I have probably posted this here before, but it bears repeating here. One of my favorite former politicians, Jason Kander of Missouri, likes to say, "People want four things for their family. They want their family to be happy, to be healthy, to be safe and to be nearby." I do think a lot of the resentment in rural areas comes from knowi…
I have probably posted this here before, but it bears repeating here. One of my favorite former politicians, Jason Kander of Missouri, likes to say, "People want four things for their family. They want their family to be happy, to be healthy, to be safe and to be nearby." I do think a lot of the resentment in rural areas comes from knowing that there is no future for successful young people in their hometowns.
My sister died in 2015 in rural Missouri from multiple myeloma. She wasn’t diagnosed until she was in stage 4. She had no health insurance because she had a pre existing condition and so she had no regular doctor or check ups. I know now that people, if diagnosed early enough, can live quite awhile with multiple myeloma. Look at Steve Scalise! I am still so angry that she lived in a red state that didn’t offer Obamacare and that she only got to see a doctor when she was 65 and could get Medicare. And the irony of it all is that her father in law was the only doctor in their small town of 2000, but after he passed away from cancer, there was no doctor in town. The closest one was 60 miles away!!!
That's heart-breaking, Elizabeth. The county hospital in my Georgia hometown is closed now (turned into a nursing home), and people have to travel at least 24 miles to a hospital in the next county where those hospitals are merging as we speak. I think we need to get away from privatzing our healthcare system and tying that economy to market needs.
Also tragic how people think it is unpatriotic to learn from countries that cover everyone. There are several different ways they manage to do it. But we are Exceptional, so no need to consider other systems.
Hasn’t it been a focus of Republican opposition since God was a baby. In fact, when I think about it, republicans are the reason there are so many things I hate about our society: crap tv, election workers scared to do their jobs, Pharisees taking over Christianity, the constant hawking of drugs over the airways, self-righteous thugs bullying any opposing thought, random shootings with weapons of war, news being contaminated by ratings, and people too bored or disgusted by politics to even want to know who is trying to destroy our world. Sorry for the rant, but I wanted to scream yesterday, when mobs turned out to celebrate sports successes, but nobody seems to notice our peril.
Oh, God, yes! I second every bit of your rant. Bread and circuses. In profit we trust. “All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.”
Nice to know that I'm not the only one who wants to scream to the heavens. Sadly, I don't have the resources that I did last election, but I will try. Will try with a little volunteering too, but age limits.
This fills me with sorrow and anger, Elizabeth. How is it that Americans accept this situation? It is too late, of course, for your sister, but the Missouri legislature was finally forced to expand Medicaid, only after years of trying to get around the vote of the people by 6 percentage points in 2020 to do so. Monsters, and yet, in many, if not most, rural districts, Republicans run unopposed.
So sorry about your sister. Yes, medical care in rural America is appalling. But we also need to dig deeper into the entire medical system. Our medical care is controlled by the insurance industry. They pay for 15-minute office visits, so that’s what most doctors provide. Doctors spend half that time reading the patient’s medical records, hoping to remember who you are (I just read email while the doc reads her computer screen). That leaves 7.5 minutes for her to listen to you, order tests and write a prescription. And that’s it. As someone with a complex medical condition, it’s no wonder it took decades to diagnose the problem. And then the Part D provider decides if they want to cover the prescription and then they can change their mind at any time. Our medical system is broken. But very profitable for the insurance industry.
Impossible to 'like' your post which is soooo appropriately aimed at the insurance companies who have definitely taken the concept of 'middlemen' to the point of absurdity in their regulation of who can practice medicine and where and who can receive medical care and where, even adjudicating whether enough money changed hands or results were acceptable. How do we allow this? We are forced to choose between segregated systems of care and then bet against ourselves and Mother Nature mostly to provide insurance companies with profits and power. Blessed will be the day that they are laid to rest.
I am so sorry, Elizabeth. That is simply criminal. It goes back to something I first read a few years ago: It isn't the "Mediterranean Diet" that helps people live healthier, it is the socialized medicine that provides timely medical care for everyone. Little problems don't become big ones.
You are so right! I get so upset when people spout that “we’re the best country in the world” when we lead in mass shootings and lousy healthcare. We’re not going to able to address and fix these things until our voters realize they are voting the bad guys in continually because they are voting on the appeals to their emotions instead if their reason.
