It seems that every t.v. piece which covers medicaid these days talks about
the damage to older Americans and their families which might result from the
decrease or eradication of medicaid. In fact, I even saw a republican
campaign ad slot which plays on exactly this (very legitimate) fear. My
question to pen-lers is this:
Given that the medical establishment is so reliant on medicaid payments to
generate fat profits, wouldn't the ending of medicaid also end the medical
establishment as we know it? While there would be tremendous turmoil for
individuals for a period of time, could it conceivably happen that ending
medicaid might actually drop the bottom out on pricing for medical services
and drugs and actually make medicine more affordable?
Even with medicaid, there are many, many medical services which lower and
middle income Americans already can not afford. For instance, my mother (74
years old) had major cancer surgery a few months ago and they kicked her out
of the hospital before the doctor had a chance to take out the drains from
the incisions. She could have stayed in the hospital if she could have
bought her own hospital time, but she couldn't afford it so she was sent home
to the ministrations of husband, neighbors and visiting nurses. Every single
one of my friends and co-workers has a similar story of an elderly relative
or friend who did not receive more than a bare minimum of care because they
could not afford it.
This says to me that medicaid insurance is the meat and potatoes of the whole
medical bureaucracy. If the meat and potatoes disappears, the structure
would collapse. Aside from medicaid being a subsidy for the wealthy (who are
able to devote their greater income to buying additional care, services, and
drugs not available to most), Medicaid provides a bottom line of profits for
the medical establishment without regard to the actual care needed in any
individual situation. It seems to me that the government would never
eradicate medicaid because the doctor's associations, hospitals, and drug
companies would scream bloody murder as their subsidized profits fell right
off the ledger sheets!
maggie coleman [EMAIL PROTECTED]
