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SadTime 
4:34pm, September 27, 2009
Those people that are against health care reform because they feel they have the best health care available to them without reform have never been stranded in an emergency room overcrowded with ill people that have no other health care available to them outside of the emergency room.
Now why don't they understand that a lot of these sick people overflowing the emergency rooms because they have no other health care may very well have highly contagious illnesses that may be spread to THEM as they are treated in an emergency room? And then there is the issue of the emergency room medical personnel being overworked and greatly fatigued by caring for countless uninsured sick people in these overcrowded emergency rooms. And then these medical doctors and nurses come to the fully insured person laying on a gurney facing possibly a LIFE AND DEATH situation and because of overwork and exhaustion caring for the under and uninsured people in these overcrowded emergency rooms the care provided may be substandard at best and may actually cause a death because of these ongoing overcrowded conditions caused by under/uninsured sick people that have no choice but the emergency room to receive ANY care whatsoever. And do you think the hospitals treating these under/uninsured people just do it for FREE? NO, they pass all unpaid services and supplies onto the fully insured patients. Now what do you think that does for the costs of those with adequate medical coverage? The fully covered patients wind up paying the costs of those that come into the emergency rooms without health care coverage. And do you know the cost of emergency room care compared to a doctor's visit in an office? Do you think that would be less expensive then paying for these sick people to wait until they are so ill that they have no choice but to go to the emergency room for their health care needs? You don't have to be an economist to figure this out.
Health care reform will bring sanity to the emergency rooms of our country and make it possible for those of us with good medical coverage to ACTUALLY RECEIVE the care in the emergency room that will SAVE OUR LIVES!!!! But even with that being the case there are numerous people that THINK their health care benefits are fine without ANY reform. Why can't they have the foresight to know that there may come a time when they are rushed by ambulance to an emergency room and are exposed to contagious illnesses that they would NEVER have been exposed to had health care reform provided needed medical care for those now overflowing our emergency rooms. Perhaps they don't even care that the medical doctors and nurses in these overcrowded emergency rooms are overworked and exhausted from coping with an endless stream of ill people that would have been handled in a doctor's office had adequate medical coverage been available through needed reform of our health care system as it is today. These exhausted and overworked doctors and nurses in these overcrowded, endless seas of ill patients that have no other health care available to them may VERY WELL cause the death and even serious mistakes and delays in life providing care for those that don't want to see reform take place. PEOPLE WAKE UP AND FACE REALITY!!!! Even if you have all the medical coverage you could possibly want the day may arrive where you are rushed to the ER and find the care provided you because of the endless overcrowded conditions from people that could have been seen by a doctor in a doctor's office had health care reform taken place are now putting your VERY LIFE AT RISK!!! Are you REALLY comfortable with that reality of our health care as it is today? WE NEED REFORM and NOT just for the benefit of the un and underinsured but for all of us!!! Reform will bring needed, long overdue change into our system of health care and improve medical conditions and care for ALL OF US!!!!
Do we want health care reform that will provide proper medical care for all of those now overcrowding our emergency rooms or do we want to continue to play Russian Roulette when it comes time for us or someone we love to be rushed to the emergency room with a life threatening condition? Reform is desperately needed even for those that have ALL the health care coverage they think they will ever need.
Just a thought.
(((hugs))) Patricia
Comments
Hi Patricia,
Excellent Journal, hopefully it may make people think more about this issue. Something, needs to be done. Huggies and Love, Lee Ann
LeeAnn
As you know, live in the UK so our system is different. I know that some ppl in the USA do have problems getting medical treatment and medication due to lack of insurance or funds. It doesn't make sense to me at all. If a person is ill then they should have medical care automatically. I hope appropriate changes will be made to help everyone. Love and hugs, Gill xx
MaRhianna
Sorry Patricia... we need some kind of reform but not the kind Obama wants to push on the American ppl.I have read the entire bill and don't agree with a lot of what he wants to do.
nanaof7
Bravo, Patricia. I totally agree!
lobeliapeppergrass
I know of no one that can not get medical treatment in the USA. We have county hospitals and also the hospitals here in TX will not turn away anyone - they also have charity programs if one can not pay. I worked in the med field for 22 yrs. My surgeons at the hospital would take the ones coming in to ER and not even charge these people. I just don't want government control and that is why I don't like the plan. I have gone to the county hospital here in Dallas in the past and I received med care and did not have ins. I don't know about other states. Just a thought. I can't debate everyone, just my personal experience.
