Can we talk America . . . . . . .


"Hello to all!"

Can we talk for a minute about something that is affecting thousands of us. I am referring to the "us" who have been laid off and have lost our health coverage. Meanwhile, where are we to turn for health care? Seriously people, something's gotta give here and since it concerns "us", we need to talk and find a way to get the care we need!!

Let's start chatting about our problem and let's brainstorm some ways we can get our health needs met and have our voices heard. Starting tomorrow (Thursday 9-3-09), I will be in the chatroom here available to chat with anyone who has ideas about how those of us without health insurance can get medical care. Right now, I am real motivated. Read on to find out why. . . . . . . . . .

As some of you know, I am 49 years old, I got laid off this year in April and lost my health insurance. I also have sinus bradycardia and I need to have a pacemaker. The cardiologist I had (when I had insurance), didn't feel I needed a pacemaker once I became a "self pay" patient although he suggested I get one when I had insurance. When I lost insurance benefits, his medical opinion changed to, "See you in one year!" So, I found a new cardiologist and I went to see him Augsut 31st.

I don't know if I want to scream or cry! That visit did not go well and it was not because of me being told I need to have a pacemaker. My anger was/is fueled because the new cardiologist acted like the old one. I believe with my whole heart that it's because I am without insurance at the present and I am a self-pay patient. This guy did everything except tell me to get out: He asked, "Who told you you have bradycardia?" I asked if he had looked over my medical file I brought with me and he replied that he had not. I answered his question with something like: "A cardiologist in Dayton, Ohio and another one here in Greensboro (North Carolina), but that's in my medical file. They did tests like holter and event monitors, treadmill and chemical stress tests! ----- Why do you ask?"
His answer was that maybe my heart rate (of 46) might not be truly bradycardic and might be caused by a need to change the dose of my thyroid medicine! He asked when was the last time my levels were checked and I told him 4 months ago and that those results were also in my chart!!!!!! He then asked if I had a family history of heart problems and who. I listed the family members ----- he said those people were not important because they were not my siblings which would be important and relevant!!! I told him, "My mother's siblings and her mother and my cousins and their heart health are all important and related to me and I disagree with you on this point!!!"
I asked him if he was aware of my current heart rate and he said the number "might be" be of concern if I were showing "more" symptoms but that a lot of athletic people have low heart rates --------------------- I interrupted him and asked, "Do I look like I'm the athletic type to you? He didn't answer that. I am not obese, but I do have a few extra pounds on and wear a true size 12 (Ladies: you know how big I am). I then asked him, "Exactly how low does my heart rate have to go before you will think I need a pacemaker? He asked, "Who told you you needed a pacemaker? I referred back to my medical file and said something like, "If you would have read my medical file, you wouldn't have asked that question!! . . . . exactly why did I have to bring it if you were not going to peruse it before or during this visit?" (By the way, he thought that a heart rate of 40 or lower would warrant a pacemaker)
I couldn't hold my temper and I became scarcastic when he asked obvious, stupid questions because I felt that had I had health insurance, I would have met with a totally different attitude!!
I was given an EKG in the exam room right off the bat (as you would expect) but the guy didn't discuss the results even when I questioned him about them. The technician who did the EKG made a comment like, "Yeah, I would definitely say you're bradycardic . . . . . . . your heart rate is 46!" The doctor would not comment on the EKG results.
Now, I kinda have the feeling that thousands of "us" are being denied the health care that will treat our ailments whether those illnesses are diabetes, cancer, lupus, arthritis, heart or high blood pressure. We have worked, paid our taxes. We are US citizens. Our taxes have paid for others (some not in this country legally) to have free Medicaid health insurance to cover the very same illnesses we are now plagued with.
Octo Mom had plastic surgery and Invitro births of 10+ babies paid for by Medicaid health insurance and yet, I tried to apply for it last week (so I can get a pacemaker) and I was told I did not qualify for it!!! Why shouldn't I or anyone who has been a hardworking, taxpayer qualify for it? It our tax money (paying for it) and we need health coverage now!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
So, fellow Americans, we need to start talking and finding ways to get our medical needs met. Can we talk? . . . . . 10 PM tomorrow night (and every Thursday there after), I'll be in the chatroom!!!!!






















