Reply #68: Did any of you see the panel re: health care costs on cspan this past [View All]

weekend? They had a panel of four, I think, and the discussion was really great.

They were actually talking about the deficit, but all agreed that the biggest problem affecting that deficit was health care. They accused the Prez & the Congress of lumping SS, Medicade & Medicare all in one pool, when Medicare/Medicade was a much bigger and more urgent problem.

They were discussint the problem of too many tests, some unnecessary, and some just foolish. The only lady on the panel related a story about PSA testing being done on 85 YO patients, and the results could show the possibility of that patient possible getting PSA within the next 20 years! Some Dr.s find it easier to just have the same test done again, rather than trust another Dr's report, or just don't want to bother to call somewhere for the information.

This is one of MY pet peeves! I'm fortunate to be fairly healthy and the last time I went to a Dr. was 4 1/2 years ago. I had been playing with a cold for about 5 weeks and it was getting worse rather than better. When I saw the Dr. he took my temp, liistened to my breathing, and sent me to a lab for a chest xray. The next day his office called to say "yes you have pneumonia and we'll call in a prescription for you." Now, I remember the days when my GP would have made that determination WHILE I WAS IN HIS OFFICE, hand me the script, and my bill was $20. There was NO REASON that Dr. had to "confirm" his opinion by ordering that xray!

THAT is a lot of what is wrong with our HC system today! I don't know if it's severe CYA syndrom, or the newer docs are simply not sure of themselves, but we'd see a BIG CHANGE in costs if just that one piece was fixed!