Health Care Despair

Nope Ethopia isn't the answer either. (see the previous link)

Age is great teacher 'cause you don't have to do much but hang around with open ears for a very long time and life's lessons allow the formulation of opinion on critical issues.

 

For example: I'm just sitting listening to a return missionary (for us Mormons, that means a young person who goes away for 18 months to 2 years and lives among the natives without respite (and that means ever returning home or even calling there very often)).

So I'm debriefing a returned Missionary at dinner at my kitchen table and I asked him about his travels and what he felt was the greatest difference in America and the country he went to, Denmark.

"Well," he drawls quietly, "It's gotta be health care."

"Oh? I ask, Socialized medicine?"

"Yeah," he responds, "Everybody has it. You get sick, you just go to the doctor."

Then he goes on. "My companion had something go wrong with his back. It really hurt so he and I got an appointment and went to the doctor. The doc did an exam, then went to his computer and googled, "Sore back." I was sitting behind the doc and I was so surprised that my companion saw my expression of shock and tried to sit on the edge of his chair and crane his neck to the side so he could see what was going on."

"The doctor stopped, looked at the guy straining, and said suddenly, "I know what's wrong. You have injured your neck by holding it funny." He proceeded to treat the patient by pulling off a strip of masking tape and taping it onto the guys head and sticking the other end to his shoulder. "Do this every evening for two weeks and you should be better," the doctor tells him.

Back to the wisdom thing, I may not have read the 2700 pages of health care reform, but I hope somewhere in it there is a dumb doctor clause for preventing this happening when our medical plan settles in.

I've lived a long time and heard a lot of stuff on both sides of this issue. We are currently choosing to live the life of no medical insurance. It's a wild and edgy thing that keeps the adrenaline in tip top form and yes, having no insurance has made me skip the doctor when maybe I shoulda gone, just for safety and peace of mind.

But my running conclusion on health care (always subject to change with every new story--age has not yet set in far enough to force me to stay of the same opinion with new information,) is that the old American value of supply and demand will eventually kick in and the Free Enterprise System will once more triumph.

And when everybody has health care, nobody will really want it anyway.  

9-23-10

Physician Heal… Anybody

The word Care means worry, concern, attention, charge, protection, nurture, except when attached to the word health.

My arm is sore, kind of aching, for no reason. The ache radiates up into my jaw line at times. My hand goes numb and there is this pressure like something is sitting on my chest near my shoulder. It’s done this for about a week. No problem, just inconvenient. I should get a stress test? The internet says yes! See someone immediately!

HA.  The internet lives in dreamland.  

The pain comes and goes though, so I’m not too worried. And neither is my doctor. I called yesterday and left the symptoms with the nurse. She said she would pass on the message. I haven’t heard anything, so no worries.

Besides, I’m young, in my 40’s, active, in good health, no family history of heart attack. I really didn’t call about the heart thing anyway, I just figured that I’d tack it on because I have this lump in my breast.

I just noticed it the last couple of days, while I was massaging the pain in my arm. It’s pretty big, truthfully the lump makes one breast visibly bigger than the other, but on the up side, anything that accentuates the size of my breasts can’t be all bad.

Another call and the nurse isn’t concerned, she says she’ll add that onto the list. If she’s not worried, I’m not. Oh, and while I’m on the phone, the nurse insists, “Would you like to book your annual physical?”

Oops, the computer’s calendar must have triggered the fact that I’m not a regular patient. I believe in going to the doctor when I’m sick, but I really should accept the idea that like all corporate connections, it’s best to keep in tight with the professional by paying his retainer.

I'm sure that regular patients get in quicker, but they risk their computer trigger coming up “hypochondriac”. I wish I could tiptoe on that happy middle ground, but I only go to the doctor as last resort. The last three or four times, I’ve made the diagnosis and advised the doctor on treatment and that seems to work efficiently for both of us.

