Comments on: Painful Choices: Rural Nurse Practitioner Battles Broken Health System http://spencerspeaks.com/2007/12/19/painful-choices-rural-residents-struggle-to-find-pay-for-health-care/ Here are my thoughts; share yours Tue, 02 Dec 2008 08:17:28 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.1 By: Health Insurance: Affordable Health Insurance » Painful Choices: Rural Nurse Practitioner Battles Broken Health System http://spencerspeaks.com/2007/12/19/painful-choices-rural-residents-struggle-to-find-pay-for-health-care/#comment-1409 Health Insurance: Affordable Health Insurance » Painful Choices: Rural Nurse Practitioner Battles Broken Health System Wed, 19 Dec 2007 19:18:51 +0000 http://spencerspeaks.com/2007/12/19/painful-choices-rural-residents-struggle-to-find-pay-for-health-care/#comment-1409 [...] Staff had some great ideas on this topic.You can read a snippet of the post here.Yet out in the country, where a lack of health insurance combines with a tough-it-out farmer/rancher mentality, the country’s broken health care system seems to be shattered into a few more pieces. [...] […] Staff had some great ideas on this topic.You can read a snippet of the post here.Yet out in the country, where a lack of health insurance combines with a tough-it-out farmer/rancher mentality, the country’s broken health care system seems to be shattered into a few more pieces. […]

]]> By: Health Insurance » Painful Choices: Rural Nurse Practitioner Battles Broken Health System http://spencerspeaks.com/2007/12/19/painful-choices-rural-residents-struggle-to-find-pay-for-health-care/#comment-1410 Health Insurance » Painful Choices: Rural Nurse Practitioner Battles Broken Health System Wed, 19 Dec 2007 19:52:00 +0000 http://spencerspeaks.com/2007/12/19/painful-choices-rural-residents-struggle-to-find-pay-for-health-care/#comment-1410 [...] Here’s another interesting post I read today by Jim Spencer [...] […] Here’s another interesting post I read today by Jim Spencer […]

]]> By: Evergreen http://spencerspeaks.com/2007/12/19/painful-choices-rural-residents-struggle-to-find-pay-for-health-care/#comment-1411 Evergreen Wed, 19 Dec 2007 21:01:51 +0000 http://spencerspeaks.com/2007/12/19/painful-choices-rural-residents-struggle-to-find-pay-for-health-care/#comment-1411 We spend billions in Iraq but don't care about our own who don't thave the resources. We spend billions in Iraq but don’t care about our own who don’t thave the resources.

]]> By: Wildflower http://spencerspeaks.com/2007/12/19/painful-choices-rural-residents-struggle-to-find-pay-for-health-care/#comment-1412 Wildflower Wed, 19 Dec 2007 22:25:16 +0000 http://spencerspeaks.com/2007/12/19/painful-choices-rural-residents-struggle-to-find-pay-for-health-care/#comment-1412 It is so wonderful that these rural people have Ms. Hutcheson.She is truly a saint.I am very aware of how hard she works. In the rural community I grew up in, we rarely had access to a doctor, they could not be retained for long. It was just too much for one dr. to be on call all the time. I don't think there was such a profession as Nurse Practitioner in those days. I remember many times a townsperson or marshall would ring our doorbell in the middle of the night for a medical emergency or accident out on the highway. My dad was a pharmacist, the nearest thing to an EMT I guess, there were no ambulances so he was sought out (volunteer of course). I remember him sometimes riding with them to the hospital (a choice of 3 hospitals in 3 states, each an hour drive away.) Now to the insurance. It is outrageous that anyone should be in the position that it's the family farm or medical care.These farms are dear to the hearts of generations of people. I cried like a baby a few years ago,when the farm that my grandparents homesteaded in 1908 was sold. Farmers/ranchers have a very hard life, hail, drought, wind, blizzards it's almost impossible to make a living. That's why some have outside employment, they are keeping the farm out of love. Gov't. employees have insurance(I'm sure that's why it's not a high priority in D.C.). Healthy people who have chosen not to work and unwed mothers have insurance. For pete's sake, why can't we help hard-working people and people who have lost their jobs through no fault of their own and people who have many medical needs? Why do they have to lose everything they own to have medical care? All the politicians do is talk,talk, talk. It is so wonderful that these rural people have Ms. Hutcheson.She is truly a saint.I am very aware of how hard she works. In the rural community I grew up in, we rarely had access to a doctor, they could not be retained for long. It was just too much for one dr. to be on call all the time. I don’t think there was such a profession as Nurse Practitioner in those days.
I remember many times a townsperson or marshall would ring our doorbell in the middle of the night for a medical emergency or accident out on the highway. My dad was a pharmacist, the nearest thing to an EMT I guess, there were no ambulances so he was sought out (volunteer of course). I remember him sometimes riding with them to the hospital (a choice of 3 hospitals in 3 states, each an hour drive away.)

