Arkansas Blog

Two years ago my partner was upset, shouting and generally out of control during her weekend off from the hospital. I knew something was wrong because she was shaking. I took her to the emergency room at the hospital where she worked and was insured. They did a triage within 15 min then told her to wait in the waiting room. It was 8:00 pm. She needed blood pressure medicine. By 1:30 am the next day she was escorted to a patient room. At 2:00 AM a doctor saw her, did a brief exam, prescribed her medicine and we made it out 7.5 hours after we arrived.

I think for starters we should let ALL Congressmen and the President provide their own health insurance and of course give them the Rw Mafia's concept of portability and tax credits for buying their own health insurance. No more health benefits for life.

That would be a symbolic move intended to show that we're all in this boat together. They won't do it.
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"America ranks near the
bottom among advanced
countries ...America is the
worst place in the advanced
world if you need care after
hours or on a weekend."

This morning on C-SPAN's call-in show a caller from their Republicans phone line was repeating that old slogan about America being the greatest country in the history of the world.

With a sense of pity, we laugh at North Koreans who say things like that, as well we should. But, having traveled to five continents and "seen the world", when I hear Americans say we're the greatest, I also feel a little chuckle within.

Spirit, recall a certain championship boxer who always said "I'm the greatest !"

Later,when he was drafted, he failed the Army's IQ test for admissions .
Then he said "I just said I was the greatest, not the smartest."
.

How is it best to measure qualityfo a healthcare system? Time to treatment or access to necessary treatment. As a psychiatrist, my biggest challenge is just trying to get patients the services they need.

Bush is such a fool for saying, "Just go to the emergency room." Obviously, nobody has taken a crayon and drawn a picture to show him that more than 1,000 U.S. hospital ER and trauma centers have closed in recent years due to overload, nonpaying uninsured patients, and difficulties meeting staffing requirements. This country had better wake up.

I went to a presentation by a retired Denver police officer at the downtown library Saturday afternoon. He's been in the state for the last week speaking to civic groups for LEAP (law enforcement against prohibition) which is an organization proposing to end the failed war on drugs policy of Fed, State, & local govts. The money saved by ending the war on drugs could fund universal health care coverage for all Americans and open up a lot of prison beds for real criminals. About eight folks were there at the library to hear the presentation.

Ma keeps falling and so we've had several 6 hour stays at the ER in the last year. Exactly 6 hours every time with an elderly stroked out old women who weighs 77 lbs.

The last time she fell we spent the first day, 6 hours and they x-rayed her hip and found nothing. The next day after 6 hours sitting in the super-overcrowded ER waiting room at No Fumar Hospital, they finally found she had a leg broken completely in two piece, with the pieces not touching any more.

I happened to be friends with the head doctor at the ER and late that night I ran into him and as nicely as possible ate his ass up. He said there was no excuse for his doctors to have missed the broken leg the day before.

Ma doesn't fall any more...she can't get out of bed. So I guess unless her side rails accidentally fold up on her we won't go to the ER any more. Next stop is Edwards Funeral Home.

Go see Sicko, if you only believe 80% of it, it's still about 299% more proof than you need to know we have a health care crisis in America. Remember Sicko is about people WITH health insurance.

I love my country, but we need to chill on that "Best Country in the World" crap for a few years until we get back on track.

I went into business for myself on Reagan's first Inauguration Day. I paid for my own insurance for 22 years. Then, my insurance company went broke and in the meantime, I had developed diabetes, a heart valve problem and food allergies that cause me to pass out. So, my business is half what it was, I can't stay conscious long enough to work somewhere with benefits, yet the doctors say I look too healthy for disablity.

I would move to Europe if I had the energy and didn't have family here. I live in dread of even one trip to the ER, which could easily cause bankruptcy. I made an A in Civics and have voted every two years since 1972, yet I feel like a 2nd-class citizen.

Dennis, my Plan B is Canada. It's only about 750 miles due north of Arkansas and medical treatment is free.

I'm sure ya can't just cross over at Windsor and check in the hospital, might take marrying a Canadian woman, but heck....they seem like nice girls and it would beat living under the bridge with or without your family.

I had Phil's of New Jersey health insurance back in the 90s and after a 5 day stay in Campo De No Fumar Hospital where I was diagnosed with hemochromatosis, Phil's, lousy as they were decided they didn't want to insure me any more.