I think those are the reasons I choose not to fly an American flag. It may sound horrible to some but when we are not constantly in turmoil or embroiled with such, I may reconsider.
I wrote you back, but somehow it got lost! We don’t fly the flag either. I have gotten suspicious of people that feel the need to wave the flag constantly to show how super patriotic they are.
I don't fly the American flag anymore either. I did while my son was active duty military, but not anymore. I took my last flag down because it was worn out, sort of like I feel about the current state of politics. It just felt too sad to replace the old flag.
Now my HOA has dropped its flag amendment, curtailing political flags and signage. Now anyone can put out political garbage. Our development has sections with small houses on tiny lots. People can now express their polar opposite opinions 20 feet apart. Jeez!
Elizabeth, what a sad story. I was surprised to read that many rural hospitals are closing because Medicare Advantage plans pay so much less than regular Medicare.
I have a suggestion for the LFAA bookclub: "The Hospital" by Brian Alexander.
As a retired laboratory tech, reading this was heartbreaking. Being in a Chicago suburb, I am within 10 minutes of at least 3 hospitals. As a a tech, I performed the vital blood tests for people actively stroking out--that is the reason I'd never want to live more than 30 minutes from a large hospital.
What the GOP won't look at, and somehow brainwashes their cult to ignore, is that routine checkups and early intervention not only saves lives, it is much cheaper in the long run! The crisis of diabetes in our country does not get enough coverage. Catch someone early enough, in pre-diabetes, perhaps it can avert it. Wait until much later, then it is dialysis, blindness, renal failure, limbs amputated, people unable to care for themselves so nursing home. And that is just ONE disease.
The MAGA stance on abortion is forcing more and more docs out of their states. They focus on bringing those babies into the world, not recognizing that those ob/gyn do much more than just delivering babies.
I guess some states will have to rely on the local "Goody Smith" or "Goody Jones". Which would probably work fine for them, then they can eliminate powerful leader women by witch-burning.
I have probably posted this here before, but it bears repeating here. One of my favorite former politicians, Jason Kander of Missouri, likes to say, "People want four things for their family. They want their family to be happy, to be healthy, to be safe and to be nearby." I do think a lot of the resentment in rural areas comes from knowing that there is no future for successful young people in their hometowns.
Here is a recent article showing that in Missouri, there is LESS access to medical care for rural Missourians now than there was 100 years ago, largely because young rural people who get trained in health care fields can't or won't return home. https://www.columbiamissourian.com/news/far-from-equal-rural-missourians-have-less-medical-care-than-they-did-100-years-ago/article_b894cbb6-7444-11ee-a686-3f10f9458652.html?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email#tncms-source=Top%20Story
My sister died in 2015 in rural Missouri from multiple myeloma. She wasn’t diagnosed until she was in stage 4. She had no health insurance because she had a pre existing condition and so she had no regular doctor or check ups. I know now that people, if diagnosed early enough, can live quite awhile with multiple myeloma. Look at Steve Scalise! I am still so angry that she lived in a red state that didn’t offer Obamacare and that she only got to see a doctor when she was 65 and could get Medicare. And the irony of it all is that her father in law was the only doctor in their small town of 2000, but after he passed away from cancer, there was no doctor in town. The closest one was 60 miles away!!!
That's heart-breaking, Elizabeth. The county hospital in my Georgia hometown is closed now (turned into a nursing home), and people have to travel at least 24 miles to a hospital in the next county where those hospitals are merging as we speak. I think we need to get away from privatzing our healthcare system and tying that economy to market needs.
Medical desert = premature death. How tragic
Also tragic how people think it is unpatriotic to learn from countries that cover everyone. There are several different ways they manage to do it. But we are Exceptional, so no need to consider other systems.
Hasn’t it been a focus of Republican opposition since God was a baby. In fact, when I think about it, republicans are the reason there are so many things I hate about our society: crap tv, election workers scared to do their jobs, Pharisees taking over Christianity, the constant hawking of drugs over the airways, self-righteous thugs bullying any opposing thought, random shootings with weapons of war, news being contaminated by ratings, and people too bored or disgusted by politics to even want to know who is trying to destroy our world. Sorry for the rant, but I wanted to scream yesterday, when mobs turned out to celebrate sports successes, but nobody seems to notice our peril.