Now to the insurance. It is outrageous that anyone should be in the position that it’s the family farm or medical care.These farms are dear to the hearts of generations of people. I cried like a baby a few years ago,when the farm that my grandparents homesteaded in 1908 was sold.
Farmers/ranchers have a very hard life, hail, drought, wind, blizzards it’s almost impossible to make a living. That’s why some have outside employment, they are keeping the farm out of love.

Gov’t. employees have insurance(I’m sure that’s why it’s not a high priority in D.C.). Healthy people who have chosen not to work and unwed mothers have insurance. For pete’s sake, why can’t we help hard-working people and people who have lost their jobs through no fault of their own and people who have many medical needs? Why do they have to lose everything they own to have medical care?
All the politicians do is talk,talk, talk.

]]> By: noidea http://spencerspeaks.com/2007/12/19/painful-choices-rural-residents-struggle-to-find-pay-for-health-care/#comment-1414 noidea Thu, 20 Dec 2007 02:24:25 +0000 http://spencerspeaks.com/2007/12/19/painful-choices-rural-residents-struggle-to-find-pay-for-health-care/#comment-1414 Life is hard. If a person chooses to live in a very remote place, choices will be less for all services. Whether it be for liquor stores or X-rays. Also, Wildflower keeps referring to government employees having "subsidized" insurance. She fails to notice the main aspect of their insurance, that they are employees and it is part of their benefits. I want health insurance to be affordable to every one. I wish that people didn't have to make choices between bread on the table and insurance. Something needs to be done here, short of full socialization of medical services in our country. That being said, a person that chooses to live a subsistence type of lifestyle in a rural setting may not get the type of "right now" service that they may desire. I grew up in Alaska and the lifestyle that many of these people choose is their own. I admire their lifestyle and would give anything to make it my own, but I am aware of the give and take of the choice where they want to live. It is sad that your family lost their homestead that was owned since 1908, but I see no reason why the rest of society should worry that they weren't subsidized to be able to carry on with that lifestyle. Why was this mentioned here? If I owned a sandwich shop that could not earn a profit to sustain it's existence, would society care? Harsh, I know, but it is a reality The care providers in these areas are "saints" and we as a civilized society need to make sure that health care is as accessible as possible. It does need to be subsidized. My Mom nursed the Native population in the Hudson Bay area of Canada in the early 1960's. It is a real commitment and fulfilling in ways that you and I cannot understand. But to think that medical care will be as readily available as Denver is not a reality. Life is hard. If a person chooses to live in a very remote place, choices will be less for all services. Whether it be for liquor stores or X-rays. Also, Wildflower keeps referring to government employees having “subsidized” insurance. She fails to notice the main aspect of their insurance, that they are employees and it is part of their benefits. I want health insurance to be affordable to every one. I wish that people didn’t have to make choices between bread on the table and insurance. Something needs to be done here, short of full socialization of medical services in our country.

That being said, a person that chooses to live a subsistence type of lifestyle in a rural setting may not get the type of “right now” service that they may desire. I grew up in Alaska and the lifestyle that many of these people choose is their own. I admire their lifestyle and would give anything to make it my own, but I am aware of the give and take of the choice where they want to live.

It is sad that your family lost their homestead that was owned since 1908, but I see no reason why the rest of society should worry that they weren’t subsidized to be able to carry on with that lifestyle. Why was this mentioned here?

