This response was prompted by an article in the Morning Call 1-30-12 entitled "Aging Out of Health Care" by Liza Pevtzow, pg 1 in the Life section special to the Chicago Tribune
You can read the article here at the Chicago Tribune because I couldn't find it online at the Morning Call.
http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2011-11-30/health/ct-x-surgery-for-old-20111130_1_life-expectancy-health-care-health-insurance
It made me realize what's in store for us and it's sad, we need to do something NOW.
How many of us worked our behinds off for years until it was time to retire, dreaming of that day
and how we would spend our remaining days relaxing? We were confident that our little nest egg was in place, and we had invested enough during our work days in Social Security and medicare to be able to fall back on that. So we thought!
How many of us need to keep working now because we can't afford to retire and live on the meager pensions from one or even two jobs with the economy the way it is today?
The sad part of it all is, presidents and politicians come and go, and keep telling us that someday medicare and social security will run out of money. How can that be we ask? We paid our fair share, haven't we? Yes we have.
But, the government gives it out too freely, even to those who never contributed. Is that fair to us? NO! Well, why hasn't anyone in Congress or the White House done something to fix it instead of just talk about it???
There are tons of congressional committees designed to study things that aren't as urgent as this. So why don't they devote time to figuring out how to fix social security and medicare and get some of those people who don't deserve to collect it off the rolls? And don't forget, we're living longer and it needs to be changed so we can take advantage of the funds we socked into these federal programs for the remainder of our lives.
The times are getting worse, the economy has never been so down. And we expect them to fix our social security? Are we crazy or what? Is that just a dream? Baby boomers are either in or nearing the retirement age bracket. Seniors are just as important to this country as any other group. What will seniors do if they depend solely on their monthly social security? Who will pay for their housing, food, bills if they have no relatives? How about charitable contributions from Warren Buffet or George Soros to make these programs work? That's not their field of endeavor, they would rather give their money to foreign countries. Only a pipe dream, sorry.
As we become older and may need more help, they're putting us on the back burner. If you haven't read that article from the Morning Call please do that now.
When we need a knee or hip replacement surgery they (doctors and the government) have to decide if it's cost effective and whether to do it or not. Only seniors are being targeted for being ousted out of the health care plans. That's not fair to seniors who are healthy and active and want to improve their quality of life even if they are 90 years old. Doesn't their quality of life count any more?
Instead of putting us out to pasture because we've reached retirement age, we should demand that they need to do something to fix it. Did you know, the government will take over if they think your doctor made the wrong judgement to help us and defer surgery and further medical assistance. That really sucks.
They're turning their backs on us and we don't deserve that at all. We worked hard all our lives and this is what we get - a kick in the pants?? The doctors hands are almost tied, the government has regulations in place and the medical community must abide by them. It's time to change that. Obamacare has been partially put into place and we need to stop the rest of it from taking over before 2014.
Where is AARP? Are they working with us or with the government?
Where are the community advocates who want to and need to help us?
Where are the doctors we visit regularly to maintain our health? Ask them questions about your own health care and why you're being turned down because of age.
Where are the nurses who administer to us? They can voice an opinion too.
Where are the businesses we frequent and spend our money? They need us to hang around as long as we can too.
Where are our young people, sons and daughters, who will someday be in our shoes? They need to realize their time is coming. We need their help now.
Where are our congressmen who make and change the laws? They need to get busy.
Where is our government?
Can't anyone help us and fix the lifeline we desparately need - Social Security and Medicare? If they knew it was going to fold, why hasn't anyone in government done something to fix it?
We are still capable of making decisions. We have a huge majority. We can't just stand by and watch it happen or else it will be impossible to fix in years to come just like the country's economy under this administration that spends but cannot collect enough to pay its bills so we
have to keep borrowing from nations like China -- duh!!! Don't they know how to stick to a budget like we do? And raising taxes won't do the trick. First of all, who pays taxes? People who work! Right? Well, there aren't enough jobs to go around to help that means our programs will go down the tubes. There's not enough income to pay for the government's excess spending let alone for medicare and social security.
I'm not a magician, I can't pull a couple trillion dollars out of a hat to help fix everything. I doubt whether anyone, anywhere can find a solution to the economy in an instant. We already pay too much for gas, the food we need to survive, utilities which are going up regularly, education for our grandchildren in college and taxes. But not everyone pays taxes. Hmmm. Can we change that too while we're at it? We can't rely on politician promises any longer, we need ACTION. Give someone else a chance to try and do something positive. It will only help not hurt to try someone new. Go for whoever comes up with a plan to fix what we seniors need to live on. The future of our lives as we know it and our economy is in our hands. So, do something.
What can you do?
Tell everyone how you feel.
~~Write to newspapers. The media is silent about things sometimes.
~~Write to your congressmen and tell them to get busy for seniors.
~~If you see someone running for office, tell them you won't vote for them unless they promise to do something for us seniors especially to fix medicare and social security.
~~Tell AARP too, they're in the health care business supposedly FOR seniors.
~~Tell your friends, neighbors and family members.
Share this information in email.
Read this article too: Medicare to penalize hospitals with high re-admission rates.
http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2012-01-30/news/ct-met-readmission-rates-20120130_1_readmissions-medicare-patients-heart-failure
Here's an excerpt from that article:
"St. Bernard Hospital has received a five-star rating for its congestive heart failure program — yet soon may face substantial financial penalties because of its high patient readmission rates.
Medicare's new penalty system, which takes effect next fall, is designed to prod hospitals to make sure patients get the care they need after discharge and to reduce the number of potentially avoidable readmissions, which by one estimate cost the government $12 billion a year."
And here we sit, waiting for the social security/medicare fix that may never happen unless something is done right now!
This is very important. Think about it and do something now. You're the ones who will lose if you don't.
Onward we go, Seniors waiting for a fix.
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