Health care rationing?
Several people have told me they’re afraid of health care rationing if the government gets involved in fixing the system.
In fact, rationing is one of the words Frank Luntz has said will work to derail meaningful reform.
“You’re not going to get what you want,” he told conservatives, “but you can kill what they’re trying to do.”
So, the question really becomes: What do you think we have now?
Care is rationed to the wealthy and to people who are lucky enough to have adequate insurance coverage.
Mike was a victim of rationing. He couldn’t get access to the care he needed to save his life. He was one of 30,000 people who died last year as a direct result of the health care rationing we have now.
The rationing that happens in other countries is mostly a longer wait for elective surgery. So, if I have to wait for a boob job behind someone with breast cancer, that’s rationing.
If I have to wait a couple of months for a hip replacement because people who have bone cancer need treatment before I get it, I’m OK with that.
Actually, a study a couple of years ago found that people in our country’s single-payer Medicare system waited less time for joint-replacement surgery than did people in Canada’s single-payer system.
So, what’s worse, the rationing we have now that kills 30,000 people a year, or a longer wait for elective surgery? I’ll wait for that knee, thank you.
Patient Pals & Family Friends
Life o' Mike has a new peer support program for people newly diagnosed with chronic or serious illness or with a new disability and their caregivers.
Patient Pals are people who have experience with various illnesses and disabilities, who can help someone newly diagnosed or with a new disability work through the fear, frustration, confusion and grief often experienced in the first few months.
Family Friends are there to help caregivers and other family members grow into their new role.
People with new illness or disability fare better when they have a role model -- someone who can help them negotiate their new path in life.
We need volunteers, who are asked to donate a minimum of one hour a week. Training is free and includes information on active listening, ways to help and when to know more help is needed.
And of course, we need funding.
To learn more, call Leslie Boyd at 828-243-6712 or e-mail lifeomike@gmail.com.
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