14 Comments

i am so sorry

by jessie - 2009-09-03 01:09:00

i feel very badly for your situation. i am hoping that it will improve. i hope mr. obama can help the many americans who deserve to have health care. i don't think that is unreasonable. life saving devices should be covered period. sick babies should be seen immediately. i could go on and on. you tho know what i am talkinga bout. it is an absolute disgrace and needs to be looked at. your p.m. friend jessie

Several Mistakes

by ElectricFrank - 2009-09-03 02:09:44

Sugarleaf4,
I'm sorry to hear about your problems with the medical establishment. Please take the following as suggestions, not criticisms.

In reading your description of your interaction with the cardiologist, I find several things that set you up for the poor results.

1. You let your emotions get the better of you. I realize that times like these are the hardest in which to remain calm, but it is necessary.

2. Make sure only the pertinent medical records are in the packet you give the doc, and use a highlighter to emphasize things like conclusions. Leave out things like thyroid meds or put them at the rear. Don't give him something to sue to get you off the subject at hand.

3. Never, ever, tell a cardiologist (or most docs) what your diagnosis is or that you need a pacemaker. It is their nature to show they are in charge and will reject whatever you say no matter how well documented it is. I made that mistake on my first visit to the cardiologist. He went so far as to write down my HR as 72 when his nurse measured it at 40. He sent me to get a Holter Monitor and ECG. An hour later I got a frantic call from his nurse to check into ICU immediately. I calmly told her I would be down after dinner and that it couldn't be that important since the cardio had rejected my idea that I might need a pacer. I was doing OK so let him sweat a bit.

3. Don't use medical labels like bradycardia. If you do you are putting yourself in their world and are subject to the NDH (not diagnosed here) phenomena. You could say that you measured your HR on your BP machine because you were feeling weak (or better yet Light Headed) and that it was down to 45. That lets him come up with the bardycardia diagnosis. If he does then say something like "I Dr xxx said something like that".

4. At any of those points where you want to refer to the medical records, try to be specific in referring to them and then shut up. Just sit quietly and look him in the face.

One of the most powerful things I have learned in dealing with any situation like this it to try to recognize what I have power or control over, and what the other person has power or control over. I only exert pressure where I have power. I have had doctors get up a walk out literally slamming the door behind them. That lets me know I don't want them making medical or surgical decisions about my body.

best of luck,

frank

I know these are hard things to do when you don't feel well and are facing an authoritative figure like a cardiologist.

Healthcare

by SMITTY - 2009-09-03 03:09:43

Health care in the USA is in a sad state, to hear some tell it. I'll agree that for many it is one of the most pressing problems facing them. I also know they are telling me there are 47 million people in the US without adequate healthcare. Forty seven million out of 310 million comes to about 16% of the population. I think that means about 84% have adequate healthcare. To take care of that 16% our government wants to reinvent the wheel when it comes to healthcare.

Now I ask, how many of you have ever our government do anything better or more efficiently than the private sector. The only thing I can name is our government is better at waging war. Now I'm not against all wars, especially those where to do nothing means the government as we know it will no longer exist. That means I approved of WWI and WWII, but the others I'm not totally convinced we should have been there. I'm sure a lot of people in the countries, that benefited from our help especially, will disagree with me. That really makes no difference as I have never been and never will be consulted by our government on such matters,

I realized I strayed considerably from my intended subject and that is why does our government thinks it is necessary to screw up the health care programs for 84% of the population to help the other 16%? And I can guarantee that, based on its record, our government will screw up everything with its proposed healthcare program. I think there are many programs that could be implemented to help those in need without risking fouling up the programs those not in need have.

I say start out small (if helping 47 million people can be called small) and slowly and prove to all concerned that a government run healthcare program is a good thing. Do that and about 260 million people, including me, will be clamoring to be under the government healthcare umbrella. Until then leave us that are not asking for government help alone.

Smitty

Smitty, you are missing something

by ElectricFrank - 2009-09-03 04:09:23

None of the private sector could operate without government providing:

1. A standard monetary system.
2. Regulation and protection of banking.
3. Law enforcement.
4. The court system.
5. Hiways and roads.
6. A legal system.

This only a partial list. Where did the private sector go when they got in trouble. Why the lousy government to bail them out.

Not only that, but the same people move back and forth between gov't and private sectors, regulating or running the same industries. It isn't government or private sector that screws things up. It is people. (I'm glad I'm not a people G:).

