Long-term care is the largest and fastest-growing portion of state Medicaid spending

[IBMer]

Government simply replacing the tradition role of the family.
The "progressives" are doing it through the schools and medicare.
What the "progressive" has done to destroy community is really disgusting.

Its easy to just say something and think its true than for it to actually be true isn't it? Society itself has done this. More and more people have separated themselves. Families don't live close anymore. People don't even know their neighbors even living in places for 10+ years. This is a cultural issue, not a republican or progressive issue.

 

[bamacre]

This is exactly why health care reform was supposed to reduce the cost of health care. We didn't get that. While the Democrats are championing their health care reform bill, little do they realize we're still in the same boat, and it's still sinking.

 

[Zedtom]

This particular area in health care is something that affects practically everyone. It could be one of your grandparents or parents or maybe some other relative. Someday it may be you.

If you are wealthy or have a fantastic medical insurance plan laid out you may not have to worry, but most of the elderly will eventually run out of money. Medicaid is the safety net, and it is a precarious system with traps, layers of bureaucracy, and arcane billing procedures.

My particular pet peeve is the elderly immigrants from other countries that basically come here to die at U.S. taxpayer's expense.

The government allocates money to the states to disperse through their own agencies and it is in bad shape. There are nursing homes that access the Colorado Medicaid website though dial-up networks. Dial-up networks!

There is a large number of boomers who will be breaking the Medicare's budget in the next twenty years...but remember: They have been generously supporting it all of their adult lives.

 

[Zorkorist]

Its easy to just say something and think its true than for it to actually be true isn't it? Society itself has done this. More and more people have separated themselves. Families don't live close anymore. People don't even know their neighbors even living in places for 10+ years. This is a cultural issue, not a republican or progressive issue.

Police, Government, Taxes, etc., all do a great job of isolating citizens.

-John

 

[shira]

More simply put it costs a hell of a lot of money to ARTIFICIALLY live past your expiration date. It is your choice to waste you money for a few more months. Not me. All my belongings will pass to heirs and not into the hands of the health care industry.

So you're saying you advocate death panels to discourage old fogies from wasting money trying to live past their "expiration dates?."

 

[Zorkorist]

Families, don't count.

Neighbors don't count.

Go to Church and take SOMA.

-John

 

[Zebo]

This is another national debate we must have. Math don't work, will not work no matter how much you tax. You can't provide everyone with a million bucks "end-of-life" care our modern technology allows. Simple math. 1 million which doable these days to keep people breathing x 300 million people is 300,000,000,000,000. Or three hundred trillion dollars. Or 6x the value of USA and everything in it.

So, let them die, or what?

Pretty much what will happen. The rich will always get their care but 99.9% of us won't. Math is harsh sometimes.

 

[Mursilis]

There is a large number of boomers who will be breaking the Medicare's budget in the next twenty years...but remember: They have been generously supporting it all of their adult lives.

A national debt at $13T+ and climbing suggests otherwise. Like prior generations of elders before, the boomers, having paid in pennies during their working years, are going to demand thousands of dollars in return, squawking the whole time "I paid in!! I paid in!!"

 

[CycloWizard]

So you're saying you advocate death panels to discourage old fogies from wasting money trying to live past their "expiration dates?."

There are only two options, at least for those of us who can do basic math:
1. Let people pay for themselves
2. Ration healthcare in a government-funded system (or subsystem existing in parallel with #1)

Since #1 is based on self-determination, we can skip discussing it. In #2, it should be obvious to everyone that each person will die at some point. The point at which death will occur will inevitably depend on the resources allotted to continually move that point further and further away. Since resources are finite, yet everyone will still die, rationing is the only way to balance the equation. Are we going to cut care for everyone above the age of 75, 85, or 95? Are we going to weigh each case on an individual basis, possibly including quality-of-life considerations? How many days can a mom keep her teenage son on life support after brain death while someone else's middle-aged husband needs those resources to beat his disease and stay alive?

 

[BoberFett]

Just pass a law saying that insurance companies can't deny any end of life care treatments. We all know they make billions of dollars in profit because they're greedy.