tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9188674.post7605910791259951830..comments2024-03-27T04:00:02.294-04:00Comments on EditorMom: A Soap Opera: As the HMO TurnsKatharine O'Moore-Klopfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14699159708036532202noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9188674.post-62959858420646409882009-03-01T08:41:00.000-05:002009-03-01T08:41:00.000-05:00Yeah, well...yes, you DO sit around for weeks worr...Yeah, well...yes, you DO sit around for weeks worrying that your tumor is growing to inoperability. That's pretty much par for the course these days.<BR/><BR/>Single-payer or no, I'm afraid only the most wealthy Americans will have access to decent medical care -- or to any medical care. The Mayo, where my doctor practices, no longer will accept Medicare patients. If you've been a longstanding patient (and that means you have to go in at least once a year, whether or not you have any reason to do so) and then you go on to Medicare, they'll let you stay. For the time being. Nothing to stop them from changing that policy, of course.<BR/><BR/>When I had appendicitis, I could not get treatment at all -- not even triage -- at the ER of one of the largest medical centers in the Southwest. It was a horrendous Third-World scene there. After I had waited over four hours, outside on a concrete bench in the middle of the night in the cold (it was December), in excruciating pain with noplace to sit down, I finally called a friend and had her drive me home, figuring if I was going to die I'd rather do it in my own bed. The next morning her husband drove me to the Mayo, where they instantly slapped me into surgery.<BR/><BR/>While at this ER, I sat next to a young woman who was miscarrying. She also had been there for over four hours with exactly zero medical care.<BR/><BR/>My mother died hideously at the hands of HMO doctors. My father and I had no time to be with her as she lay on her deathbed, because we spent almost every waking hour fighting with bureaucrats. Nothing, and I mean NOTHING, is an uglier combination than bureaucracy and arrogant doctors. I try to stay out of HMOs, but it's not easy, given the cost of medical insurance. And sometimes it seems futile, since the access you can get with even the best plan isn't much better.Funny about Moneyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13188173788063351801noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9188674.post-44474744364070777762009-02-28T03:36:00.000-05:002009-02-28T03:36:00.000-05:00Whether single payer or simply system reform (and ...Whether single payer or simply system reform (and I'm not sure yet which is best), we need situations like this to stop. There is really no excuse for such disorganization, and it costs all of us money, while your husband stresses alongside you.<BR/><BR/>Grrrr, stories like this drive me batty!Karolihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16709478610875267603noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9188674.post-14083293980575827592009-02-27T22:32:00.000-05:002009-02-27T22:32:00.000-05:00You're absolutely right, LibHom. I can't wait for ...You're absolutely right, LibHom. I can't wait for the day that happens.<BR/><BR/>A friend of mine in India was shocked when he read about how poorly Ed's situation has been handled. My friend thought that surely, in the great United States, health care was much better. <EM>Not</EM>.Katharine O'Moore-Klopfhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14699159708036532202noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9188674.post-87457084298317464332009-02-27T22:29:00.000-05:002009-02-27T22:29:00.000-05:00We desperately need single payer healthcare. The ...We desperately need single payer healthcare. The HMOs and insurance companies need to be driven out of healthcare for once and for all.libhomhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05537213558568338561noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9188674.post-19497578113888666672009-02-27T15:32:00.000-05:002009-02-27T15:32:00.000-05:00How frustrating! I'm so glad he finally has an opi...How frustrating! I'm so glad he finally has an opinion, though.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08235049965406944684noreply@blogger.com