According to FOX News moments ago, state GOP governors don’t trust the Federal government to fulfill its funding promises under Obamacare (the Affordable Care act) to pay for the expansion of Medicaid to the poor. The reason (unstated by FOX) that the states don’t trust the Feds is that the GOP in Congress will attempt to block payments to the states for fulfilling that promise. The GOP at the state level know they can’t trust the GOP at the national level. It is a lesson that all of us should take to heart.
Category Archives: Healthcare
If
Ron Paul, member of the United States House of Representatives from Texas. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
If I lost my home due to fire, earthquake, flood, hurricane or tornado, and the insurance company refused to reimburse me or went bankrupt due to a large number of claims, I would be homeless.
If Congress reduced my Social Security payments below the rate of inflation and cut Medicare payments and I did not save enough for retirement, I would live my golden years in poverty.
If I suffered a major accident or acquired a life-threatening illness and my insurer refused to cover the necessary treatment, I would live on with pain or die early.
If I subscribed to the above, I would support Ron Paul and the GOP. However, I do not subscribe to those views and therefore I support Barack Obama.
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The root (canal) of all evil
English: A dentist performs a root canal on a patient. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
I am nearly 72 years old or young and I have lost only two of my teeth. The most recent extraction was to avoid the cost of a root canal and subsequent crown. My dentist charges $1500.00 for a crown after a discount for cash, since I lack all insurance. I decided to be more proactive rather than wait for more problems. Yesterday I left the dentist’s office with a $122.00 bill for x-rays and a treatment plan of about $2500.00 to think about. My dentist emphasizes quality of life for the retention of as many of one’s teeth as possible. I am not in that situation yet where it is a choice between quality of life (retention of teeth) and affording food, but I believe that it is choice faced by many elderly retired living on a fixed income. After all, what is the point of good teeth if you cannot afford food to chew, or what good is food without teeth to chew it?
I have neglected seeing a dentist regularly so I was shocked at how expensive dentistry has become. To maintain the quality of life of our retired seniors, I believe that it is mandatory to expand Medicare to include dental charges, eye-care and hearing services for the hearing impaired. My hearing is impaired and it limits my ability to interact with others. It is my understanding that the best hearing aids are made in Denmark and cost many thousands of dollars, a sum I cannot afford.
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- Root Canals (topdentists.com)
- Dental insurance (bell-book-candle.com)
News to wish for
Regions of the brain affected by PTSD and stress. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Because of brain injuries due to concussions and to reduce PTSD, the NFL has decided to play touch football instead of tackle football beginning with the 2013 season.
In a related development, warring nations will amend the Geneva Convention to settle future disputes with paint ball weapons, rather than lethal weapons. Bombs dropped from aircraft and drones will mark their targets with dye rather than killing innocents and destroying property.
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Violence in our society
Assault Weapons (Photo credit: borkazoid)
I support taking assault weapons out of our culture period. That would include the hands of our military. If we must fight wars, let’s do it with less fire power and more thought.
That said, I think our pop culture, movies, TV and video games are way too violent. As someone who worked in the healthcare environment for more than twenty years, I have seen firsthand how fragile the human body is, and I know how limited our medicine is in restoring health after trauma. Our pop culture glorifies violence and ignores the real world trauma and damage that fists, bullets and car crashes do to the human body as well as the human mind. We are only now beginning to realize the damage that football does to those who suffer concussions.
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- Guns vs Beauty (jameskeeneyhill.com)
- In looking for answers, we ignore the forest for the trees (jaerankim.wordpress.com)
- The problem of violence (ireport.cnn.com)
