The socialized medicine scheme, even assuming it to be rational, plainly needs certain amendments. It would be brutal to inflict scientific medicine upon the generality of American morons, for they never turn to it when they have clear choice. They always prefer patent medicine, chiropractic, faith healing or something worse. If the Federal bureaucracy ever really takes over the job of looking at their tongues, it should choose as its agents not graduates of Class A medical schools, but such Hippocrateses of the folk as the heirs and assigns of Lydia Pinkham, Dr. Munyon, Brinkley (the goat gland man), and Mary Baker G. Eddy.
One can only imagine what Mencken would have to say about the pharmaceutical companies' lavish advertising campaigns for expensive prescription nostrums aimed directly at consumers, many of whom then demand the drugs from their doctors whether they need them or not.
The absurdities in our present system of medical care (and the way we pay for it) are sickening (no pun intended) but enormously profitable to many of the major players so Uncle Jack does not expect to see much in the way of meaningful reform coming from our bought-and-paid for lawmakers in his lifetime. Perhaps when the national bill for medical care reaches the point that there is no money left in the treasury for making war on small countries in faraway places we will see some radical changes.
In the meantime we will be left to ponder medical bills like the one Uncle Jack received from the Duke cardiology department after his last check-up before moving to Baltimore. He was in his cardiologist's office for less than an hour (most of it alone) during which he had an echocardiogram and a few minutes of pleasant conversation with his very good and conscientious doctor. The total bill, paid for by Medicare and his supplementary Blue Cross policy (which is another way of saying by himself and other taxpayers), was slightly over $3000. Uncle Jack wishes he could have handed it to HLM for his reaction.
Mencken takes his Lipitor?
3 comments:
Its not so much the amount of the bill from your medical treatment, but the little numbers on the right side of your Medicare "EOB."
How much did Medicare allow? The bulk of the financial problems faced today by providers of medical care is that Medicare is essentially shoplifting from the system. And what do shops do when theft happens regularly? They hike their prices to cover the losses.
Dang! You hit the nail on the head. Love Menkin tossing back a Lipitor, a medication that nearly ended my life, and left me with wasted leg muscles and othe neurological damage. I worked with pharmaceutical companies as a CME person. They need physicians' goodwill, and funds for research. Having said that, thee companies now toe a careful, ethical line re doctors - thanks to ACCME and the AMA. However, when we get to lobbyists, hanging around congress like dogs in heat. Surgically remove lobbyists!
You already are on a public option It is called medicare. The doctors loose a ton of money if they take it. My doctor finally got smart and went solo no insurance no medicare he sold out his practice in two days. That should tell you something. We were more than happy to send him our check
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