Why Medicare is going broke -- a personal observation.

[doom&gloom]

I'll keep this short and drop a lot of details.

In 30 minutes my mom goes to the hospital. Does she need to go to the hospital? No. She needs to go to a care center for some rehab. But that is not going to happen. Instead, by my best estimates we will waste at least $6000 today for want of a phone call.

This weekend my mother 's doctor is not on call. His partner does not know my mother or her case. But I do. The partner will not call, or even text, my mothers doctor to have her referred directly to a care center.

So we will waste loads of money today because a stupid gatekeeper will not do her job appropriately.

Ok, I am done.

[don]

Re: Why Medicare is going broke -- a personal observation.

My father-in-law is 94 and thinks his wife is his mother. He had a heart scare which made him eligible for a week or two of out-of-home rehab. His wife, 86, kept there as long as Medicare paid the bill. This type of rehab for him was pointless but it gave her a break from her daily grind. Who knows what that "vacation" cost. (side note: ZIRP has just about murdered their lifetime savings. It's now a race between $$ and death.)

[lektrode]

Re: Why Medicare is going broke -- a personal observation.

and if all that sounds bad enuf, just be thankful they aint on medicAID.
where my ole lady (mom, 75 & RIP) back in the hospital after a relapse of a month long bout of pneumonia last year - for want of an assist out of bed to the toilet, rang repeatedly for a hand - and in trying to get herself outa bed, slipped as she was getting down to the floor, wiping-out on her own excrement, fractured a hip, had a stroke and spent the next 2 months - in futility - fighting for her life....

she finally gave up, pulled the O2 hose from her nose and checked herself out.

as sad as the whole nightmare was, methinks she got out just in time, as its quite likely going to be a lot worse for OUR generation -with or without obamascare.

[doom&gloom]

Re: Why Medicare is going broke -- a personal observation.

what a rough way to go out. sometimes the hippocratic oath seems to get quite lost in the paperwork.


So my mom calls me from the hospital to tell me that 1) they say this may not be medicare billable (as I had told her) and 2) that she will probably be referred out to a care center tomorrow (as I told her). I then informed her that this episode could potentially cost her as much as $10k out of pocket if not medicare covered.

Tomorrow I will talk to her doc and let himknow that if she gets stuck with the bill for this because his partner/on-call would not contact him, I plan to sue her for the money. Let her stew on that one, because I WILL sue her.

[shiny!]

Re: Why Medicare is going broke -- a personal observation.

I'm so sorry your mother had to go through that, lektrode.

[shiny!]

Re: Why Medicare is going broke -- a personal observation.

In some cultures menarche is celebrated as a right of passage. In our culture, it's dismissed as the onset of an inconvenience that must be suffered. Similarly, death of the elderly is just another natural stage of life. We could celebrate it as a right of passage. But in our culture death is feared and fought beyond all reason. Used to be, people died at home in their own bed, surrounded by family. We used to accept death as normal. When did we get the idea that we can live forever, that we deserve to live forever?

Aging and dying could be a humane and dignified process. It shouldn't be about plugging old people into more machines and feeding them more pills to prolong their suffering. The medical system and patients themselves fight death as a battle that can somehow be won, when clearly the patient is on their way out. The medical system makes a lot of money on the backs of their suffering patients; patients and their families seem to want it this way.

In my 55+ community are so many people who are sick, feeble and simply miserable. But as wretched as their lives are, they keep trying to hang on longer. Every time another system in their body fails they are rushed to the hospital, then come home a few weeks later more decrepit, with more pills to take. Their last month of life costs more in medical bills than their entire last year. And their last year costs more than their previous ten years.

I'd rather see those medical resources lavished on children and young mothers so they can be healthy. When my time comes I hope I'll be able to let go gracefully and face the next leg of my journey with courage.

[doom&gloom]

Re: Why Medicare is going broke -- a personal observation.

I promised my children I will not become a burden upon them, I will just 'check out' on my own when I can. O longer care for myself I certainly will not give my life's savings and work to the medical community for extended bad years.

[charliebrown]

Re: Why Medicare is going broke -- a personal observation.

This is crazy, one problem and your life savings can be wiped out. I had a bill for a similar amount for an ekg, cat scan, some drugs and a few looks over. Out of the hospital in 6 hours. Most of that was waiting around. How do they expect most americans to come up with 10K?

" i owe my soul to the company store", but now the store is the medical complex. How many social security checks is that?

Now I have to know what medicare is going to cover and what it is not, when I am broke and bleeding on the street.

[cjppjc]

Re: Why Medicare is going broke -- a personal observation.

I promised my children I will not become a burden upon them, I will just 'check out' on my own when I can. O longer care for myself I certainly will not give my life's savings and work to the medical community for extended bad years.

