Public “Health”?
Here’s a quick little item to start things off:The folks in Oregon are just now beginning to find out what a public health program run by bureaucrats is like. You tell me if HMOs or private insurance companies can be any worse.
Turns out that the guidelines of Oregon’s compassionate and (fiscally) conservative Oregon Health Plan require that before they’ll pay for your medical treatment they have to be assured that its “worth it”. That is, that they’re not just wasting their money on YOUR life. And how do they decide that? Well, the rule of thumb is that there must be at least a 5% probability that your doctor’s ministrations, or your medical prescription/program will extend your life by at least 5 years! Whoa! Sure hope your not at already 70 years old (or within 5 years of your own particular average life expectancy)! That in itself would make your chances of getting medical treatment pretty slim in some bureaucrat’s eyes, I’d guess. In other words, Oregon’s public health doesn’t sound like one AARP should approve of!
And what about someone with a bad driving record? Could that calculate in? Or someone living in a “bad” (say, euphemistically, “inner city”) neighborhood? You might think such considerations are far fetched, but what if the state’s health fund was really in the hole, and the state’s general economy headed south (not that unlike what many economists say is very possible in the next few years)? Might not the pressure be on those bureaucratic decision-makers to just factor such things in so they can say “no” to more sick folks and stay in budget? But the case that brought all this to light, and into the public eye (like the news media), was the case of a rather young (less than 50, at least), and rather poor (at least not rich or influential) man. He has cancer. He needs chemotherapy. Like all chemo, it might work, might not. But he has hope. Like you or me, he wants to live. “See my nephews and nieces grow up”, he said. But the state decided the likelihood of his living 5 more years was too low. So the bureaucrats said no more Doctors. No chemo. No hope. No joy. No chance.BUT. They weren’t all that cruel and hard hearted, those state medical bureaucrats. “We won’t pay to have you live”, they told him. “But we will pay to let a doctor put you down! We will pay for the meds to assist you commit suicide!”
“Gee, thanks” he said.
I don’t think I’ll move to Oregon (I once lived there, and still have a few friends there) in order to get on their health plan! Already know where I’d be. About 15 years ago I came up with a whole bunch of plugged arteries. The cardiologists said I had about two weeks to live if I didn’t get at least four arteries bypassed! Having no insurance, at the time, I had to decline. By the good grace of one of the cardiologist I did get a bunch of free meds. Checked in every two weeks. Got more pills. And worked hard to outlive those prognostications. And I’m still going strong 15 years later. And now, with the resources of a good HMO, I have all the meds I need to control my angina, etc., and keep on going strong. A good life, watching my grandchildren (six in all, from 13 to newborn) grow up! And a wife I love, a job, a dog, and a blog. A full life.
Would I have met the 5%/5 years cut-off? I doubt it. I know that when I (luckily) got Social Security Disability support back in those first months when walking across a living room was a three-part effort, they had another rule that surprised me. I got a (small) monthly stipend … but had to live it out for 2 years before I could get Medicare! Just another government medical program rationale: Survive 2 years on your own, and we’ll let you see a doctor!
PS The public outcry in this one man’s instance embarrassed the bureaucrats to relent, at least for him: he’s getting his chemo! Pray for him! Pray he does well, and once the spotlight is turned off, they won’t cut him off again.