If I owned a sandwich shop that could not earn a profit to sustain it’s existence, would society care? Harsh, I know, but it is a reality

The care providers in these areas are “saints” and we as a civilized society need to make sure that health care is as accessible as possible. It does need to be subsidized. My Mom nursed the Native population in the Hudson Bay area of Canada in the early 1960’s. It is a real commitment and fulfilling in ways that you and I cannot understand. But to think that medical care will be as readily available as Denver is not a reality.

]]> By: Michele S http://spencerspeaks.com/2007/12/19/painful-choices-rural-residents-struggle-to-find-pay-for-health-care/#comment-1417 Michele S Thu, 20 Dec 2007 05:18:26 +0000 http://spencerspeaks.com/2007/12/19/painful-choices-rural-residents-struggle-to-find-pay-for-health-care/#comment-1417 We heard all kinds of stories during health care hearings we sponsored last year. Even one West Slope couple who had UnitedHealth Insurance experienced consistent delays and denial of claims - the insurance middlemen in Denial Managment game the system by searching claims for reasons to deny and renig on reimbursements. Health insurance companies choose us - we don't choose them. Read more about the Colorado Health Services Single Payer Proposal -- the only Colorado proposal evaluated by the Lewin Group this year that would save money and provide comprehensive health care for all in the state: www.healthcareforallcolorado.org. We heard all kinds of stories during health care hearings we sponsored last year. Even one West Slope couple who had UnitedHealth Insurance experienced consistent delays and denial of claims - the insurance middlemen in Denial Managment game the system by searching claims for reasons to deny and renig on reimbursements. Health insurance companies choose us - we don’t choose them.

Read more about the Colorado Health Services Single Payer Proposal — the only Colorado proposal evaluated by the Lewin Group this year that would save money and provide comprehensive health care for all in the state: www.healthcareforallcolorado.org.

]]> By: Wildflower http://spencerspeaks.com/2007/12/19/painful-choices-rural-residents-struggle-to-find-pay-for-health-care/#comment-1425 Wildflower Thu, 20 Dec 2007 16:02:48 +0000 http://spencerspeaks.com/2007/12/19/painful-choices-rural-residents-struggle-to-find-pay-for-health-care/#comment-1425 Noidea I am not suggesting anything but that PEOPLE SHOULD BE ABLR TO GET HEALTH INSURANCE AT A REASONABLE PRICE.A $5,000 deductible means no routine medical care at all. And a major illness should not bankrupt you so you lose your farm, your way of life. We're talking citizens of the U.S. here, not people who are not citizens who can walk into Denver General and get free care and not have to worry about paying the bill. The system should not be such that you lose everything you have in a major illness. I mentioned farm because if you read the article, a person had cancer and would probably lose their ranch to pay the medical costs. I can relate to that since we had to sell our granparents' farm under the dictates of the estate after my parents died.It's a sad and nostalgic occasion, when you think of beloved Grandparents, Christmases, times spent on the farm with them in the summer, their wonderful work ethic, a farm is a whole way of life.One should not have to give that up for medical care. Noidea I am not suggesting anything but that PEOPLE SHOULD BE ABLR TO GET HEALTH INSURANCE AT A REASONABLE PRICE.A $5,000 deductible means no routine medical care at all. And a major illness should not bankrupt you so you lose your farm, your way of life.
We’re talking citizens of the U.S. here, not people who are not citizens who can walk into Denver General and get free care and not have to worry about paying the bill. The system should not be such that you lose everything you have in a major illness.
I mentioned farm because if you read the article, a person had cancer and would probably lose their ranch to pay the medical costs.
I can relate to that since we had to sell our granparents’ farm under the dictates of the estate after my parents died.It’s a sad and nostalgic occasion, when you think of beloved Grandparents, Christmases, times spent on the farm with them in the summer, their wonderful work ethic, a farm is a whole way of life.One should not have to give that up for medical care.

