Two prayers....

God's will be done and may He have mercy upon us all.

About Me

My photo
A Catholic who follows Rome & the Magisterium. I'm against gay "marriage", abortion, embryonic stem cell research, euthanasia, human cloning. Altar girls, Communion in the hand, Eucharistic Ministers and "Protestant" music in the Church doesn't bother me at all. A proud American retired submarine sailor. Our borders should be secured with a 10 ft. high fence topped by concertina wire with minefields out to 20 yards on both sides and an additional 10 yards filled with warning signs outside of that Let's get energy independent NOW! Back Israel to the max, stop appeasing followers of the Pedophile Prophet. Pro 2nd Amendment, pro death penalty, Repeal all hate crime legislation. Back the police unless you'd rather call a hippie when everything hits the fan. Get government out of dealing with education, childhood obesity and the enviornment. Stop using the military for sociological experiments and if we're in a war don't micromanage their every move. Kill your television, limit time on the computer and pick up a book. God's will be done and may He have mercy upon us all.

Friday, September 04, 2009

The future of healthcare is here...

...and it sucks on toast;

Too Old for Pain Meds
Beverly Gunn
(found at American Thinker via Pewsitter.com)

Some two weeks ago, I left for our family ranch west of San Saba, Texas. I traveled with as much speed as I could, as my eighty-two old mother, had pancreatitis and needed me to stay with her in a hospital and be present for decisions made. As I traveled I listened to various radio commentators predict the fate of our aged if a certain Healthcare Bill passed. I did not anticipate some already unusual ideas that Medicare has regarding the elderly.

Mother's week in the hospital was marked by meeting some really friendly and caring physicians and nurses, who give me gratefulness that West Texas still produces both well educated and caring medical personnel. Altogether it was with gratitude that I drove mother the near 120 miles back to the ranch the day following surgery.

I was armed with a wad of prescriptions that needed to be filled before we reached home late one Saturday. Since mother's pharmacy was located in a Wal-Mart, I left the scripts with capable pharmacists and shopped awhile. Returning to pick up her medicines the pharmacist called me to come over and discuss the different medications and their uses and required knowledge. Then he paused and said,

Now, I need to tell you that your mother's pain medication will have to be purchased by you, as Medicare will not pay for these, as your mother is too old.

Thinking I heard the man wrong, I asked him,

Did I hear you correctly? Did I hear you say my mother is too old for pain medication following surgery?

The druggist, smiling, repeated his previous comment, reiterating that Medicare, at least in his district, refuses to pay for pain medication for seniors, even following surgery.

I told him to fill Mother's pain medications, then wrote a check to pay the pharmacy. As I left there I wondered, how will we proceed from here as a nation? Will we subject seniors the indignity of not even providing a simple pain pill of significant strength in the last days on earth? As I left the store I pondered the old sentiment regarding aging, that being it isn't for cowards!

Mrs. Gunn is a fourth generation Texas cattle rancher and wife of retired Army Officer.

4 comments:

Mike in CT said...

Ah, but see in the future they'll pay for the pain pills. That's all they'll pay for.

ABNPOPPA said...

Subvet,

There has to be more to it than that. That's what Medicare is for! I'm going to ask my friend at the pharmacy when I go into work in the morning!

Pops

Subvet said...

Mike, I' bet they'll cut that out also.

Pops, according to the War Dept. it's possible Medicare won't pay for the meds as prescribed (strength of meds, brand name of meds0 but would pay for an alternative. If thats the case the pharmacist is an idiot who doesn't know how to properly communicate with his customers.

ABNPOPPA said...

I just experienced that with one of my scripts. Insurance company wouldn't pay for it and there is no generic drug on the market. It cost me $122.00 for a one month supply. What choice do I have? Don't take it and die early. Pay for it and go straight to the poor house. Gee what a couple of great options.

Pops

Blog Archive

THIS is depressing!!

THIS is depressing!!
Our education system must have REAL problems!

Proper Care of The Koran

Proper Care of The Koran
A place for everything and everything in it's place

Our Lady of America, pray for us (we need it!)

St. Gabriel Possenti, (unofficial) patron saint of handgun owners, pray for us.

Humane blogger award

Humane blogger award