Talkin’ ’bout a (Health Care) Revolution
Chronic Babe Blog Carnival #12 is live September 7th, 2010, and the topic is Health Care Reform.
I live in Canada and we have socialized medicine. For a nominal yearly fee, access to treatment is virtually unfettered. For example, I’m scheduled for cataract surgery in both eyes in October. I don’t pay a dime. In the US, without private insurance, I could pay up to $3,000 per eye. Depending on the type of lens implant, that could soar to $4,500 per eye. http://www.online-eye-info.com/cataract-surgery-cost.html
The trade off for “free” health care is wait times. Wait times for surgeries, for medical procedures, for tests such as an MRI. I will have waited 9 months for cataract surgery.
After hearing some horror stories, I fantasize about a Utopian Health Care System, where every chronic illness patient has the right to:
- Not be turned away for treatment, regardless of income, or who their HMO/insurer is.
- Be able to select a primary care physician of our choosing.
- Not have to choose between eating and seeing the doctor, buying medicine, or otherwise looking after our health.
- Not be dictated to by said HMO/insurer as to what treatment, what blood test, what medicine their “patients” can have.
- Not be treated like drug-seekers in the ER when attending in excruciating pain, or because of an adverse reaction to medicine.
- Be acknowledged that we may know more about our illness and our bodies than you do. We’re experts in our field.
- Understanding that we may not fit into your 10 minute-per-patient appointment schedule. We have medical issues that are complex.
- Accepted as a challenge! Chronic pain /illness patients may be the most challenging patients you could come across in your practice.
- Not endure unreasonable wait times. Wait times would be reduced by establishing appropriate levels of equipment, medical personnel, etc. to the demographical region that is served.
- We really want to be listened to, understood, and treated with respect and compassion. Please and Thank You.




























