We have seen a push by Bernie Sanders for “free healthcare.” Which he has expressed no real cogent plan for. Democratic contenders in the Democratic primaries have labeled their ideas, “Medicare for all.”
What a stupid idea.
No, not the idea of universal healthcare, nursie poo is all for that, the concept of labeling that healthcare as “Medicare.”
See kids, Medicare, as it stands, is despised by some of the electorates as a “bloated” and “inefficient” (thanks, honey). It is not; it is very bare-bones (as is Medicaid, but that is a whole different argument). There are well-defined criteria for admissions and treatment. The program is so well regimented that private insurance companies use Medicare’s guidelines to set their own policy. This determines if hospitalization or therapy is warranted(maybe more that the government has already done the work).
Medicare is viewed, by some, as a handout. A program that is something that as a country we can do without. Our current administration, as well as the majority in the Senate, would love to see it gutted for the sake of funding god knows what, most likely, their pockets. Sorry kids Nursie poo is very skeptical about anyone who wants to gut any reasonable form of healthcare. Or if they want to or rollback any positive moves towards giving a more substantial amount of the populace access to healthcare services. Oh, I know that people feel like healthcare is a luxury until they need it. Then they are almost obnoxious about how healthcare is “so expensive.” They have to pay “so much” for services that a basic insurance plan would have covered (Medicare too).
In this world, branding is everything. Making a product that already has some resistance is the wrong move. I still contend that you are an idiot to be against some kind of comprehensive insurance plan. The electorate wants something that they actually need (instead of endless wars) can be a tough sell (especially against the propaganda machines like Fox news).
We do need universal coverage. As a nurse and later a nurse case manager, I have seen both catastrophic, as well as primary hospital stays devastate a family and its income.
Take John (obviously not a real name). John was a very lovely 24-year-old guy (at least I am told, John was not very talkative when he was in critical care). John decided to go skiing in the beautiful mountains of Utah and was enjoying our incredible snowfall. Big and Little Cottonwood canyons get tons of snow every year, and this year was no exception with 18-24 inches of fresh powder almost daily. John took off and went off-piste (skiing off the marked trail) through some trees when the worst thing happened, a tree lept out in front of him, and he collided headfirst into that tree. One Air-Med flight later, and he was in the Neuro Critical Care unit, with a super bad subdural hematoma (blood in between layers of the brain). John also had severe swelling in his brain.
John was in a coma and was not super responsive. His course was 3 different surgeries to relieve pressure, put in a plate in his skull and to set a broken arm (obviously not as life-threatening). John being the young, resilient guy he was finally walked of the neurology floor to rehab 4 weeks later. John’s bill? A cool 750,000 wing wangs. John did not have any health insurance. As a case manager, myself and my assistant, spent almost 10 days trying to find John a rehab that would take him, even for a short term basis, as a private pay. Yeah, he owes a shit ton of money to the hospital and he was not in any position to resume school or work for at least 6 months. John was lucky in that he did finally regain function of most of his faculties in short order and was able to “resume” life in about 8 months. The only reason I know is that his mom was so grateful that we were able to find him adequate care without money. Now the wrong part. Upwards of $750,000 is not a cost that most people can absorb (it is quite catastrophic) John was no exception. How he got out from under that debt is something that I have no idea about. I would guess that, like most people, he ended up filing for medical bankruptcy, and lost any assets he had, getting away from that debt. It is entirely different than Margie.
Margie was a fascinating gal. She was in her 70’s, had Medicare, and was a vibrant lady, even after her stay. Margie had a subarachnoid hematoma related to hemorrhagic stroke. That type of stroke is where the blood vessel ruptures in the brain. Just like in John’s case, there was blood between layers of the brain. Margie had Medicare. Medicare paid out almost 900,000 wing wangs to get Margie up and moving. Margie took 2 phone calls to place and she was out the door to rehab in a little over 2 weeks. You see facilities like to have a guaranteed or at least high probability that they will receive payment. Margie paid 3500 bucks out of pocket which was covered by her supplemental insurance. Margie didn’t saddle herself with debt, she had the coverage.
Whether you like it or not, whether Mitch McConnell or Donnie Trump tries to tell you otherwise, you need healthcare coverage that deals with essential to catastrophic care. I have hundreds of stories through my 20 years of having to help patients skirt around their lack of healthcare. You are stupid if you think you can “live” without it.
Let’s make universal healthcare a reality, but let’s brand it better, and lets put forth a plan that folks can get behind. We are the only developed, wealthy country that denies this service to its populace. Think about that.
Be the kind of person your mom and your dog hope you are.