The solution to Medicare and the health care system

[Hobo1]

Ever heard of Diphenhydramine Hydrochloride? Also known as Benadryl. Virtually the same thing. Very cheap. Over-the counter. Available in the USA.

That is one if the big problems. Benadryl is advertised as an allergy medicine. I don't have allergies so I never researched it.

As I am now discovering, it is also great for the treatment of itching, allergies, , motion sickness-induced nausea, and insomnia, treatment of mild anxiety, an effective sedative, hypnotic, pain reducer, and tranquilizer!!! It shares none of the abuse, dependence, addiction, and toxicity potential of other drugs used for the same reason.

Somebody wants you to either a) go the doctor, or b) buy a bunch of different medicines to treat all of these medical problems! I know I went to the doctor about insomnia and he gave me an expensive medicine. The sleep medicines available over the counter were not as effective as this drug.

How can the consumer be expected to know that Benadryl can treat all of these things?

 

[Centrehalf]

How can the consumer be expected to know that Benadryl can treat all of these things?

That's not the point. The point is that Benadryl does treat those things and it is available over the counter. In America.

 

[Hobo1]

That's not the point. The point is that Benadryl does treat those things and it is available over the counter. In America.

I think it is important. What happens when someone on Medicare feels anxiety and can't sleep? He/she goes to the doctor and asks for medicine. Doctor gives some prescription medicine, and Medicare Part D picks up that cost.

A doctors isn't going to tell the Medicare recipient to go buy Benadryl. Everyone knows that is allergy medicine! The doctor is not going to take time to explain that it can treat a variety of problems, etc. etc. The doctor says, "go buy this expensive stuff, charge to Medicaid and sweet dreams".

 

[steveox]

Chris Rock had a solution to the health care problem

 

[Hobo1]

Very funny - and painfully true. Last thing doctors cured was Polio! So true.

 

[TruthSeeker]

That is one if the big problems. Benadryl is advertised as an allergy medicine. I don't have allergies so I never researched it.

As I am now discovering, it is also great for the treatment of itching, allergies, , motion sickness-induced nausea, and insomnia, treatment of mild anxiety, an effective sedative, hypnotic, pain reducer, and tranquilizer!!! It shares none of the abuse, dependence, addiction, and toxicity potential of other drugs used for the same reason.

Somebody wants you to either a) go the doctor, or b) buy a bunch of different medicines to treat all of these medical problems! I know I went to the doctor about insomnia and he gave me an expensive medicine. The sleep medicines available over the counter were not as effective as this drug.

How can the consumer be expected to know that Benadryl can treat all of these things?

You are right. I also never knew Benadryl was nothing more than an allergy medication, until my doctor told me to take a couple at night when I go to bed to help me fall asleep. I guess it depends on the honesty and/or knowledge of your doctor. Our family doctor is a wonderful doctor. He's in his late-30s and he is like an "old-fashioned" physician. He takes time with his patients, he's very intelligent, very thorough, and a very nice person.

Let's face it, many doctor's promote the "latest and greatest" prescription drugs because of the perks and freebees (and arm-twisting) that the pharmaceutical companies give them. OTC meds aren't the big money-makers for the drug companies. They make their big bucks with their "exotic" prescription medications.

There are also plenty of internet resources to use to investigate every OTC or prescription medication that exists. I always read about every medication I am prescribed, or other medications that are available, as an extra source of knowledge in addition to my doctor.

For those who don't use the internet, like many of our senior citizens for instance, there is the tried and true "The Pill Book", which is available at most pharmacies and Wal Mart and Target and all book stores.

 

[PLC1]

A couple of points are indisputable:

Medical care costs in the US have been going up by double digits for a long time, and have become unaffordable.

There will be no reforming any government paid health care program (Medicare/medicaid, VA, or anything else) without reforming the whole health care system.

The so called "Obamacare" does nothing to limit costs, quite the opposite.

 

[TruthSeeker]

A couple of points are indisputable:

Medical care costs in the US have been going up by double digits for a long time, and have become unaffordable.

There will be no reforming any government paid health care program (Medicare/medicaid, VA, or anything else) without reforming the whole health care system.

The so called "Obamacare" does nothing to limit costs, quite the opposite.

This same situation also applies to the illegal immigration problem. The system is broken. We can't stop the flood of illegal aliens until we overhaul the entire immigration system. And I'm not talking about "amnesty", either.

 

[Hobo1]

I see a big difference with health care versus the other problems facing the US. If you look at programs like Canada and Britain, they both have some strict regulations to hold down costs. I am not an expert, but I know even semi-elective surgery is not paid for. I have a brother-in-law who had a problem with his knee and wanted some specific operation or device which gave better results than the standard procedure. Canada has rules about what they will pay for - and his operation was not on the list. So he paid for it himself.

That is one area we could help all health care - public and private. Prepare a list of operations or procedures that are considered "standard medical procedures". Anything beyond that, the individual should pay from his pocket.

I think grandma should have some logical limits to her health care as well. One hip replacement if you are under age 80. After that, you pay for it yourself, or buy a wheelchair.

No death panels, just standard rules and regulations on what Medicare or an insurance company must pay for.

I like Ryan's voucher system too, with some modifications. Basically the government will give you a voucher for health care each year. Use it wisely because when it is gone, you use your own money. In some cases a disease will require long-term care and Medicare must pick up the cost of providing basic long-term care.

