2014
For the last several years we have heard all about the problems of affordable health care. Usually the message was couched in terms of the cost of insurance and the so-called discriminatory practices of insurance companies. Little was said about the way we receive health care and the risks we face on a daily basis. As a result of the Affordable Care Act there are efforts to improve the quality of care, (mostly affecting Medicare) but with the bottom line controlling costs. Medicare has several initiatives, including promoting Accountable Care Organizations. The focus is on lowering costs, but the underlying hope is that better coordination of care will lead to better health care as well. We have a long way to go.
Following is a true story. I received the information in a recent letter. Only the names have been changed.
Mary had been on up to 14 different medication and we both agreed that didn’t seem correct. So talking with several doctors and others we decided to challenge the amount of meds. She is now on two meds and 81 mg of aspirin. She is doing much better now.
Bob was diagnosed with kidney cancer during October. Treatment started in January and continued until the following July. He lost 30 pounds and does not remember June or July. His condition became critical. Our children finally got the name of one of the top cancer doctors in the U.S. and set up an appointment. The doctor informed Bob that the 7 months of chemo was for the wrong cancer and it only messed up his body. It did nothing to the cancer. The new doctor set up a series of radiation treatments for four weeks. The doctors said the cancer cannot be cured, but with the radiation it is arrested. The doctors don’t want to see Bob for another five months and we are spending the winter in Florida.
Many people simply turn themselves over to the health care system and assume all is being done correctly. The fact is the patient and sometimes the family must be involved asking questions and providing information to the treating professionals. It is also important to have ones care coordinated especially when seeing multiple doctors for multiple conditions. And seeking a second opinion is not a bad idea especially when prescribed treatment does not seem to be going well.
Let’s get past all the political rhetoric and get down to basics. The Administration is spending a great deal of effort selling Obamacare to the American people; expanding coverage, subsidizing premiums and mandating coverage for things that should not be insurable. But if you are concerned about the health care you receive, your focus should be on the system providing your care.
QUINNSCOMMENTARY 