As a healthcare professional whose seen and cared for many an American as well as many illegals in the hospital setting, I can tell you this — Americans WANT no expense spared. Once they get into the hospital, it’s usually for a few tests, but it always turns into at least 2 to three more tests, and then follow up tests to see how the treatment is working. The SLIGHTEST little downturn in a patiet’s condition and family members are PANICKING and SCREAMING more more MRI’s, more CT scans, you name it. And this is half the time being done for 89 year olds who are immobile, living in nursing homes, unable to live independently, etc. or for a 50 year old with terminal cancer. You get the picture.
I am all for everyone being spared no expense ...but we’ve got to get the EXPENSES down. Costs, costs, costs. An MRI I believe runs about $8,000 in the hospital. I could be wrong, but they’re astronomically expensive. A single days’ stay in the hospital runs $3,000!!! Why it is so expensive, I don’t know. Safe nursing care, I guess, drives these costs. And remember, patients WANT the best care, the best service — room service, special diets, physical therapy, you name it. If they don’t provide it, they face competition that DOES provide it, and then they face being shut down.
Remember also, they’re being FORCED to provide free care to any individual on the planet who manages to ramble on in to the ER and be seen for whatever ailment they present with.
I don’t know the answers ..I think it comes down to lowering costs and driving UP the pool of folks who pay into this system if we want to keep THIS system. . . . but this system is unsustainable with no one paying in and EVERYONE taking out of it. We have not enough younger folks working to pay into the system that is supposed to cover all these older folks who paid in and now require all this care, but now whose dollars don’t go as far.
I also don’t feel it’s fair to ask doctors to accept what people can pay. Doctors attend school until they’re 30, then they work like DOGS everyday of their lives, being on call 24 hrs a day for every need imaginable. They work as hard as our military does, making life livable for everyone. Same goes for nurses who are paid half of what they’re worth, also in terms of how hard they work. You try being on your feet 12-14 hours straight, barely a bathroom or food break, running to meet the needs of frail and dependent older folks and their demanding family members. Most staffs are seriously short and healthcare workers risk being sued also by our litigious society for every single mistake. Everything we do is just CYA.
I see both sides of it. We don’t want universal care, but we want no expense spared. We also want to strangle our healthcare professionals with lawsuits, and that also drives up costs. So, what to do?
Sorry for the ramble — there is ideologically purity, and then there is reality.
I know one thing — if they’re going to dismantle Obama care, they need to do it fast. Lots of stuff in research and in writing assumes it’s already IN PLACE and they’re already making their plans based upon this law. I see it all the time. Some of it is good, in terms of prevention, and a lot of it is a bunch of hooey and outlines a lot of politically correct “grants” and giveaways in the name of “fairness” and “equality” and “diversity” as well. I think for the most part, it’s a monster.
I WILL state here, I get really annoyed at seeing contracted, fully immobile 99 year olds on dialysis, full codes, family members clinging on, sparing no expense ...REALLY bearing down on the doctors for every little last issue ... (they know they have these docs by the NECKS) threatening lawsuits, all on the taxpayer, all on Medicare with no other insurance coverage. I hate it — I really do. I don’t think it’s fair to anyone. We have all this technology, and we can keep people alive 40 years past where they should have just died ... really — how far do we go with this? Do you see the dilemma???
In my mind, we just have to lower costs. And we have to get more people WORKING and paying the costs of this system. And we have to decide where safe care begins and where the lawuits end. I don’t think any of these things are complicated, but they’re all incredibly politically motivated.
Sorry, sorry for the long rant. I’m just a tired, grumpy nurse.
Interesting rant, for sure, but I think you may have meant it for someone else. I was just on this thread b/c of some random claim of a lack of loyalty to Sarah Palin by us ungrateful peons is why she’s not running for President...