Even More Political Nonsense and Affordable Health Care for All

I was planning another blog when a comment from my last Political Nonsense blog from "flyryan" wanted me to watch a You-Tube video of John Mccain's solution to emergency medical care. My response and then some:

Mccain's plan to have a medical facility in retail outlets has already been put in place by retail establishments with a big pharmacy business. He is just generalizing what private industry figured out many years ago: cheap, quick, readily available health care for everyone. What Mccain fails to see is that these clinics are very limited in scope as to what they can treat, screening equipment, and surgical capabilities. He fails to see that this is not the ultimate answer for emergency care but, as I stated before, it can help to ease the burden on the emergency room to medical care that needs surgical resolution, bone resetting, etc. instead of a six hour wait time because of 300 people with easily diagnosable and treatable ailments are waiting because they do not have a primary medical doctor due to lack of insurance or feel like sh*t and can't wait 3 weeks for an appointment with their primary physician.

Both presidential candidates have fatal flaws in their medical plans because their advisers are so removed from the medical fields they used to practice that they cannot see the forest for the trees. Both candidates need to sit down with emergency workers from poor inner city hospitals, over-crowded and understaffed VA hospitals, nurses that can fully enlighten them to the fallibility of an entire ward with only one or two nurses per shift to care for them all, physicians who are so over booked that patients get very little face time with them, pharmacists who can fully explain the issues and ramifications of non-compliance when copays skyrocket at the beginning of each new year, and patients who have to make a choice between paying for food, a mortgage/rent, gas, utilities, and medications. Only then will they see a small part of what is really happening in the rich country with the worst health care system.

During our last Democratic presidency Hillary Clinton tried to get legislation passed that would ensure every child had health care. Many in Congress fought her because they felt the First Lady had no business trying to enact legislation and was supposed to be a fashion accessory to the President. That just plain sucks! I have a simple solution for Congress. Take a few hundred million in "pork barrel" programs that only benefit a handful of people and fund Medicaid to cover health care for everyone under the age of 18. Medicaid is already subsidized by third party insurers so they won't be losing any money, children will have health care, and it will help out families by cutting costs on their health care plans by dropping coverage for children, not to mention ensuring that insurance lobbyist payouts keep coming so the bureaucrats still get what they want.

I only have to ensure myself because I have no spouse or children and I only pay about $50 per month for decent health/prescription insurance because my employer pays most of the premium. I have seen the premiums for family coverage and spouse coverage. They are far higher than mine, even with the company paying part of it. Independent family plans can go up to $700 or more per month depending on the coverage and the insurer with only the family to cover the premium. Families could save hundreds of dollars per month on health care just by not having to pay family premiums. This is a simple, painless solution to a very important problem. How much easier can it get??? But I have more!

The same can be said for Medicare and its heinous monstrosity of Part D medication coverage. Again, take a few hundred million in pork barrel spending and fund Medicare Part D in such a way as to give every citizen over the age of 55 zero monthly premiums for the program, zero copays for generic medications and a reasonable copay, such as $5 for brand name drugs that have no generic.

This former "pork barrel" money can also be used to ensure faster reimbursement for all Medicare and Medicaid services to pharmacies, medical providers, and hospitals so that independent pharmacies and medical offices no longer have to struggle to pay operating and/or drug replacement costs while waiting years for the government to pay them back and hospitals will have a bigger budget for nursing/medical staff and equipment/supplies, thus increasing quality of patient care and outcomes. This funding will keep jobs, generate jobs, prevent businesses from collapsing, and increase quality and access to medical services in tough economic times. Can there still be more???

My solution does not cover everyone but does ensure health care for those most at risk for medical problems and complications resulting in death. My solution also has the easiest and greatest effective solution for health care that this nation has seen in many years. This is the closest I can get us to nationalized health care that will keep ALL parties happy. In summary, my not so crazy plan accomplishes this:

* Health care for all children under 18 years old.
* Cheaper medications for all people over 55 years old.
* Faster and better reimbursement for all medical goods and service providers.
* Cheaper health care insurance costs for families.
* Insurers still make money.
* Bureaucrats still get perks.
* Job are saved.
* Jobs are created.
* "Pork Barrel" spending is reduced.
* People are healthier.
* People are happier.

And greatest of all:

* Accomplishing "Change we can believe in!"



"The only change we can believe in starts with our ideas and government actually listening to and implementing the mutually beneficial ones!" Big N Tasty, RPh