]]> By: Wildflower http://spencerspeaks.com/2007/12/19/painful-choices-rural-residents-struggle-to-find-pay-for-health-care/#comment-1427 Wildflower Thu, 20 Dec 2007 16:18:40 +0000 http://spencerspeaks.com/2007/12/19/painful-choices-rural-residents-struggle-to-find-pay-for-health-care/#comment-1427 noidea, sometime this year I saw a story on t.v. abt. a woman who had come to the U.S. illegally from Mexico because she had cancer. She was receiving very good treatment for her cancer in an Atlanta hospital, free. Why is it that an American citizen can't get cancer treatment without losing their home???? The system IS broken. noidea, sometime this year I saw a story on t.v. abt. a woman who had come to the U.S. illegally from Mexico because she had cancer. She was receiving very good treatment for her cancer in an Atlanta hospital, free. Why is it that an American citizen can’t get cancer treatment without losing their home????
The system IS broken.

]]> By: Wildflower http://spencerspeaks.com/2007/12/19/painful-choices-rural-residents-struggle-to-find-pay-for-health-care/#comment-1430 Wildflower Thu, 20 Dec 2007 19:26:28 +0000 http://spencerspeaks.com/2007/12/19/painful-choices-rural-residents-struggle-to-find-pay-for-health-care/#comment-1430 Quite simply: If a United States citizen has no health insurance, or inadequate health insurance,and is not eligible for Medicare and Medicaid, and you're not extremely wealthy......if you get a catastrophic injury or illness, you're going to go bankrupt or die. Quite simply: If a United States citizen has no health insurance, or inadequate health insurance,and is not eligible for Medicare and Medicaid, and you’re not extremely wealthy……if you get a catastrophic injury or illness, you’re going to go bankrupt or die.

]]> By: noidea http://spencerspeaks.com/2007/12/19/painful-choices-rural-residents-struggle-to-find-pay-for-health-care/#comment-1433 noidea Fri, 21 Dec 2007 05:16:12 +0000 http://spencerspeaks.com/2007/12/19/painful-choices-rural-residents-struggle-to-find-pay-for-health-care/#comment-1433 I agree with you Wildflower, believe it or not. I agree with you Wildflower, believe it or not.

]]> By: Wildflower http://spencerspeaks.com/2007/12/19/painful-choices-rural-residents-struggle-to-find-pay-for-health-care/#comment-1447 Wildflower Sat, 22 Dec 2007 17:26:14 +0000 http://spencerspeaks.com/2007/12/19/painful-choices-rural-residents-struggle-to-find-pay-for-health-care/#comment-1447 Thanks noidea, it is indeed a Christmas miracle! You have reasonable and valid opinions.I hope you and your family have a great holiday season! Your county is certainly the right color! And Lhkman, Happy Holidays to you. Noone can make a better point than you and do so with such reason that one knows you must be right. I'm sorry for my "pomposity" and now I am becoming quite discontent everytime we get out the snowblower, thinking I would much rather pay an HMO a few hundred a month for this service as well as housepainting and all the other home maintenance we are slaves to, including the high carbonprint lawnmowing. And to think of someone plowing the streets before it is a foot deep would be pure joy. This may be the "Winter of Discontent" for me! And Merry Christmas to you Dennis, the first two Christmases after I lost my mother were sad, I'd be shopping and see something I'd like to buy for her, and then realize that I don't have a mother anymore. I got through it by remembering how she suffered just to breathe and I was grateful she didn't have to suffer anymore. Take care. Thanks noidea, it is indeed a Christmas miracle! You have reasonable and valid opinions.I hope you and your family have a great holiday season! Your county is certainly the right color!

And Lhkman, Happy Holidays to you. Noone can make a better point than you and do so with such reason that one knows you must be right.
I’m sorry for my “pomposity” and now I am becoming quite discontent everytime we get out the snowblower, thinking I would much rather pay an HMO a few hundred a month for this service as well as housepainting and all the other home maintenance we are slaves to, including the high carbonprint lawnmowing.
And to think of someone plowing the streets before it is a foot deep would be pure joy.
This may be the “Winter of Discontent” for me!

And Merry Christmas to you Dennis, the first two Christmases after I lost my mother were sad, I’d be shopping and see something I’d like to buy for her, and then realize that I don’t have a mother anymore. I got through it by remembering how she suffered just to breathe and I was grateful she didn’t have to suffer anymore. Take care.

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