I have made this promise to myself. It takes alot of courage. More and more your mind plays tricks to make you break the promise. Speaking for myself only, it's much easier to talk the talk, than walk the walk.

[charliebrown]

Re: Why Medicare is going broke -- a personal observation.

my mom died a horrible cancer death. her last year was spent in and out of the hospital, surgeries, chemo, puking ...
my dad got cancer 7 years later, he just let death come. he did not want to go through what my mom went through.
that was brave or maybe not ... I dont blame my mom for trying she was only in her early 50's.

What about the 80/20 rule? if it exists, just opt for the low invasive, usually successful, cheap options if they work they work if they dont they dont. I have worked my whole life to provide for my family. I want to leave something for them for a head start.
not a bunch of bling, but an education, functional housing food and clothes seed money for a small business. We all know that the next generation is going to have to work a lot harder to make ends meet. I wonder when they are going to wake up and realize it. Next year my oldest son turns 12. The age of manhood. We will have to have that talk then. I have kept him sheltered so far. Childhood is a time for happiness and play, not for facing down the bogeyman.

[globaleconomicollaps]

Re: Why Medicare is going broke -- a personal observation.

This is crazy, one problem and your life savings can be wiped out. I had a bill for a similar amount for an ekg, cat scan, some drugs and a few looks over. Out of the hospital in 6 hours. Most of that was waiting around. How do they expect most Americans to come up with 10K?

" i owe my soul to the company store", but now the store is the medical complex. How many social security checks is that?

Now I have to know what medicare is going to cover and what it is not, when I am broke and bleeding on the street.

My sister had a bike accident. Broken leg. No insurance. $100,000 straight up. Absolutely defies belief. Stay at home. Don't get sick.

[ER59]

Re: Why Medicare is going broke -- a personal observation.

In some cultures menarche is celebrated as a right of passage. In our culture, it's dismissed as the onset of an inconvenience that must be suffered. Similarly, death of the elderly is just another natural stage of life. We could celebrate it as a right of passage. But in our culture death is feared and fought beyond all reason. Used to be, people died at home in their own bed, surrounded by family. We used to accept death as normal. When did we get the idea that we can live forever, that we deserve to live forever?

Aging and dying could be a humane and dignified process. It shouldn't be about plugging old people into more machines and feeding them more pills to prolong their suffering. The medical system and patients themselves fight death as a battle that can somehow be won, when clearly the patient is on their way out. The medical system makes a lot of money on the backs of their suffering patients; patients and their families seem to want it this way.

In my 55+ community are so many people who are sick, feeble and simply miserable. But as wretched as their lives are, they keep trying to hang on longer. Every time another system in their body fails they are rushed to the hospital, then come home a few weeks later more decrepit, with more pills to take. Their last month of life costs more in medical bills than their entire last year. And their last year costs more than their previous ten years.

I'd rather see those medical resources lavished on children and young mothers so they can be healthy. When my time comes I hope I'll be able to let go gracefully and face the next leg of my journey with courage.

+1

[ER59]

Re: Why Medicare is going broke -- a personal observation.

I have made this promise to myself. It takes alot of courage. More and more your mind plays tricks to make you break the promise. Speaking for myself only, it's much easier to talk the talk, than walk the walk.

I just recorder it in my Trust papers - in case I become a vegetable - pull the plug.
Spares my daughter from a tough decision.

[flintlock]

Re: Why Medicare is going broke -- a personal observation.

Perhaps a lot of the money we currently spend to extend peoples live to the point they are feeble and helpless, would be better spent on more dignified care for the elderly. We pay millions to extend an old man's life for a few months, yet you are on your own when it comes to finding help like in lekrode's case. Medical problems cause other problems. But there seems to be no interest solving those because there are no drug patents or expensive medical equipment to sell. We are too preoccupied with delaying death and ignore quality of life issues.

We are all going to die. The medical establishment to some degree plays on people's fear of death. Its like trying to negotiate with the Fire Dept when your house is on fire. They have you by the balls and they know it. This is at least partly why so much money is spent on these futile, expensive, life saving ventures. Its easy pickings. Its not like shopping for a car. I dont blame medical providers, they are simply working within the system as designed. We make medicine a for profit business. This has both advantages and disadvantages.

[lektrode]

Re: Why Medicare is going broke -- a personal observation.

....there seems to be no interest solving those because there are no drug patents or expensive medical equipment to sell. We are too preoccupied with delaying death and ignore quality of life issues.

....

+1
when simple things like having enough low-tech staff on duty to help keep 'accidents' from happnin to people who cant fend for themselves in a hospital environment, would seem to be a no-brainer