I like “new-age physicians” who acknowledge that a doctor’s twenty minutes outside the body can’t trump forty some years of living inside it.  But those are few and far between and dang sure they aren't covered on my medical insurance plan.  

My problem is that health care isn’t available ala carte off some menu. But I’m a quick thinker and I know my symptoms could benefit from an ultrasound and a stress test—both of which are part of an annual physical so if my history triggers the, “opportunity for additional income” flag, they may as well sign me up. Besides my insurance pays ZERO now, unless it's an annual physical... but let's not get into the problems with insurance.

My family seems to have a history of health care issues… first and foremost #1 finding a doctor to care about health.

My sister finally got in for a similar breast lump and was treated and then told to check back every six months for a mammogram. Six months later her doctor moved somewhere like Ethiopia and the lab needs a prescription and the physicians group won’t issue it, “We don’t need to, they should do it without.” But her insurance won’t authorize, so there she is… stuck. Once again with no worries and nothing to be concerned about.

Another sister who woke with a kinked neck, found her doctor has also moved out of town (perhaps Ethiopia) and she is driving about during lunch trying to find someone who will prescribe an anti-inflammatory and a painkiller. She knows that will work as she did her internet homework last night.. No worries though, she later found relief with a pain pill leftover from the last labor and delivery. So far, her health care alternatives are urgent care with a three hour wait or a physician who will accept new patients, but only for “sports related injuries”.

She only called me to find out how to join a soccer league for the day.

I take my physician's soonest available appointment which is the end of next week, no problem. I must be fasting twelve hours but they want me there late afternoon. Again, no problem, I’ll starve all my waking hours.

But, I interrupt with the caveat that, "If I wait two more weeks and this thing continues to grow at its current rate, I will have to come in braless." I get the same reassurance by the nurse that it's “No problem.”

What I really need is an annual reassurance that I’m fine, but that involves a voice, (not even physical contact) just a voice. But when the voice finally calls back late the next day, it says that the doctor got my message and she’ll review my issues when she sees me at my next scheduled visit.

My health care crisis really isn’t the hefty sum I pay for  insurance that insures I have no coverage. 

 My problem is with the word care.

Maybe I should move to Ethiopia.

Sept 21, 2010

Ten Embarrassing Application Mistakes that Will Keep You Out of College

So you want to go to college?

Great! Here are 10 embarrassing mistakes to avoid. 

1, Imperfect spelling and grammar. This must be FLAWLESS. Check especially for misspelling the name of the university you're applying to (also, spell it out--UCLA should be University of California, Las Angeles). Use more formal grammar--no dangling prepositions (like the one in the previous sentence--no, no!) and for pity's sake, NO text-speak. If you lol or ttyl, they will dump you like a dead fish. 

 2. Essays that are egocentric, boring, typical, obvious, overdone, immature or dripping with metaphors. Don't talk about yourself as a butterfly, and don't mention any roads or journeys. You must stand out from other essays--keep in mind how many of these things the committee is going to read. Try skimming through your essay at X5 speed and see what you come away with--and it had better not be spelling mistakes or incorrect grammar. 

3. Essays that haven't had very much review. You should have a minimum of 5 drafts and a minimum of 4 people read the FINISHED, polished essay to check for mistakes and make suggestions. Don't celebrate too early--chances are you aren't done yet. 

4. An immature or odd email address. Your entire application must say "PROFESSIONAL. READY FOR COLLEGIATE LEVEL WORK," not, "BIKINIBABE34." Make an email address that is simply your name, ie john.doe3@gmail.com. It can be an account that just forwards itself to your "real" email, but it's going to be vital for future work and other applications.

5.  Being late. This matters more than anything else you have going on right now, I guarantee it. A thrown-together application will prove that you don't have the time management skills necessary for college. 

So follow our instructions and don't be the one that the application committee laughs at--or groans over. Remember that you're PROVING that you're ready for college: a smart, put-together, professional, brilliant and ready youth.