I say this not as someone on either side of the political fence, but just an observer for years. I have worked both in private industry and gov't. Believe me, they are both a mess.

now I can turn my pacer back down,

frank


Same debate over a 100 years ago.

by johnb10000 - 2009-09-03 06:09:41

In the 1800's the the fire departments were run just like the current health careless system. They had so many problems that cities set up publicly funded fire departments that were cheaper to run.

http://www.gp.org/commentary/scott-mclarty/fire-health.shtml

The amount of money the insurance companies pay to lobby congress for one day could pay for sugarleaf4's pacemaker as well as many other people

My 2 cents

by MSPACER - 2009-09-03 06:09:44

Well I know the health care debate stirs a lot of emotions, but I know where you are coming from. My brother was laid off for almost 2 years and had to pay for COBRA out of pocket which was over $1300 per month. Thank God he finally got a job and has health insurance again. He would have never been able to get a policy on his own because his wife had cancer. I want to say that there has been so much mis-information and nonsense being spewed by the media. We need health reform and we need it now! Medicare, which is a "government " run plan, in my opinion works very well. The government may administer the financial part, but there are no restrictions on your doctors. My mother gets everything covered in her Medicare Advantage plan. It may work too well because it's so generous! The VA Hospital system is also a "government" run health plan. Veterans get very good care at Veteran's Hospitals. I have several friends who are nurses in the VA system. The private insurance companies are in it to make money, and only want to insure healthy people who don't need to draw on benefits. If you look back at history, the critics tried to kill the creation of social security, and medicare, two of the best social safety nets this country has. Can you imagine what the health care problem would be like today if the elderly were not covered by medicare?

healthcare

by thomast - 2009-09-03 07:09:17

I might not be so opposed to the healthcare bill, if it did not include 12 million people who are in the U.S. illegally.Why should we have to provide free medical care to non citizens who pay very few taxes as they mostly work "off the book" for cash. This may not be politicially correct, but it is the way I feel.

Thomas

Sounds Familiar

by bobad - 2009-09-03 09:09:49

sugarleaf,

Doctors absolutely hate to take on patients that have switched doctors. Why?

*Docs tend to cover each other's backs
*Docs hate to read through stacks of old records to catch up. They simply don't have time, and often learn as they go.
*Docs don't trust patients that have switched docs, they're afraid they will be fired too.
*Docs are rightfully afraid of patients without health insurance, because they often get stiffed

You're right that there are problems with health care. The main problem is, the Government won't let the free market work. There are simply too many restrictions, regulations, and lawyers to let the free market work as it should. More government won't help. When you find yourself trapped in a deep hole, the first thing you should do is stop digging.

Good luck!

Why is insurance tied to a job

by johnb10000 - 2009-09-03 12:09:22

Why is medical insurance mainly tied to a job? If you get laid off you can go on COBRA for 18 months but the cost of COBRA will use up half the money from your unemployment check.

As the savings account gets lower then healthy people stop paying COBRA and take their chances. Unfortunately the stress from unemployment can increase medial problems including heart problems.

A lot of companies are now hiring contract workers instead of full time workers to avoid paying benefits. My last two jobs were contract jobs with no benefits.

When COBRA runs out you can get private insurance as long as there hasn't been in gap in coverage that lasted longer than 60 days. That is how I got insurance. Look on the insurance company website for HIPAA policies. They will try to bury it somewhere in the website and ask a lot of questions and attempt to delay.

The people that like the current health system are either employed or retired. If you are employed your job is not safe even if the company is making money. At any time they can replace you with a cheaper H1-B visa holder or a contract worker so the CEO will get a big raise.

I am at the borderline of disabled and employable. Some days I am too sick to go to work and other days I feel fine. I don't know if I should be on unemployment or disability.

I would prefer the UK or Canadian medical system.

I am angry too

by Blueaustralia - 2009-09-03 12:09:33

Your chat time does not coincide with mine but I am angry at the way you have been treated. I have received my dose of the same over the years. I was called a liar over a health issue but a specialist. That man caused me untold misery that nearly cost me my life and everything else.

Well, you could always collapse in the street and hope you got your pacepaker via emergency. I'm not sure how your political situation works but I think Pres. Obama should read a copy of your posting.

