tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18943510.post4946210988333861906..comments2023-08-21T02:57:37.362-05:00Comments on Dr. Wes: Where Do We Go From Here?DrWeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17438019699222125477noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18943510.post-58249046628466802182009-03-28T22:28:00.000-05:002009-03-28T22:28:00.000-05:00anony-Have you applied for Public Aid? Illinois (...anony-<BR/><BR/>Have you applied for Public Aid? <A HREF="http://www.hfs.illinois.gov/medical/" REL="nofollow">Illinois</A> (and most states) have such programs in place.DrWeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17438019699222125477noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18943510.post-16119049417286602852009-03-28T21:47:00.000-05:002009-03-28T21:47:00.000-05:00You know what you don't see Doctor? Me... You kno...You know what you don't see Doctor? Me... You know why? Because I am uninsured, and don't make much above the minimum wage. I can barely cover rent and food, much less pay for doctor visits. That's why it's been nearly 10 years since I've gone to a doctor, except for a couple trips to the emergency room. Oh yeah, those trips... My credit record is still suffering because of those emergency Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18943510.post-23281829241204124742009-03-26T10:37:00.000-05:002009-03-26T10:37:00.000-05:00Well, Keith, Whose Ivory Tower? If you want the he...Well, Keith, <BR/>Whose Ivory Tower? <BR/>If you want the health care system managed with all of the compassion, efficiency, and effectiveness of the public school system, then government health care is for you. <BR/>Just one more government bureaucracy that doesn't care about outcomes, just intentions.<BR/><BR/>Can anyone explain to me how health care will be less costly when we add an army of Stuarthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06520544881722533039noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18943510.post-34918248552709857782009-03-24T18:52:00.000-05:002009-03-24T18:52:00.000-05:00This is the first time I have posted having read t...This is the first time I have posted having read this blog for a long time.<BR/><BR/>I am the parent of a profoundly brain damaged child from meningitis at birth at a very famous hospital (she's 10 now though cognitively less than 1 year) and we have now had 17 neurosurgeries, chronic seizures, implants, etc. We know the system and we know how to avoid the ER waits and the like. But we have seen Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18943510.post-16758894139555032242009-03-24T12:34:00.000-05:002009-03-24T12:34:00.000-05:00"I see people coming to emergency rooms and being ..."I see people coming to emergency rooms and being cared for faster than ever."<BR/><BR/>I, as a patient, do not see this. As a patient I see lower level employees running me through a gauntlet of tests, forms and other pre-MD-face-time work which means I'm still in the ER for 4 or 5 hours for something that should be quick and easy. Maybe from the physician's side you see a patient and 10 Mikehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03055550524238827103noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18943510.post-1066290428000540322009-03-24T11:34:00.000-05:002009-03-24T11:34:00.000-05:00I think Keith has it all wrong. No one is suggest...I think Keith has it all wrong. No one is suggesting that the poor do not have access to health care because they are "bad" and "don't deserve it." We provide health care even to those who are in prison, although they, indisputably, are the low lifes of society.<BR/><BR/>No, the issue is simply one of economics, but as Dr. Wes says, it is not at all clear that the rush to a government-run Chrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09148369137917100380noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18943510.post-37559313857823527072009-03-24T11:29:00.000-05:002009-03-24T11:29:00.000-05:00As a RN and a patient I have discovered one thing ...As a RN and a patient I have discovered one thing that is at the heart of the problem. Patients are not the customer of doctors and hospitals, insurance companies are. Few people have any idea how much health care costs and how to shop around for a good deal. They aren't required to become knowledgeable consumers. They pay their deductible and overlook what is being charged because the medical Alhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13064115556541377357noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18943510.post-35398670497052861282009-03-23T18:16:00.000-05:002009-03-23T18:16:00.000-05:00osxgirl2004, agreed. My husband was diagnosed wit...osxgirl2004, agreed. My husband was diagnosed with testicular cancer twenty years ago when the mortality rate was much higher. It had already spread to his lymph nodes and lungs, and MD Anderson moved heaven and earth on his behalf. If we were Canadians or Brits, I doubt the outcome would have been the same. I realize that we have the occasional horror story... but then so does the NHS, and Laurahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11108501040730024806noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18943510.post-53827077682670016762009-03-23T16:54:00.000-05:002009-03-23T16:54:00.000-05:00Well, I'm posting here as the "kid" (ok, 42 now, b...Well, I'm posting here as the "kid" (ok, 42 now, but still) of a blue-collar steel worker. And I'm convinced that my dad, that blue-collar steel worker, wouldn't be with us today if the health system we have today had been "fixed" by the government. Why? Because instead of getting in, getting diagnosed, and getting the surgery he needed as quickly as he needed it, he'd have been waiting, or Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18943510.post-45656695004440272812009-03-23T13:54:00.000-05:002009-03-23T13:54:00.000-05:00About that 47 million... lies, damn lies, and stat...About that 47 million... lies, damn lies, and statistics:<BR/><BR/>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uKCWbq18bNkLaurahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11108501040730024806noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18943510.post-2252372919204819452009-03-23T11:17:00.000-05:002009-03-23T11:17:00.000-05:00Welcome to the Ivory Tower. As one who travels to...Welcome to the Ivory Tower. As one who travels to the west side of Chicago three times a week and sees alot of folks who can't get access to care, I couldn't disagree more. And this post hits on the main problem that I see as the argument for whether one looks at those individuals as low life, lazy, and unmotivated, and deserving of their health care predicament, or victims of many of societiesAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com