You've all read and heard far too much about health care bills and proposals, and given the deep partisanship surrounding the issue and the prevarication and inconsistencies from both sides, you are probably as concerned and mystified as I am. I don't know what I could write that would add anything to clarify the arguments, so I will merely report from my personal life how it works for all of us over 65. From the voices that I hear at town meetings, I think it's a case of "We've got ours, and we're pulling the ladder up behind us so that all of those 50 and under will be left with a bankrupt system."
I will present three case studies of people I know very well, who are currently covered by Medicare. One of the cases recounts the price of death. The other two recount the cost of staying alive. All three of them should, by all odds, be dead by now. But, thanks to the miracles of modern medicine, they survive. They are alive because of advances in medical knowledge, equipment and the drugs over the last 50 years. Every one of those advances has its cost, and it is clear that those costs are more than the current system can sustain. I am not going to offer any solutions to this problem, but will ask you to offer comments about each case and how you would handle it.
The three people involved live in a major medical centers where the best, and most expensive treatment is available. All of their expenses are covered by Medicare.
The first, and by far the most serious case, involves a patient with metastasized melanoma, already spread to liver and bones. Death is inevitable, but life might be prolonged for months. The patient has already received three chemotherapy treatments, which have reduced the size of tumors, but not stopped the spread of the disease. So far, the treatments and other medical services, tests, hospital stays and doctor bills have cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. Further treatment will add further costs, but the patient has a fierce will to live and is, despite the pain, able to enjoy some of the pleasures of life.
The second patient suffers from chronic, but not life-threatening, infirmities. Having survived lung cancer, this patient now needs a quarterly procedure to inflate a lobe in one lung. Each of the procedures cost somewhat less than five thousand dollars, but in all probability they will continue for as long as the patient lives. The patient also suffers from "dry eye" and requires the insertion of "eye plugs" four times a year at a cost of $150 per treatment. Both procedures are relatively new; the eye procedure was developed about 10 years ago and the lung procedure has been around for about five years, and is just now becoming common. The patient seems fit and well in other respects, and is likely to lead a long life, but at an annual cost to Medicare of about $20,000.
The third patient has been hospitalized three times with pulmonary blood clots, with costs each time well over $10,000. The first two hospitalizations were covered by medical insurance, the last by Medicare. This patient is well in other respects, but blood thinner levels must be monitored on a bimonthly basis, and daily doses of blood thinners are necessary. Between medications and monitoring tests, this patient has approximately $4,000 per year in chronic Medicare costs. Additionally, the patient undergoes an annual kidney scan and occasional lung scans, with Medicare picking up approximately $3,000 in costs. These charges will continue so long as the patient lives.
Each of the above patients has additional medical and prescription costs for other less threatening conditions, and all of them exceed the cost of prescriptions that Medicare covers. They all see additional doctors, at Medicare's expense, for check ups, tests (often costly) for treatments of occasional illnesses or to define the state of their health.
I am sure that all of these patients are receiving more treatment than they have paid for in their Medicare contributions, and I know that Medicare cannot afford to continue this practice. All three of the patients want to live as long as they can, as healthfully as they can, no matter what it costs the current system. I know that it is selfish to say, "We've got ours, now you guys have got to figure out some way to get yours." But I guess that's what I'm doing.
Perhaps some of us who are over 65 think that we should pay more in taxes to help those of you under 50 from losing it all. The President's plan seems to be getting nowhere, and we who already have Medicare can just throw up our hands and say "The hell with it." But I think we'd better all give it more thought, and somebody ought to think about a solution rather than just shout, "No, no, no." It can't go on forever.