TexasLady
Oh, also everyone is getting FREE shots for the swine flu here, as well as flu shots, that people can't afford. Also, there are FREE clinics to give the kids booster shots before starting to school here in Dallas, TX .
TexasLady
Before I had insurance I had a medical emergency in 1992 where I was rushed to the ER and then had emergency surgery for a cyst on my fallopian tubes that came out weighing over five pounds. I would have died without the surgery but the hospital did not have to render ANY care that was not life saving. I had several pre cancerous lesions at the time the surgeon was doing the operation but he could not touch them even knowing that I would later face death from the spread of cancer throughout my body. There was not even ANY follow-up chemotherapy available or even a basic doctor's office visit to have the situation followed. I believe that is why I finally had to face advanced stage colon cancer that I was then covered with adequate medical insurance to have treated. But without the insurance I would be dead - PERIOD. That emergency surgery I had to save my life cost over $25,000.00 and I paid what I could on it but was left unable to pay the full amount because I did not have any insurance to assist. And the medical treatment this covered was not sufficient to bring me back to the place of good health it was ONLY provided to save my life and that is all the health care that is available to those without medical coverage. There are many people that are disabled and sick but will not fall over dead today so for today they will not have any health care available to them because their condition is not considered severe enough to cause death. There are the only conditions treated for the uninsured. That are a lot of health conditions that will not kill you outright but that without medical care and follow up will keep a person from holding down a job or continuing with a college education. These become the people that are too well to die and to sick to live. These are the people that need affordable health care coverage and to do nothing to change the situation for the better is in fact a slow, painful death sentence for many in this situation. We that have good coverage can expect our premiums and co-pays to continue to double in cost every few years because the way the system is set up today - GREED - is the ONLY rule that applies to health care. We had to pass laws that made it illegal for hospitals with emergency room departments to DUMP patients that were unable to pay for the needed care. Before these laws were passed it was common practice to DUMP patients out in the street because of inability to pay. The ONLY reason this situation changed is we as a society found it too disgusting to read about how people were actually found dead just outside of the hospital steps where they had been DUMPED. If this were not the case these ANTI-DUMPING laws would never have been needed. People without money were treated as human GARBAGE. These ANTI-DUMPING laws make this practice against the law and hospitals has been brought up on charges and prosecuted for such treatment. Here is a quote: Administrative Penalties for "Patient Dumping"
The government expanded its efforts under the Patient Anti-Dumping Statute, which requires hospitals' emergency departments to provide emergency medical screening and stabilizing treatment to individuals needing emergency care. Settlement agreements were entered into with 53 hospitals and physicians -- up from a previous high of 18 settlements in 1996 -- and a record $1.8 million in civil monetary penalties was collected. -This is from the Department of Health and Human Services and Department of Justice's website http://www.usdoj.gov/dag/pubdoc/98... and was for February 1999. Hospitals now know better then to continue there practice of DUMPING patients that cannot pay. But if given the choice of there 'good ol' days' we would once again see dumping. It is ONLY the law that has stopped this practice but emergency room care is often too little too late for many uninsured people. But obviously that seems to be the way it should be for many that have all the health care they need. But they are the ones that face overcrowded emergency rooms and when their care causes permanent disability and medical complications that can lead to thousands of dollars in follow-up medical care being needed to save their lives then they think something needs to be done about the situation. That is the ones that are not KILLED OUTRIGHT from the lack of needed care in the overcrowded emergency rooms are left to complain. All the other voices have been silenced forever and we will never get to hear their horror stories of how they died from their emergency room visit because uninsured people that could have been cared for in a doctor's office had they only had insurance clogged the hallways of the emergency room where the fully insured person just had to wait their turn at receiving needed care. And as medical costs continue to escalate far in excess of inflation we will continue to see growing numbers of businesses having to eliminate health coverage for employees just to stay in business. So we can find health care reform now or wait a few more years until the situation hits 'CRITICAL MASS' and then wish the hell we had a safety net to fall into. But of course there won't be one so many people will needlessly continue to suffer and die until the NET can be constructed. How needlessly sad it will all be when we have the opportunity today to begin making needed changes. But either way we WILL HAVE health care reform. And the longer we delay it the more painful and expensive it will become when there is finally NO MORE CHOICES available to us. But obviously this is just fine to those that want no reform. I just hope it is their carcass that is lying on the gurney in the overcrowded emergency room with death starring them in the face when the reality of the situation finally catches up with them and unless they are in really good health or have insurance that is guaranteed to keep them covered without inflation killing it off they will finally see REALITY. Health care reform is coming. Period.
