Cafeoutdoors.com: Obamacare

I got a call from our doctor's office just now to remind me that my wife and I are to come in for our annual checkups tomorrow morning.

My idea about doctors is to stay away from them as much as possible - I've had too many relatives and friends damaged or killed by "medical care" when they got older. My wife and I both have expired annual prescription meds to renew, blood pressure pills in my case, and that's the whole purpose of the doctor visit. Beyond that, it's my responsibility to try and stay on the sunny side of the grass for another year. Yup.

So this gal from the doctor's office called and said a phase of Obamacare kicked in on August 1 and they're jumping through hoops trying to comply with it. We can no longer have an annual "wellness visit" like we always have. "Wellness visits" were completely covered by our insurance.

Nope - now we have to choose between a "preventative care" visit and a regular office visit to the doctor. OK - what's the difference, I asked.

It seems that an annual "preventative care" visit would be fully covered by our insurance - BUT WE CAN'T TALK TO THE DOCTOR AND HE CAN'T TALK TO US about any health concerns. He can't renew prescriptions in a "preventative care" visit either. All the doctor is allowed to do in one of those is poke and prod around on us, then refer us to specialists for further tests if he thinks they're needed - blood tests, electrocardiogram, colonoscopy, mammogram, etc.

Well, since all we want is our prescriptions renewed and to be left the hell alone - a "preventative care" visit won't work.

So - we need a "regular office visit" ($25 co-pay each) in order to TALK to the doctor and get our 'scripts renewed for another year. Fine.

Ya know - it's not the $50., that's not a big deal. I figure between Medicare, Medicare Part B, and our supplemental health insurance almost $3000 a month is being paid by us and the government for health insurance premiums for the two of us. You'd think that would cover an annual prescription-renewing doctor visit if that's all we use it for, but if it doesn't, well, whatever.

Do you think, though, that people will put up with this kind of stupid micro-managing of health care by politicians as the various phases of Obamacare start to take effect? The whole thing is ridiculous and it's just not gonna work - there's lots and lots of government money going into big health and insurance corporations, though. The whole thing is so corrupt it's unbelievable.

Edited by Ozark (08/02/12 08:40 AM)

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