Oh, God, yes! I second every bit of your rant. Bread and circuses. In profit we trust. “All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.”
Nice to know that I'm not the only one who wants to scream to the heavens. Sadly, I don't have the resources that I did last election, but I will try. Will try with a little volunteering too, but age limits.
This fills me with sorrow and anger, Elizabeth. How is it that Americans accept this situation? It is too late, of course, for your sister, but the Missouri legislature was finally forced to expand Medicaid, only after years of trying to get around the vote of the people by 6 percentage points in 2020 to do so. Monsters, and yet, in many, if not most, rural districts, Republicans run unopposed.
So sorry about your sister. Yes, medical care in rural America is appalling. But we also need to dig deeper into the entire medical system. Our medical care is controlled by the insurance industry. They pay for 15-minute office visits, so that’s what most doctors provide. Doctors spend half that time reading the patient’s medical records, hoping to remember who you are (I just read email while the doc reads her computer screen). That leaves 7.5 minutes for her to listen to you, order tests and write a prescription. And that’s it. As someone with a complex medical condition, it’s no wonder it took decades to diagnose the problem. And then the Part D provider decides if they want to cover the prescription and then they can change their mind at any time. Our medical system is broken. But very profitable for the insurance industry.
Impossible to 'like' your post which is soooo appropriately aimed at the insurance companies who have definitely taken the concept of 'middlemen' to the point of absurdity in their regulation of who can practice medicine and where and who can receive medical care and where, even adjudicating whether enough money changed hands or results were acceptable. How do we allow this? We are forced to choose between segregated systems of care and then bet against ourselves and Mother Nature mostly to provide insurance companies with profits and power. Blessed will be the day that they are laid to rest.
I am so sorry, Elizabeth. That is simply criminal. It goes back to something I first read a few years ago: It isn't the "Mediterranean Diet" that helps people live healthier, it is the socialized medicine that provides timely medical care for everyone. Little problems don't become big ones.
You are so right! I get so upset when people spout that “we’re the best country in the world” when we lead in mass shootings and lousy healthcare. We’re not going to able to address and fix these things until our voters realize they are voting the bad guys in continually because they are voting on the appeals to their emotions instead if their reason.
I think those are the reasons I choose not to fly an American flag. It may sound horrible to some but when we are not constantly in turmoil or embroiled with such, I may reconsider.
I wrote you back, but somehow it got lost! We don’t fly the flag either. I have gotten suspicious of people that feel the need to wave the flag constantly to show how super patriotic they are.
It does seem a figleaf for many....
I don't fly the American flag anymore either. I did while my son was active duty military, but not anymore. I took my last flag down because it was worn out, sort of like I feel about the current state of politics. It just felt too sad to replace the old flag.
Now my HOA has dropped its flag amendment, curtailing political flags and signage. Now anyone can put out political garbage. Our development has sections with small houses on tiny lots. People can now express their polar opposite opinions 20 feet apart. Jeez!
Elizabeth, what a sad story. I was surprised to read that many rural hospitals are closing because Medicare Advantage plans pay so much less than regular Medicare.
https://www.healthaffairs.org/doi/full/10.1377/hlthaff.2015.1553
I have a suggestion for the LFAA bookclub: "The Hospital" by Brian Alexander.
As a retired laboratory tech, reading this was heartbreaking. Being in a Chicago suburb, I am within 10 minutes of at least 3 hospitals. As a a tech, I performed the vital blood tests for people actively stroking out--that is the reason I'd never want to live more than 30 minutes from a large hospital.
What the GOP won't look at, and somehow brainwashes their cult to ignore, is that routine checkups and early intervention not only saves lives, it is much cheaper in the long run! The crisis of diabetes in our country does not get enough coverage. Catch someone early enough, in pre-diabetes, perhaps it can avert it. Wait until much later, then it is dialysis, blindness, renal failure, limbs amputated, people unable to care for themselves so nursing home. And that is just ONE disease.
The MAGA stance on abortion is forcing more and more docs out of their states. They focus on bringing those babies into the world, not recognizing that those ob/gyn do much more than just delivering babies.
I guess some states will have to rely on the local "Goody Smith" or "Goody Jones". Which would probably work fine for them, then they can eliminate powerful leader women by witch-burning.