SadTime
Three Florida Hospitals Cited For Patient Dumping In On-Call Stand-Off
The on-call time bomb continues to tick nationally as hospitals try to enforce call requirements to meet federal law and stay solvent, while physicians increasingly refuse call.
By Stephen A. Frew JD
Published Jan 26, 2007
Three Palm Beach County hospitals were cited by State authorities Thursday for alleged violations of the Florida laws that parallel federal EMTALA regulations for on-call physician refusals to see a 38-year-old patient with a gastro-intestinal bleed. The patient was transfered to a Broward County facility for treatment allegedly because gastro-enterology specialists at the three hospitals refused to participate in the hospital-mandated call system.
Hospitals nationally, and specifically under Florida laws that are slightly stricter than the federal EMTALA regulations, are required to have specialty services at their hospital available on-call to the emergency department. According to the published reports, only 2 gastro-enterologists out of a dozen would take call at the three hospitals, and the remaining doctors had threatened to resign from staff unless paid $1,000 per day to be on call. Local papers report only 20 of 92 gastro-enterologis in the county will take call.
The on-call time bomb continues to tick nationally as hospitals try to enforce call requirements to meet federal law and stay solvent, while physicians increasingly refuse call. Federal EMTALA regulations were revised in 2005 to prohibit physicians from taking call for their own patients if they refused take call for the ED. The regulation mandated hospitals enforce their call schedule requirements or face citations that could ultimately result in fines of up to $50,000 per incident or loss of all Medicare funds. Physicians who refuse assigned call can also be fined up to $50,000 per incident and may be barred from treating Medicare patients.
Local newspapers report that an apparent group action to get paid call is involved in what amounts to concerted action to avoid call, because the gastro-enterology specialty is now less dependent on hospitals for their practice. Surgery centers and office capabilities have expanded to move much of their practice away from the hospital setting. Federal ant-trust laws, however, prohibit collective actions by doctors.
Hospitals throughout the nation are experiencing similar situations along with constant government and insurance cuts in payment for services and rising prices of their own. In some cases hospitals report threatened bankruptcy from the demands for on-call specialty payments and struggle to get specialists to come in for routine consultations on paying patients. Many lawyers also question whether the pay-for-call practice that is becoming more common in many urban areas with scarce specialties is even legal under the federal and state anti-kickback and fraud laws.
Specialty coverage in many areas of the country and in many specialties is so difficult to obtain that many industry experts expect a rising toll of deaths before patients reach necessary care via interhospital transfers. Destination hospitals for such transfers are also declining because of their own on-call problems. While many hospitals have chosen to hire their own physicians to alleviate the call issue, these expenses often are unsustainable due to the large uninsured volume that many of these hospitals receive.
The problem, however, is not entirely one of paying specialists enough to get them to come into the hospital. Many physicians argue that the on-call obligation cuts into their ability to earn money in their own practices and that they are facing declining reimbursements that make it harder for them to make a living also. The issue is not new, however, and was a critical concern when the federal EMTALA laws were pasted in 1986. The law served as a bandaid by mandating hospitals provide call, and the hospitals had the tool available of requiring call under their hospital bylaws. Doctors needed hospitals to build their practice and to perform many of their services. Today, like the gastro-enterologists in Palm Beach County, they need the hospital less and less. The ethics of former years, where physicians viewed hospital membership and service as a moral and professional commitment seem to be losing influence over a large portion of the medical community.
Beyond issues of economics, ethics, and professionalism, the fact is that for many physicians -- especially younger physicians -- it is not a matter of how much money it would take to get them to take call, because it is first and foremost an issue of lifestyle. There simply is not enough money at any price to make them live the demanding lifestyle of physicians in by-gone years. Older physicians are retiring earlier to escape the demands of practice and avoid the regulatory and legal environment that has lessened their autonomy as professionals.
SadTime
Share your thoughts. The more the better!!!!
SadTime
I guess some people rely on the government too much. I may regret my words, but for now I have Medicare, but even without it, I can go to a hospital inTexas and get the medical attention I need - hospitals here do not turn one away and this is 2009, not 1992. Things have changed. Maybe everyone should come and live inTX !!! The hipanics come across the boarder and even get medical care. Don't let the government take you in, in believing that they CARE!!! They don't care about us - believe it and nothing is going to change for the good - remember that. Only will it get worst. There are other issues also. Everyday we have more rights taken away in this country and it is so sad.