This is not the place to put out a comprehensive list of improvements that could be done to the health care delivery system, but suffice to say the problem has a lot of good fixes waiting in the wings. We just need to recognize the reality of the situation. Like all things in life, there is unlimited wants and limited resources. So if you want the government to pay for your medical care in your old age, you must accept some reasonable limitations.

"No, grandma, we don't pay for grandpa's Viagra"

 

[Centrehalf]

I think grandma should have some logical limits to her health care as well. One hip replacement if you are under age 80. After that, you pay for it yourself, or buy a wheelchair.

This hit home for me because I have a relative who just had a hip replacement. There are two types of replacement hips, ceramic and metal. The metal wears out faster. Some insurance plans don't pay for ceramic because it's more expensive. If someone gets a metal hip replacement at age 62, there's a very good chance that they will need another replacement hip when they're in their early to mid 80's. You would deny them that surgery?

"No, grandma, we don't pay for grandpa's Viagra"

This is no one's business but grandma, grandpa, and their doctor. If the government doesn't want to deal with this then they shouldn't have injected themselves into this situation in the first place.

 

[Rick]

I see a big difference with health care versus the other problems facing the US. If you look at programs like Canada and Britain, they both have some strict regulations to hold down costs. I am not an expert, but I know even semi-elective surgery is not paid for.

You are uninformed. The NHS saves money by rationing. The death panel of the NHS is given the orwellian name "National Institute of Clinical Excellence" - or "NICE" - a little sick humor there for the acronym. Medcines that are known to save lives are excluded because of the costs. Districts are limited in the number of serious operations they can perform a year. People who are older than bureaucrat-imposed age cutoffs which have no connection to the medical feasibility of the procedure, eg for heart surgery, are simply told "nothing can be done", and go home to die. People die on waiting lists. Tens of thousands of Britons who prefer not to die become medical tourists.

Read up - you don't have a clue.

 

[Hobo1]

This hit home for me because I have a relative who just had a hip replacement. There are two types of replacement hips, ceramic and metal. The metal wears out faster. Some insurance plans don't pay for ceramic because it's more expensive. If someone gets a metal hip replacement at age 62, there's a very good chance that they will need another replacement hip when they're in their early to mid 80's. You would deny them that surgery?

No, I would not deny them the surgery. They can have 10 ceramic hip replacements until they are 100-years-old. BUT THEY CAN PAY FOR IT THEMSELVES! If you don't like the idea of a metal hip replacement, then save your money when you are young.

People get old, and they get feeble, and can't go skiing in Colorado anymore. If I, as the taxpayer, am going to pay for grandma, then she must grow old like the rest of the old people in the world. I feel no obligation to give grandma a Cadillac health care program. And she can mail order a vibrator too

This is no one's business but grandma, grandpa, and their doctor. If the government doesn't want to deal with this then they shouldn't have injected themselves into this situation in the first place.

Sounds like a good suggestion... get government out of that kind of business

 

[Hobo1]

You are uninformed. The NHS saves money by rationing. The death panel of the NHS is given the orwellian name "National Institute of Clinical Excellence" - or "NICE" - a little sick humor there for the acronym. Medcines that are known to save lives are excluded because of the costs. Districts are limited in the number of serious operations they can perform a year. People who are older than bureaucrat-imposed age cutoffs which have no connection to the medical feasibility of the procedure, eg for heart surgery, are simply told "nothing can be done", and go home to die. People die on waiting lists. Tens of thousands of Britons who prefer not to die become medical tourists.

Read up - you don't have a clue.

This is how it should be. Rick, would you keep people alive forever? Would you give them health care that is better than 99% off the other people in the world get? I sure would not.

Getting sick, and getting old is part of life. I am 64. I went to a doctor in Indonesia when I had a sore back. He looked at me and said, "You are an old, retired American. Pain and death are a part if life. Now go home, enjoy yourself, get drunk, smoke cigarettes, or do whatever. You are not getting old, YOU ARE OLD."

And so I did.

But, there are many medical tourist streaming to Asia right now to get cosmetic surgery or other procedures. And the government has built first-class hospitals just to accommodate medical tourists. It is a big business. So what? You would prefer that your countrymen pay for your health problems?

 

[Centrehalf]

People get old, and they get feeble, and can't go skiing in Colorado anymore.

This isn't about skiing in Colorado, it's about being able to get up out of a chair or being able to walk on level ground and go out to your mailbox to check your mail. You've never been around anyone who's either needed or had a hip replacement, have you?

 

[Rick]

This is how it should be. Rick, would you keep people alive forever?

Sending, say, a 60 year old with a heart ailment which surgeons are ready, willing, and able to cure, home to die doesn't translate to "keeping people alive forever".

Getting sick, and getting old is part of life. I am 64. I went to a doctor in Indonesia when I had a sore back. He looked at me and said, "You are an old, retired American. Pain and death are a part if life. Now go home, enjoy yourself, get drunk, smoke cigarettes, or do whatever. You are not getting old, YOU ARE OLD."

You are entitled to your "drop dead" philosophy, but don't impose it on others.

But, there are many medical tourist streaming to Asia right now to get cosmetic surgery or other procedures.

Many Britons, as I said, are going elsewhere as a matter of life and death. Likewise, when canadians are seriously ill, they know it's time to head for the border as did the premier of newfoundland:

http://radioviceonline.com/canadian-premiere-goes-to-miami-for-heart-surgery/

Check out all these "old people" who apparently want to "live forever" at "N.I.C.E." headquarters:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2008/aug/27/health.cancer