Brent Nyitray
Fairlington Blade
Let the mutherfuker burn!
jnc4p
Kevin S. Willis
Michigoose
lmsinca
markinaustin
Arcanaut
novahockey
quarterback
ScottC
yellojktNumber 1:
I never understood why, in this day and age, a doctor writes a new prescription for 30 days. For example, about a third of the new meds MrJS is prescribed he takes for 7-10 days, finds they aren’t to his liking and stops taking them. Yes, in some cases takes longer for the meds to kick in, but frequently one can make an assessment in two weeks or less. The upshot is that Medicare Part D pays for 20-23 days of meds that won’t ever be used. For many of us it’s no biggie to get a 14-day trial scrip (when appropriate) and then have the doc call in a 30-day if the results are promising.
So I wonder how many Medicare Part D patients experience this and what it costs the taxpayer.
Number 2:
True story—A woman on Medicare eats bad take-out food and gets violently ill. At 3am she gives up being stoic and, on her doctor’s advice, heads to a local ER (not where her doctor works). She’s put on an IV drip, gets a jolt of anti-nausea meds and some morphine, and starts to feel better (who wouldn’t?). The nurses draw the requisite blood and urine samples and announce that the woman may have a UTI. Before the test results are even back, the hospital attempts to admit the woman for a UTI ‘with complications.’
Note that UTI’s are routinely treated with antibiotics and rarely require any hospital stay. Yes, if the patient doesn’t improve in 3-5 days the doc may want a follow-up visit, but hospitalizations at the outset are outlier events. Note also that the ‘complications’ have nothing to do with the UTI and appear to be responding well to treatment.
So how many women in this or a similar situation would go ahead and allow themselves to be unnecessarily admitted?
BTW, the above describes my life since I signed off last evening. And I’m at home.
Don’t get me wrong. I am glad Medicare exists. But wasteful stuff like this can’t be happening just to me.
Also, I promise to catch up on the other threads. I just needed to vent. Thanks everyone for carrying on so brilliantly.
Filed under: Uncategorized |
All Things in Moderation 
I'm being slightly oversimplistic, but as things currently exist, hospitals are incentivized to admit and rack up bills like this. However, the ACA and things like Recovery Audit Contractors (RACs) are cutting down on things like this and will, in an ideal world, incentivize hospitals and physicians to persue less expensive treatments.
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Oh and this is, ashotinthedark. Thanks for in invite everyone!
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I would not miss an MSJS rant for the world. I am glad you are OK, stop eating junk food, take two aspirin and go to bed.Meanwhile, the only resoloution I know of for this level of problem is to be in a good Medicare Advantage program run by a clinic. The Medicare website tells you which programs in your area are good.In TX, I, age 68 and in good shape, belong to Scott & White. Efficient clinic based care, and I can get to one anywhere in centex, and they all have my records. Got my most recent colonoscopy at one of their hospitals. No way would they hospitalize me for the kind of stuff you describe. ACA is supposed to rationalize Medicare delivery – they are sorta counting on it. As to that, I am dubious.
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Stop eating junk food? Damn, that's harsh. 😉
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Ashot! Glad you are here. Do a post!
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Hi ashot, glad you made it. I need my medicare expert around as I'm getting closer and closer and closer, lol. Seriously though, this is a problem and not only with Medicare. The entire industry is rife with unnecessary expense. Having said that though, I'm awfully glad a Nurse Practitioner sent our daughter immediately to the ER last Friday.MsJS, glad you're okay and thanks for thinking of us with your rant. We should have called this place Rant in Moderation or Not. 🙂
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It was take-out Thai food that did it. If I had stuck to mud pie ice cream and Fritos, I probably wouldn't have ended up at the ER.Mark, I have a niece who wants to move to Austin by the end of the year. Fresh outta college. Any sage insights?*waving at ashot*Food joke:If vegetarians eat vegetables, what do humanitarians eat?
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MsJ,I'm glad you're feeling better! I've had food poisoning before (from a restaraunt in Van Horn Texas. Thanks West Texas!) so I know what you are going / went through.Let me suggest, as a solution, the option that you get to keep a certain percentage of, for lack of a better way to explain it, what's left over at the end of the year from a set amount that Medicare puts in an account for you to cover for your health care. That way, instead of saying, "Eh, what the heck, Medicare'll pay for it," you instead say "No thanks, I'll recoup (physically and financially) at home. It incentivizes prudence while not punishing health treatment.Just a thought.
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Holy cow, ER for food poisoning. Awful. Glad you are better, MsJS.Ashot/tgutwald, glad you made it. I might still call you ashot, a cool name.But maybe I'll change my name, too.
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Mr. T:Interesting idea. My initial thought is there's probably no account to cover 'my' health care. There may be a theoretical account that includes of thousands of folks who share some characteristics similar to me, but no 'me.' That said, I'd love for people in general to wake up and assume a bit more responsibility and understanding about their health and their health needs/providers, regardless of the situation they find themselves in now. Maybe some sort of incentive arrangement can play a role in making that a reality.
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MsJS, is your niece a tecchie? If she is a math, science, or engineering graduate she will find good work here. The employment pic is much better than most places, but the area schools aren't hiring new teachers, if that was her plan.We have so many newbies and 20% down is a new barrier to purchasing. Thus rentals as you near downtown are skyrocketing. In fact, if she ahs cash, she should buy houses and become a rent lord!Seriously, what is her field?
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qb: I like everybody using their "classic" names. Good continuity. That's my vote, anyway. I want to see Ashot, and would have preferred Shrink stay Shrink. But that may just be me.
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I had another thought regarding the waste of prescription drugs costs. Where do all those unused chemicals go? Believe it or not into the water via sink, toilet or landfill. You'd be surprised how much money is spent cleaning that up, not to mention the drugs that go down the toilet after being processed by our bodies. I know it sounds weird but it is a problem and something our daughter worked with when she was still working in water issues.
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Mark, Niece#2 majored in journalism and international studies. Techie/math/science does not run in her mother's family and her father was the least quantitatively inclined of ours. She does have a few active job leads though, and the boyfriend is a finalist for two jobs he likes. So we'll see.I'll suggest going the landlady route. That could be interesting. I'll bet a few of her mom's siblings would help finance it as an investment.lms, I agree. The collective quantity of chemicals in meds is staggering.
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