone in your family is going to die from Obamacare. You can bet on it. You can bet your life on it.

There are many things in medicine that are in a state of flux because of Obamacare. Obamacare is the name given to the most inappropriately termed "Affordable Care Act." There is nothing about Obamacare that makes care affordable. Obamacare has made care much more unaffordable. What it has done is make healthcare appear to be affordable because of subsidized premiums. The problem is that liberals - and especially democrat voters- do not comprehend that coverage is not the same thing as care. People are forgoing medical care because they cannot afford the large deductibles needed to keep premiums at even marginally affordable rates. Deductibles are especially high for seniors:

Patricia Wanderlich got insurance through the Affordable Care Act this year, and with good reason: She suffered a brain hemorrhage in 2011, spending weeks in a hospital intensive care unit, and has a second, smaller aneurysm that needs monitoring.

But her new plan has a $6,000 annual deductible, meaning that Ms. Wanderlich, who works part time at a landscaping company outside Chicago, has to pay for most of her medical services up to that amount. She is skipping this year’s brain scan and hoping for the best.

Hospital emergency room utilization is up, not down as they promised. That means a strong possibility of delay should you ever be the one wheeled in.

Obamacare is not reducing costs as promised either. The notion that millions could be added to the rolls of health care and pre-existing condition restrictions done away with and see costs lowered was absurd.

Those who do seek care are discovering that it isn't a simple matter to even obtain it. Rural hospitals are dying because of Obamacare:

Since the beginning of 2010, 43 rural hospitals — with a total of more than 1,500 beds — have closed, according to data from the North Carolina Rural Health Research Program. The pace of closures has quickened: from 3 in 2010 to 13 in 2013, and 12 already this year. Georgia alone has lost five rural hospitals since 2012, and at least six more are teetering on the brink of collapse. Each of the state's closed hospitals served about 10,000 people — a lot for remaining area hospitals to absorb.

As they close, patients will see lengthened transport times for critical care:

Peanut and cotton farmer Buren "Bill" Jones, 52, died of a heart attack a month after Stewart-Webster closed. His family had to wait about 15 minutes for an ambulance to take him to a hospital 22 miles away, where doctors couldn't revive him. The closed hospital was 9 miles from his house, a distance his wife or daughter — who performed CPR on him at home — might have driven.

The requirement for electronic records comes at a significant and sometimes, fatal cost:

But the $1 million or more it was going to cost to change over to electronic records was one of the last straws for Randy Stigleman, former owner of Stewart-Webster. Efforts to sell the hospital never panned out.

The anger residents feel toward Stigleman is palpable here in Richland. He appeared to shut the hospital down suddenly — giving them only a week's notice. But Stigleman says he just couldn't put any more money into the hospital.

And there's one more unpleasant surprise you have coming. Ever see those websites that post all of your personal data and then demand you pay to have it removed? You're going to see more of that- only this time with your personal medical records. Credit card companies and businesses are frequently hacked now as it is. Now that your private records have to go online they'll be easy prey.

Insurers have already cut reimbursement rates for providers. This is leading to many clinicians questioning whether they would continue to see Obamacare patients. It's hard to run a practice at a loss.

Things are even worse for Medicare and Medicaid. Doctors are looking at a big cut in Medicaid reimbursement:

[piytar]

The anger residents feel toward Stigleman

Economically illiterate morons...

[Theodore R.]

The American people are so uninformed that none will ever believe anyone will die from Obamacare. I don’t think we can educate them in time.

[I want the USA back]

The latest trend on the left is that cancer patients are not worth treating. Of course, the left will continue taking money from those who earn it to pay for aids treatment, euthanasia, abortion, and sex-”change” operations.

[elteemike]

My brother-in-law, a staunch Democrat, voted for Obama twice, because he believed Obamacare meant “free” healthcare for him and his wife...I tried to dissuade him but all he could say in reply is the I “listen to too much talk radio”...He was convinced; a true believer Obama was the WON...

He also has several severe previously existing health problems...He’s had a couple of surprises already from his brushes with Obamacare.

I certainly hope he doesn’t get really sick, because he’s one of the “folks” who’ll get a Rx to “keep him comfortable” and then told to go home...