Sunday, January 16, 2005
Seniors on Medicare say TennCare will have to be cut
Today, I spoke with five senior citizens who live in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Four are on Medicare, the federal healthcare program for seniors and the disabled, and the other will be in one year. All five told me that TennCare needed to be cut, even if it meant that 323,000 people would almost suddenly be without any kind of coverage and uneligible for any Medicaid. All five seniors made it clear that they feel bad for these people. But all five also said that there are many stories of TennCare cases where people get ten or fifteen prescriptions for free.
"That shouldn't happen," said one woman, age 67. "Why can't we just get used to less? You know, there are people in the world - like in Indonesia right now - who have no healthcare."
While I was befuddled by this kind of reasoning, I listened to her offer two other rationalizations that sound like expressions from the Depression - something about "people used to never have the kinds of medicines we have today" and "people used to die nobly."
A man, age 66, told me that he and his wife couldn't make it without Medicare but still thought that TennCare needed some adjusting, even if it might affect so many people. He argued that "we've worked for Medicare, but have all these other people on TennCare really worked for it."
As I listened to these Chattanooga-area seniors embrace Bredesen's call, I asked them all one important question: What would you do if you were losing TennCare but had no insurance to cover you? Here are the answers:
1. "Shoot myself." (Laughter)
2. "Go to Canada." (Laughter again)
3. "Why were they sick in the first place?" (No laughter)
4. "Find a rich uncle or brother." (Laughter)
5. "Spend down my assets and get on Medicaid." (Anxiety)
"That shouldn't happen," said one woman, age 67. "Why can't we just get used to less? You know, there are people in the world - like in Indonesia right now - who have no healthcare."
While I was befuddled by this kind of reasoning, I listened to her offer two other rationalizations that sound like expressions from the Depression - something about "people used to never have the kinds of medicines we have today" and "people used to die nobly."
A man, age 66, told me that he and his wife couldn't make it without Medicare but still thought that TennCare needed some adjusting, even if it might affect so many people. He argued that "we've worked for Medicare, but have all these other people on TennCare really worked for it."
As I listened to these Chattanooga-area seniors embrace Bredesen's call, I asked them all one important question: What would you do if you were losing TennCare but had no insurance to cover you? Here are the answers:
1. "Shoot myself." (Laughter)
2. "Go to Canada." (Laughter again)
3. "Why were they sick in the first place?" (No laughter)
4. "Find a rich uncle or brother." (Laughter)
5. "Spend down my assets and get on Medicaid." (Anxiety)
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I would have had one more question for these folks: "Do you attend church regularly?" If they are average for our area, I would guess 4 out of the 5 would say "Yes". (Hey, John: any way to follow up on that?) What about those good Christian values, the Golden Rule, and all, "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you"???
Believe it folks, they are gunning to dissolve Medicade AND Medicare as well as TennCare- they just have to start somewhere, and this is the path of least resistance. No AARP to mobilize the TennCare set, you know! Take out the poorest and weakest first, then go for the bigger fish. If you/we let them do this to the weakest, y/our time is coming as surely as the next sunrise. What we have done/allow to be done to others will indeed be done to us. That's the justice of the universe at work there, the old concept of "what goes around, comes around."
Odds are, these same seniors would probably be quick to criticize the self-centered crassness of the younger generation. I have to say it's hard to match the "I've got mine so to hell with everybody else" attitude reflected in this article. That's the thinking that has kept the USA from having universal health care like ALL the other great industrial nations (aside from corporate lobbists at work)- God forbid that the folks with insurance not have a CHOICE of which doctor they use! Certainly no one WITHOUT insurance has any such concern. But the "haves" never give a damn until they suddenly enter the ranks of the "have nots", and then hear them howl! We can't even have an ice storm and the roads blocked for a few hours before someone is calling for the GOVERNMENT to do something- and these are the good ol' Bush voters on Election Day.
The woman who asks, "Why can't we just get used to less?" is going to be able to answer that question for herself if the Bushco team has its way. How many prescribed drugs does she consume in a day? Which one does she want to do without? The person who says "people used to die nobly" should have been asked why s/he doesn't do so then, so a child with a future ahead can get the medical care it needs.
Obviously this article hit a raw nerve with me and set me off on full-rant mode. People this self-centered of ANY age make me sick. Will my HMO cover that???
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Believe it folks, they are gunning to dissolve Medicade AND Medicare as well as TennCare- they just have to start somewhere, and this is the path of least resistance. No AARP to mobilize the TennCare set, you know! Take out the poorest and weakest first, then go for the bigger fish. If you/we let them do this to the weakest, y/our time is coming as surely as the next sunrise. What we have done/allow to be done to others will indeed be done to us. That's the justice of the universe at work there, the old concept of "what goes around, comes around."
Odds are, these same seniors would probably be quick to criticize the self-centered crassness of the younger generation. I have to say it's hard to match the "I've got mine so to hell with everybody else" attitude reflected in this article. That's the thinking that has kept the USA from having universal health care like ALL the other great industrial nations (aside from corporate lobbists at work)- God forbid that the folks with insurance not have a CHOICE of which doctor they use! Certainly no one WITHOUT insurance has any such concern. But the "haves" never give a damn until they suddenly enter the ranks of the "have nots", and then hear them howl! We can't even have an ice storm and the roads blocked for a few hours before someone is calling for the GOVERNMENT to do something- and these are the good ol' Bush voters on Election Day.
The woman who asks, "Why can't we just get used to less?" is going to be able to answer that question for herself if the Bushco team has its way. How many prescribed drugs does she consume in a day? Which one does she want to do without? The person who says "people used to die nobly" should have been asked why s/he doesn't do so then, so a child with a future ahead can get the medical care it needs.
Obviously this article hit a raw nerve with me and set me off on full-rant mode. People this self-centered of ANY age make me sick. Will my HMO cover that???
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