When I graduated Medical School in 1962,and started my surical career,I recall telling the families of a 65 year old patient of the inherent dangers of surgery in such an elderly person.
TodaY 80 and 90 are the old 65.The world has changed and we live longer much of it due to the great advances in medical technology.
Of course the world around us has also changed.When we were kids we had no TV, computers cellphones and so on.Last nite my wife in speaking to our grandson Jack (Ganchrow) after hearing how much they charge for babysitting today,compared it to the 50 or 75 cents an hour of yeteryear.He was incredulous to find out that when we were kids THAT there was no such a thing as "kosher Pizza".How could you survive he asked?
Cat scan, MRI,colonoscpy and hundreds if not thousands of such advances have made American medicine the finest in the world.I thought about these advance this morning as I sat in the office of a retinal specialist about to have a hole in my retina lasered.
(any typos are secondary to some residual blurring)
That is why I do not belong to an HMO,as I desire to choose my own physician.Note that yesterday Sen. Dodd had a prostatectomy for cancer not in Washington or Conn., but Sloan Kettering.
I do not want the govt. to tell me where to go,or whom to see. in health care matters .
The Pres. is wrong when he says you won't wait on line with govt-care.
PLEASE.EASY TO COMPARE WAITING TIME FOR AN MRI-CAT ELECTIVE AND EVEN URGENT SURGERY IN CANADA,GREAT BRITAN AND HERE.ANYONE RUNNING TO CANADA, BECAUSE THEY CAN'T GET A HERNIA REPAIRED OR A HIP RPLACEMENT FOR 1 YEAR?
There has never been a govt. program of the size they propose run efficently.
The attempt by thw WH to portray protesters as outside the mainstream will not hold water.I spoke yesterday to the Dir. of customer relations at AARP,who confirmed the outrage of senior with THEIR organization.
I suggested they poll their members,instead of a multi-million dollat political campaign to obsfucate the issues.
Yesterday Rasmussen put support at 42% ,down 5 points in a few weeks.As yesterdays NYT reports Congressman-BEWARE of the wrath of seniors,who will vote you out of office next time around.
Yes, medical care is expensive.However Tort reform-20 billion-waste and corruption-10 billion-simple standardization of insurance forms so each hospital and doctor doesn't have 400 potential forms to fill out-20 billion-these are the areas of reform they should remedy.
Like 90% of Americans I like our medical system-the care and the Medicare-AARP coverage(plus part D)
MR PRESIDENT, SPEAKER PELOSI -LEAVE IT ALONE.