TexasLady
Think about our soldiers - we need more of them to fight or either come home. What about them. I think they are more important as they are fighting for our freedom. Has anyone thought about that?
TexasLady
Ohhhh, talk to the people in England - they are on a waiting list or even months before they can have any kind of surgery - Socialized medicine - most are dying!!! Do you want that?
TexasLady
I have to apologize for my misspellings. I did a corrected draft and posted it but my computer timed out and the first draft stayed. Sorry about that. Take care everyone. Keep sharing your thoughts. That is our only hope at coming up with workable solutions. I'm on Medicare also. For years I paid for private insurance that cost thousands yearly with co pays that increased by sometimes 300% in one year. I only know that we need change and now not later. So many are needlessly suffering and dieing. Perhaps not in TX. They might have the answers already. The rest of the country just has not noticed I guess. My husband almost died in the ER because it was too crowded and he had what is called the 'Cadillac' health care policy that covered premium care but he still almost died from conditions created by the lack of health care coverage for far too many. Since the involvement of the federal govt. I now see Kaiser for the first time has eliminated charging for mammograms and colonoscopies starting next year. This along with other changes mirroring the changes in health care that the government is pushing for. I find that very interesting that it has taken the threat of forced changes by the government to get this huge HMO to make these changes. Of course they would like us all to think they came up with these changes out of the blue on their own after decades of just the opposite care/costs policy being implemented that only squeezed as much money out of everyone as was possible. One day I saw an elderly man talking to member services and he was in tears explaining how he and his wife had to give up their insurance because they could no longer afford it and now because his wife was in the hospital they may face losing their home. I simply counted the blessings of having the ability to keep my private health care even at three times the rate I pain just a few years before this time. Now I'm just so thankful for Medicare with the widow's benefits from my late husband's social security. That and my savings accounts and the good investments I have made over the years are the only security I have. I used to believe in the society that cares when you face life alone disabled. I know better now. My security has turned out to be the returns I have from my investments and real estate holdings. But not everyone has that backing them up especially with our economy falling apart. I don't have to worry about losing my home because of job loss or lack of money to pay bills or health care coverage but I also now know that people that have never gone hungry before in their lives are standing in long lines at the soup kitchens waiting for bags of groceries to feed their families with. My shelves are now well stocked and I have learned to survive disabled alone without my husband. But I also now know how really on my own I am and all that keeps me from one of those soup kitchen lines is my financial health. I thank God he made me a life long saver and frugal in my ways. People see me as not being wealthy because I live a frugal lifestyle but I live well without loss of sleep while I see others living lives of material wealth while they drown in credit card debt and now facing many job losses. God has even taught me to grow food in my gardens and I just baked my first pumpkin pie that I made from pumpkins from the garden along with raisins I dried from grapes I grew. This was my first year of doing the raisins. It worked out really well. To think when my husband first died I actually was faced with severe hunger because I was too ill to get myself to the store to do the grocery shopping and now I have just made my first pumpkin pie from food I grew in my gardens. That amazes me and leaves me so much in love with God for His guiding me through the hardships facing all of this alone has been. I have finally learned to let go of the misconception on my part that we are all that love God suppose to be there for each other as family. It turns out to not mean much in reality where most of us live. But it was still nice to grow up believing that this 'family' did in fact exist. It took surviving so much after the death of my husband to give me the harsh reality check I needed to stop searching for this 'family' that lived in my imagination all of my life and wake up enough to survive what I am faced with on a daily basis. Now life is filled to overflowing with blessings. But God had to force me to face reality to get me here where life is good. I wanted so very much to keep all of those ideals and beliefs I grew up with. God just needed me to see some unpleasant truths for me to gain the survival skills I needed to cope alone with disability and illness. And alone I am. People leave my home and life when they get the notion that there is no money for them to find here to fill their pockets with. I'm still adjusting to that harsh reality. Especially when it involves those people that want me to believe that they love God so very much. God has revealed the truth of their motivation and it turns out in the end to be money. I was always hoping for more. I grew up believing differently. But we really are driven by money. All of us to some extent and many completely. In seven years of survival alone after my husband’s death I have not seen any evidence that would show me otherwise. A lot of empty talk but nothing else. God is the only one that has been there loving and supporting without a thought about money. He is the ONLY one that has been there. I'm glad people did not think I had any money. That allowed me to see them as they really are.
Just some thoughts. (((hugs)))
SadTime
It is my understanding that people w/o insurance by 2011, will be fined!!!
TexasLady