I wanted to let all of you know Ive received THREE letters back from Senator Cornyn on 3 emails Ie sent him. He has definitely read what I wrote or someone in his team answered them, and just make it appear as if the Senator is listening. He has sent emails in regard to health care, the payment doctors are not getting paid in regard to especially Medicare issues, and also is addressing more money going for research & the allocation of funds to National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, to try and help with all illnesses especially those of the chronic nature such as Lupus, RA, Diabetes and so forth. I was a bit hesitant to be thrilled because he is usually not one of the Senators that I really agree with. But pieces of what he said in each email gave me a bit of hope that there possibly maybe changes of a good nature coming along the pipeline. I think the government in general is seeing that they HAVE to step UP to the plate, pay our good physicians properly, and give them incentives to continue to keep their practices open. Without any type of government aid of any kind, whether it be a larger pay from Medicare and Medicare Advantage Plans, or incentives due to being doctors that are superior in helping their patients, while paying staff properly, keeping the good nurses on, and yet keeping costs down as much as they can without harming patients or those who work for them and need a decent salary, we are doomed! We already have a drastic shortage of MDs, when it comes to Family Doctors, and those who are regular MDs, who are not in the specialized business. Without our PCP, (Primary Care Physicians) we would certainly be in huge trouble. And without incentives for those types of physicians to be able to know when they graduate, they can pay off all of their student loans in a reasonable amount of time, be able to pay a staff and have a decent practice without feeling like they must take an over abundance of patients just to survive paying loans off, paying for their practice, a family, the insurance that is so high that goes along with being a physician, and also be able to take peoples insurance, including Medicare, Medicare Advantage Plans, and Medicaid... then Doctors will NOT go into a General Practice. Our doctors are specializing us right out of the good old days when our physicians did it all. They saw you for a cold and the flu, they delivered babies, they took out gall bladders, they saw you in the ER in the middle of a weekend to sew you up, or to see you in the middle of the night when you were ill. Those days of doctors are gone. Well, not entirely. Now we are seeing these new types of practices where you pay a certain fee a year and you get those types of services. But, usually it is a fee you pay up front each year, and you do not file insurance and so forth. They are more known as a concierge type of physician. Yet, these types of physicians and their type of care does not come cheap. Those annual fees are extremely expensive, and usually only the more lucrative type of patient can afford that type of coverage. So, that still leaves us without our old fashioned family physician. It is a huge and looming situation that those of us that are in a chronic illness type of situation see the downfall of the medical world around us. We cannot get the care we need, We cannot get the proper diagnosis, the medications, the labs and tests, or the proper care of any type, due to the high cost of it all. And even those of us with insurance, Medicare, a Medicare Advantage Plan, Medicaid and so forth are losing the battle also, because again doctors are not getting paid by these entities without a fight! Thus, they cannot keep their doors open to their practice without getting paid by those companies. Then they drop the companies and who can afford to pay out of pocket cash for treatments and medications? Have you looked lately at one of your print outs from your prescriptions when you pick it up from your pharmacys? Like Wal-Greens, WM, CVS and so forth. I look at what mine say as far as what I paid versus what it would have cost me without my insurance paying. Medications that are even generic with costs of $500.00. $750.00, $2,500.00 for a MONTHS supply! There is absolutely NO WAY those of us chronically ill or just ill for a flu and so forth can afford to pay those kinds of charges out of pocket for medications! It is insanity to think we can. Even richer folks would go broke paying $3,500.00 a month for a medication. But, my Aunts cancer medication is like that. In the first place it is difficult to get, and in the 2nd place it is something like $4,000.00 a month, for 30 pills! Why they at one time were what I would call well off... and even at that, there is no way that they could afford those kinds of costs on medications! They have found help that does pay for the medications, but not all are the fortunate, So, WE, and I mean ALL of us, are going to have to do OUR PART, and let our thoughts be known. We have got to stand up as a nation together, solidified, and let the insurance companies, the government, the pharmacies, doctors, and pharmaceutical companies know WE are NOT going to take this mess as an answer anymore. It is time to find a solution, to be finding treatments, finding answers and diagnosis more quickly, getting doctors trained and better equipped to find out what is wrong, and get us properly treated in the nick of time, not after it is too late. Like myself... due to the Sjogrens, which honestly, up until the last year when all of my teeth are literally rotting and falling out of my mouth in pieces has any doctor been concerned over the Sjogrens. If I do not mention it, they never say a word. I am the one that had to research it and ask to try the 2 medications for it. Which neither are very good, but I am on one of them. Now, I face Lord knows what, There is so good solution honestly. I just had another tooth pulled Monday, and I am sure I face at least 6 more, maybe even more than that that must be pulled. There is no hope for them. Then the few I have that are patched just to keep them there, are possibly not long for falling to pieces also. Because none of this was addressed 7, 10, 12 years ago, before the decay set in, now it is TOO LATE. And come to find out (first of all I NEVER wanted dentures and the thought of not having my own teeth still just almost makes me sick to my stomach) even those... even the latest, implants are really NOT a GOOD SOLUTION for anyone with Sjögrens!!! Due to the Lack of saliva, those are difficult to deal with in the mouth. I still must find ways to keep my mouth moist constantly, by chewing certain sugar free gums with Xyitol in them, or sipping certain things like green tea, water, things without sugar and without acid in them. But even at that, still it is difficult to do. Plus the entire thing with the dental implants, is not done over night. It can take up to a YEAR to completely finish the process. Which usually involves 2 surgeries, to get the implants in place, maybe more if your bone is not stable in the jaw, thus bone implant must be done first, then the implants put in, then the special dentures that snap down on those implants made to fit properly. So, it is a huge ordeal, and expensive one and one that takes time to do and to heal. It is insanity! this is just one piece of the puzzle, and this puzzle is more than 1,000 pieces. It is more like 10,000 pieces and growing each day. The ONLY end we will ever see in sight is to stand up and tell them (our Senators, Our Representatives, Our Government ... all of them) we want better, and we want all of this insanity stopped! We deserve proper health care, at a proper price... and our health care workers deserve a proper salary, with decent working times and decent working conditions... it is a vicious cycle and it will NOT end unless we stand UP and MAKE IT! ONE VOICE can move mountains... think what 100,000, or a MILLION voices can do!
Posted on: Thu, 13 Mar 2014 10:32:19 +0000
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