Article

2009-10-28 Economy

Seniors squeezed as doctors shun Medicare

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Posted by Fred 2009-10-28 00:00|| || Front Page|| [3 views ] Top

#1 As far as our "superiors" in Congress are concerned, it's win-win for them.

Those pesky old people raising hell at Town Halls are gonna be too busy trying to find a doctor who will take Medicare to ever act up in public again...and the sicker ones might die off before they rack up lots of expensive, end of life care....providing even MORE Medicare "savings"!

Posted by Cornsilk Blondie 2009-10-28 06:10|| 2009-10-28 06:10|| Front Page Top

#2 Let's add to our list of -

Thou shall covert thy neighbors wealth
Thou shall steal thy neighbors wealth
Thou shall bear false witness

the next one -

Thou shall not honor thy father and mother

It's like the antithesis to build a society, culture or civilization upon.

Posted by Procopius2k 2009-10-28 07:14|| 2009-10-28 07:14|| Front Page Top

#3 Medicare is a ponzi scheme, just like Madoff. It will fail. The only question is whether it happens stealthily by the death of a thousand cuts or openly by a debate about how we want to care for the elderly.

Personally I favor honoring one's parents. And if you didn't have children or if they don't honor you, well you didn't spend all that money on children, so use it or get charity as you can but don't force me to pay for your care by government order.

Posted by Nimble Spemble 2009-10-28 07:28|| 2009-10-28 07:28|| Front Page Top

#4 As I recall Rep (Dem) Alan Grayson (Florida) said the Republican health care plan had the Republicans wanting you to die quickly. Hey, that might be better than the Democrat plan which has you going from clinic to clinic looking for services and standing in line--Slow death approach.

Posted by JohnQC 2009-10-28 07:35|| 2009-10-28 07:35|| Front Page Top

#5 Elsewhere, doctors have found out that if they outright refuse Medicare, Medicaid, and "common complaint insurance", they can reduce their fees by 50% and make *more* money--not paying a large staff just to fill out endless forms.

Add to that in Florida, where the State has refused to put limits on frivolous malpractice civil suits, which has reduced the number of OB/GYN physicians to fewer than a half dozen; three of these that remain are no longer malpractice insured at all, and have divested their assets to their family.

This is the "blood from a turnip" theory. And by not paying exorbitant insurance premiums, the price of their OB/GYN services are downright inexpensive. Enough so that even the poor can afford them.

This does extrapolate to other medical care as well, with the exception of a few, inherently high priced medical procedures that need insurance support. If that is covered, and with the pharmaceutical price crash because of Wal-Mart, medical care can be downright cheap, if you can just get the government, lawyers, and the insurance companies out of it.

Posted by Anonymoose 2009-10-28 08:49|| 2009-10-28 08:49|| Front Page Top

#6 'moose, I think there's more than 6 OB/GYN's in Florida, even now. (Two years ago when I was living in Brevard County there were more than that, and I don't think they they all quit delivering babies.)

Posted by Cornsilk Blondie 2009-10-28 09:02|| 2009-10-28 09:02|| Front Page Top

#7 Kinda early. could be he meant OB/GYN docs who deliver Mooses. I found 10 at The Villages alone.

Posted by Besoeker 2009-10-28 09:19|| 2009-10-28 09:19|| Front Page Top

#8 I have yet to meet an OB who delivers mooses. Perhaps there's only half-a-dozen vets in Florida who deliver mooses. Hell, there might be only one by now.

Posted by Steve White 2009-10-28 11:05|| 2009-10-28 11:05|| Front Page Top

#9 Tain't no such thangs as mooses. Well, maybe in Florida there are.

Posted by Anguper Hupomosing9418 2009-10-28 11:47|| 2009-10-28 11:47|| Front Page Top

#10 The first step down this slippery slope was Social Security, established in 1935 during the Franklin Roosevelt administration. After all, how could you let all those poor senior citizens go homeless and hungry?

Medicare was the next step, established in 1965 as a part of Lyndon Johnson's Great Society. After all, how could you let all those poor senior citizens suffer without proper medical care?

Never mind all of your own careful saving and planning for your own future. Ever hear the story of the ants and the grasshopper?

And what about the children of these poor senior citizens? Would you let your mother go homeless and hungry? I sure wouldn't. That's why families are so important - or at least they used to be. But now you don't have to worry. You can divorce your wife, abandon your kids and forget your parents because Big Brother is on the job.

Big Brother doesn't want strong families because it's easier to control people who are poor and alone.

And now he's asking us to take another step down the slope with nationalized health insurance. That way Big Brother gets more control and people have less.

Posted by Ebbang Uluque6305 2009-10-28 13:23|| 2009-10-28 13:23|| Front Page Top

#11 "There is no subtler, no surer means of overturning the existing basis of society than to debauch the currency. The process engages all the hidden forces of economic law on the side of destruction, and does it in a manner which not one man in a million can diagnose." -John Maynard Keynes

Posted by Besoeker 2009-10-28 13:48|| 2009-10-28 13:48|| Front Page Top

#12 My error. Florida finally imposed malpractice caps back in 2002, but I missed it. Since then, OB/GYNs and others have gone back to Florida to practice.

Posted by Anonymoose 2009-10-28 21:08|| 2009-10-28 21:08|| Front Page Top

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