Do any old timers here have any stories about what happened when Medicare came along?

[hedgehog]

I can remember my aunt talking about whispering to patients that if they waited a few weeks, the new Medicare program would pay for their elective cataract surgery. Seems the doctor she worked for didn't approve of Medicare and was trying to rush patients to surgery ahead of the coverage date.

[Sarah Ibarruri]

1. Wow, so he wanted them to pay for it, regardless of whether they could or not?

Right wingers have always been mean, haven't they?

[hedgehog]

2. I was just a kid at the time, but there was a lot of grumbling when Medicare came in.

I was hoping there might be some stories here about people who finally got the surgery or medicine they needed.


I will say this. Maybe the advances would have been made even without Medicare, but in the old days cataract surgery was an in-hospital operation. Patients had their head held in place with sand bags for several days after surgery. Now it's an in-and-out out patient procedure.

[silverlib]

3. I remember my parents getting a letter

from their doctor saying the doctor's office would offer no help in filing paperwork for Medicare, that patients would be on their own and if the paperwork was not filed by them and filed correctly, they would be responsible for the bill.

Well, thankfully, that didn't last long, but it was a clear response by the medical field that they hoped this system would fail.

Now, in doing medical transcription, I actually know doctors who want universal health care/single payer health system. They are tired of not being able to provide services to patients in need and tired of fighting with the insurance companies. Certainly not all doctors are on board, but many are voicing the need for a better way.

[hedgehog]

6. Several people in my household have chronic illnesses, so I am

a frequent flyer at the doctor's and the pharmacist's. It's amazing how much time they both spend on the phone with insurance companies trying to determine coverage. When a doctor prescribes a drug not on the approved list, it's a disaster!

[jeff30997]

4. I remember very well when Medicare came along...

Abraham Lincoln had just been elected and you could have free booze

while the surgeon was cutting your leg...

[rurallib]

5. I was a kid but I vaguely remember

much confusion at first, mostly disbelief that the elderly could go to the doc. I also remember vaguely some scams taking place where docs refused to take Medicare, lots of double billing to start out. Just some vague, vague memories. All my elderly relatives had long since died before medicare.

[rug]

7. The Viet Cong promptly defeated the US military.