Thinking of you and hopting for a good outcome for you. You must feel absolutely so angry and lousy healthwise. Sincere wishes.

Too many restrictions

by bobad - 2009-09-04 05:09:26


As I said earlier, there are too many restrictions. The free market it perfectly capable of supplying great medical care at affordable prices to most. The problem just now is,,, Government is in the way. They are forcing insurance companies to cover cosmetic surgery, making Robert into Roberta, allowing huge lawsuits, restricting insurance companies to certain localities, and other foolishness that hurts us all. The free market works. It's not perfect, but it works far better than government bureaucrats deciding what you can have and not have.

If the current administration was sincere about helping, they would work not want "all or nothing". They would address 1 thing at a time, and not tie it up in a huge, scary, Socialistic bill. We need:

1. Tort reform. Too many frivolous lawsuits are killing doctors and hospitals. Put a cap on awards, and also make it harder for scammers to sue for every little thing.

2. Remove restrictions that kill competition among doctors, hospitals, pharmaceutical manufacturers, and insurers. Make them compete for your business like they used to.

All that said, some people can't afford even rudimentary health care, and never will. They have a free will to live outside the "system", yet when they become sick from their folly, they are allowed into the system. That needs to stop, because it's hurting the 90% of people that don't abuse themselves.

Frank

by SMITTY - 2009-09-04 12:09:32

Frank,

I'm real glad you can support the Obamacare disaster because before the dust settles on this issue he and all of his socialistic comrades will need a friend.

Now let me look at your list a minute.

First lets take courts and law enforcement off your list because they are not a government run systems. We have the federal courts, state courts and local government courts. They all operate under the general guide lines established by the constitution, but they are under no circumstance a federally operated program. The same thing applies to the our law enforcement systems.

As for the other how can you be so sure they would not fair better if operated by private industry. It has never been tried and each of them could certainly stand improvement. Especially the banking system. If memory serves me correctly, most of the big banks have lost their hiney and the feds have pumped in close to a trillion bucks to keep some of them open and that may not be enough. That says a mouthful about how good federally controlled systems are.

I notice you didn't name Social Security, Medicare, or the Post Office Dept. Talk about poorly run government programs, well in my book they don't get much worse. On the other hand look at UPS and FedEx. Both systems compete with the post office to a degree and make money doing it.

But, just to make it clear, I don't like the healthcare programs being proposed. When the president and most of the people that will be voting to put them into law can't tell us what is being proposed, then I'll continue to put my money on it being the start of a gigantic disaster.

Socialist boogy man might get you

by ted - 2009-09-08 01:09:53

Oh, yeah, the free market capitalist system really did great when it brought about the mortgage crisis and the stock market crash and unemployment didn't it? It took our "Socialist" government to rescue the free market wall street firms, insurance companies, banks, and auto makers. So let's let these free market crooks handle our health system also. Is is safe to go to sleep tonight, or will the Socialist boogy-man get us?

finding a new doc

by Ms Deutschland - 2009-09-17 01:09:11

I have been in the healthcare system for 47 years (all of my life), due to being born with a complex heart defect. I won't comment on the insurance issue since I am on disability, but also have additional insurance.

However, I can tell you that whenever I need to find a new doctor, I interview them first, before I go to see them. In my experience, many doctors do have a sort of "God complex". They believe that they know better than every other doctor and certainly no patient can tell them anything that they don't already know. It is extremely important that any doctor I see work in tandem with my adult congenital heart defect cardiologist. It is also important that a person such as myself who has been living with this defet my whole life, knows a lot about myself, my condition and about how I feel.

All that said, if any doctor had spoken to me in the way he spoke to you, I would have walked right out of that office. Believe me, an occasional doctor or two has slipped through the cracks of my investigation, and I have walked out on some of them. I don't know where you live, but if you are in a big city with plenty of docs to choose from, check them out before you go to see them and spend the money that you don't really have to pay them.

PS: One of the things that I require is that they read my records first. I then quiz them before we begin the appointment. It sounds bossy and nasty, but it's necessary!

You know you're wired when...

Your signature looks like an EKG.

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But I think it will make me feel a lot better. My stamina to walk is already better, even right after surgery. They had me walk all around the floor before they would release me. I did so without being exhausted and winded the way I had been.