I thought screw you Phil's of New Jersey, I'll get on my feet and get some other insurance. WRONG! I now had a pre-existing condition. I might as well had full blown AIDS or a tree limb thru my forehead...my insurance goose was cooked.

That was 1992. Now 15 years later I have diabetes and a fatty liver. The only way to live with hemochromatosis is to have your blood removed until your iron level gets back to normal...then blood is removed on a maintenance schedule from then on for the rest of your life. This is not rocket science.

In the 90s getting done what is free with a cookie at any local blood bank cost 65 dollars a pop* Today it cost $264.00 per visit. Since I lost my fairly poor insurance coverage, all that must come out of my pocket. So I go have as much treatment as I can afford and then I take a few years off, pay off my bills and do it again.

It's not a good plan, but so far I haven't dropped dead and it's the only plan I got...oh, except for moving to Canada. I've laid in bed at night and thought of ways to remove my own blood.

You'd think that would be simple, but it really isn't. I'd have to nick an artery to draw out a liter of blood like I need....but home artery nicking is too risky to perform.

I've thought about buying some leaches....but ick.....that's just too damn creepy. I guess I could ask some of my Mexican neighbors how to get a fake ID and go driving around OK and AR giving blood at blood banks....I do like those little cookie they give.

But small towns don't have blood banks, so I'd really have to drive a ways to get my blood taken off once a week and I'd still have the problem of having to guess how much to drain off.

I don't want to mess up my car insurance by passing out driving back from Russellville due to miscalculating how much blood to lose in order to be healthy and not fill up my liver with leftover iron.

Of course all of this could be done free at United Blood Services in Fort Baptist, but my doctor who charges $264 bucks a pop is the director there and won't let me give blood even though I have that lovely O negative type that they holler for all the time. Plus....for anyone else my iron rich O negative blood would be wonderful. Most sick people need iron. It hurts me to see my life -giving blood thrown in the trash.

So here I sit in the "Best Country on Earth" filling up with iron, suffering from diabetes caused by too much iron and not being able to sleep on my right side at night because my liver is the size of a driver's side air-bag. Pretty dumb. Pretty sad. And someday, pretty deadly.

* An interesting thing...at the time I was paying 65 bucks out of my pocket, a friend with good insurance was going thru the same deal. His Blue Cross & Blue Shield was paying over 200 bucks for the same little procedure blood banks do for free. I've never understood why the insurance industry so willingly let doctors and hospitals screw them. Yet they blame high insurance rates on smokers and fat people.....very curious.

I have reasonably good insurance for the moment. That's it -- for the moment. And medical bills and insurance for my husband and me -- different policies and coverage, but plenty of co-pays for both of us -- takes nearly 50% of our family income. Our nest egg is shrinking.
My option? Try to find a job that provides health benefits.
What do I fear but dare not mention when job hunting? My husband has had two major surgeries in the past two years and numerous hospitalizations. Virtually every time, doctors have suggested "rehab" to follow discharge. From what I have seen, these rehab programs are essentially nursing home care with a little rehab thrown in. So against doctor's orders, I vetoed rehab and took him directly home. Outcomes? In every instance, he started bouncing back within days and regained his strength readily in a comfortable, familiar environment. My father used to react in a similar fashion many years ago when he would be discharged from a hospital, incoherent and seemingly still at death's door. But in both cases I needed to be nearby for the first week or so to take care of them.
Even if I had a job, I would do that again. But I can guarantee I would have no employment prospects, rather than few at my age, if I were to mention this.
Of course, I could drop my insurance and gamble. If I lost, well, there goes the entire nest egg, maybe in one fell swoop. There go the little other bits and pieces we have accumulated from a lifetime of hard work and frugality.
But of course I could still get health care at the ER if my blood pressure or blood sugar skyrocketed. Why I could even get care if I had a stroke as a result of uncontrolled blood pressure or developed an foot abscess from uncontrolled diabetes. And that doesn't even address the myriad of other conditions which can be held in check easily if caught early and treated aggressively.
Bush is an idiot. But what do they say about apples and trees? As I recall, his mother, bless her soul, noted that New Orleans storm victims were poor people and as such, I guess, should be grateful for any little cot space in Houston.
I'll say it again. Bush is an idiot.
But he's hardly alone in the category.