I came across this article earlier today while waiting on some stuff to stain at work. I find this really troubling for the future of healthcare. Are the poor and have-nots going to continue to get the shaft, even with the new healthcare bill?
I just wanted to share the link to the article on here. I also wrote a longer commentary about it on my blog.
SuFu
I think that medicine in society needs to be a team sport. If, as a team, we decide that not paying taxes is worth more than providing certain medical services, this is what we will receive. A lot more of Medicare/ Medicaid expenses will go to ‘simple’ maintenance of the aging population as baby boomers continue to age, retire and require medical benefits. As this weight exhausts our pool of funds, however we choose to pile them up, ‘fancy’ services like transplants, podiatry and, perhaps, insulin pumps, test strips, etc. will likely get cut out of budgets. I don’t think that it’s just poor and have-notes who are going to get the shaft though. As the government health systems begin ‘deleting’ services that we (particularly those of us w/ diabetes…) consider ‘essential’, I would presume that private insurers will adopt the same or similar strategies. It’s what ‘We the People’ have decided ‘we’ want.
I agree with you, completely agree. We are coming to a huge fork in the road, not only in diabetes but also in oncology (more familiar with this world). What are going to be the cost/benefit ratios for all drugs, services, procedures and everything else. Are we going to see doctors as a first line consult, or are CNP and PA services a better route to treat the basics and the shunt to specialists? Does a drug that costs >$70,000 a year and only increases progression free survival a worthwhile drug? I am of the mind that certain things which have been shown to prevent diseases, treat diseases in the curative setting, increase quality of life, delay long-term complications from a disease and increase overall survival are the important things that medicine needs to focus on. Specifically the first one, preventative medicine. Can we prevent the majority of the health care costs… YES!!! Obesity and it’s related co-morbidities, smoking and alcohol are the obvious top suckers of funds within our healthcare system. The sad thing is that all of these things are completely treatable/preventable is caught in the earliest stages. We as communes of Western Culture need to realize that if we want to survive and continue to suck the system and our children dry, we need to change our ways.
I figured cancer was > expensive than diabetes but looked it up and was shocked to see how much more expensive ‘we’ are but I suspect that cancer is more of a ‘we are going to dump $35K in tx in you right now’ sort of deal, rather than a $7K pump and $500 bucks/ month of stuff to go into it forever.
I would loathe a $2.00/ bottle tax on booze or $1.00/ bag tax on potato chips but if it were funding health care benefits, I wouldn’t gripe about it as much. I don’t see the tax cuts as having the trickle down effect that has been claimed for them. I am totally ‘spoiled’ with a pump, CGM, 6x bottles of Novolog/ month, etc. (not to mention running shoes, spandex pants, singlets and other running/ biking goodies…heh heh heh…) and would probably have a very hard time keeping my BG anywhere near in line with 4x strips/ day and R/N. I can see the planning side, that it is impossible for state agencies to fund the level of care I receive but I can also see that there’s plenty of money flushed down the toilet. There are a lot of people who probably spend more on their cable bill and cell phone service(s) than they spend on health? Whether or not they eat junk food while they’re doing it is probably another thing to debate but sheesh…
You are right, cancer (some types that is) is an acute occurrence of expenditure. Lots of money over a set amount of time. Chronic diseases on the other hand are just that, chronic in nature and in money. I’m still on shots and will pry be for at least the next 4-5 years because my insurance won’t pay for a pump and I can’t afford one.
wow, 5.1= smoking. When I got my pump, my #s had drifted up a bit and I’d also sort of gone off the deep end on exercising a lot. I am not sure I’d recommend doing anything dangerous but, when I regaled my endo with ‘I was running and my BG drifted down to 39 so I ate some Smarties and sprinted 2 blocks to get some hormones going’ she didn’t hesitate to cough it up. Have you tried that sort of angle? Working out, running low to get that into your ‘data’ and seeing how they react to that? MrsAcidRock also works for BCBS so we have very nice benefits. I have done most of the yelling at them work myself as it would not seem sporting to have her hook me up with anyone to get me what I need. She does point out regularly that the benefit levels are chosen by employers, rather than insurers, which also seems a bit odd since, of course, the DOCTOR should be the one deciding what you’d need?
I have major hypoglycaemic unawareness. I don’t feel low until around 40 (35-45 depending on the time of day). So I know all about running/working out in the 40’s. I was at 50 today at the end of my lifting and running. I am in the 40, 50, 60 range all the time. My 7, 30 and 90 day averages for checked BG is 82. So I’m usually on the low end all the time. Still a no go for a pump.