 |
| Desert wildflowers from Tucson this past March. They do much better in the heat than I. |
This is the first morning in two weeks where I actually awoke energized, as if all the steroids are finally working their way out of my system. There are bound to be more of them in the coming weeks, but it's nice to feel a modicum of normalcy again even for a little while. We have the unfortunate task of deciding what to do about my "treatment" in the coming days, as it looks like being on nothing is not working. I just wish there were options that didn't involve needles. Well, I exaggerate, there is one on the market, but it is generally agreed upon within the MS community that it wasn't really ready - they were just desperate to have an oral medication option. It can cause dramatically lowered heart rate and apparently some people have died on it. That doesn't leave me feeling too much in a hurry to get on it. There are some more promising meds in the pipeline, but clinical trials are always sooo slow, especially when you are one of the ones waiting for the benefits. Once they start getting better treatments out, maybe the prices can start to come down. As it is, even with insurance, medication costs are in the thousands for most patients. The sticker shock of it all is enough to swoon over.
Last week after my last neuro appointment, the hubby and I were talking under a tree outside of my work before I went back, and this man came over relating his sob story about not qualifing for care from a free clinic because he is on disability, but not having enough money to go to a regular clinic, and needing a few bucks to get a prescription filled. When we told him that we couldn't help because were we just discussing how expensive our own medical costs are, his entire countenance changed. He went from trying to sell is on helping him out to offering help to us on how to get DSHS and Social Security help. He was lost in the quagmire of technicalities of an inefficient system and we are standing at the brink of an equally inefficient system just run by different entities.
Health care as a fee-for-use system doesn't work. No research gets funded unless you have someone with resources get sick. Where are the advocates for the voiceless sick, those without the resources to mobilize the masses with charity drives? Where is my therapeutic Olympic horse? Oh wait, you mean that I have to drop everything to go to any appointment during the work week because in order to maintain the health insurance to pay for said appointments I have to be at work instead, so that's not feasible if you want to get paid. Fee-for-use works great for spot maintenance, such as when you broke your arm roller skating and need acute care. Everybody has a body, therefore everybody needs to pay into and be involved in the system. That way, when your child develops a high fever at 4 am on a saturday morning there are systems in place for you to be able to get treatment instead of waiting for it to get higher and be forced to go the ER (which is supposed to be a last resort, not your primary access point).
Bleh, I hate this issue. I just seems so clearly simple to me, but I never feel like it is articulated well and people are always arguing over it. Upfront costs vs delayed costs. I'll take upfront monthly payments to have something covered later over not paying anything now and being stuck with tens of thousands of dollars out of the blue. I guess it wouldn't be so bad if those who refuse to pay into the system through insurance actually put the money into a dedicated medical only spending account so that they have something when the unexpected arises. Instead they just spend it on other things and then beg the hospitals to lower their bills because they didn't plan for mishaps. It's irresponsible. You don't go to a restaurant and eat a large meal because you didn't eat earlier and then ask the restaurant to forgive the debt, and yet we think it's ok to act this way for medical care.
