Tuesday, July 3, 2012

The Hazards of Socialized Health Care: Our family tragedies with Socialized Health Care and Federally Subsidized Insurance

This is a post on the hazards of socialized medicine and goverment subsidized health insurance based on my own family. There are some benefits and some disadvantages provided to those that have to rely on Obamacare and socialized health care. Further, I have talked to some out there in the public and am aware that some of them could not afford socialized medicine and insurance, at all.

In my family, I have both witnessed and experienced some of the hazards and tragedies in dealing with socialized medicine/insurance in my own family.  I had two brothers, both of whom have to deal with being mentally retarded.  My older brother Dennis died when he was in care of the state of Kansas at 18. Dennis got enchepalitis causing a high fever that caused severe brain damage from a mosquito bite around age 5. The high fever caused his mental retardation.

After that, Dennis fell one day shortly after becoming mentally retarded and broke his leg.  ( I know the politically correct term now for mental retardation is intellectually challenged).  Due to his severe retardation, he could not relearn how to walk. 

So, in our family, there were five of us kids, my dad was dead from an electrocution, and my mom as a homemaker was busy taking care of our family relying on very meager Social Security funds that kept us alive, but in poverty. I just want to add a note here, that when you are a kid, you do not care that you are a kid living in poverty, for a while.

An attorney that my mother relied upon, suggested as my brother grew and got older, that for his best care, he should be institutionalized at the Kansas Neurological Institute in Topeka, Kansas, a state institution of socialized health care when he was 14.  I was twelve when he placed in the care of the state of Kansas.  Along with my mother, we made regular trips to visit my brother and see the deplorable condition this institution treated those with severe mental retardation on their socialized wards. 

Now my mom joined the local advocacy group in my home town advocating for those with mental retardation. I went with my mother to several of these meetings with these advocates.  I remember how the group conducted bake sales to raise funds for their advocacy. 

One of the major accomplishments of this advocacy group for the mentally retarded was starting a school including hiring a teacher for these mentally retarded or challenged individuals.   So giving due credit to my mother, she was the first civil rights activist in my family.  I am the second.

After four years at this state institution, due to poor quality of care provided, my brother got a severe infection and died at the age of 18.  So, this showed me at 16, socialized health care was very risky and the poor quality of socialized health care caused my oldest brother's death.

Then, there is my second brother, mildly mentally retarded due to being born prematurely.  He too has to deal with socialized medicine.  I personally was responible for dealing with many of his unique and difficult situations he faced for many years advocating on his behalf. My younger sister took over his affairs when my brother started challenging my decisions related to advocating on his behalf.

Then, my oldest sister who was at one time a registered nurse.  Due to her health circumstances, as she got older, she got placed into socialized medicine due to severe migraines impacting her employement. She then gave up working as a nurse and was later diagnosed as, being diabetic.  Regardless, she too was placed in socialized medicine/insurance siyuation.  She died a few years ago from heart failure in part, and from being prescribed 28 different medications at the time she passed. 

Then, there is my own story related to my various disabilties.  I was given my own first disability diagnosis at the age of 22. I was fortunate for quite a few years in being able to stay gainfully employed and only relied on socialized medicine at the hands of VA, only when I had no other options.

Twenty years later and many jobs later, I just could not find substantial and gainful employment in 1994 and 1995; although I kept adding to my academic credentials trying to stay gainfully employed.

In 1994, I was terminated from my job I had for six years, for asking for a reasonable accomodation as suggested by both my doctor and my attorney.  At that point, I started doing litigation, came out of the closet as having more than one disability and became the second civil rights activist in my family.  So over decades, all of these family events, made me what I am now-a writer.

That advocacy work expanded in three areas-advocacy for those who have disabilities, judicially and legislatively, and getting involved in politics.  So in 1994 due to my personal situation, I had to rely on institutional medicine and federally subsidized government insurance  I was eligible for as disabled vet. 

Further, my mom now as a senior citizen has socialized health care in the form of Medicare/Medicaid.  It takes a long time and a lot of frustration for her to get good health care.  Basically, she gets minimal socialized health care and there is nothing anyone can do about it.

So due to all these family tragiegies, plus my own work and health experiences makes me well acquainted with socialized medicine, that most of you too will now have to experience with Obamacare.  In closing, I know many of you out there have either had to deal with socialized medicine; or have someone in your family that you love and have no other options other than having to deal with a similar health situations related to socialized medicine.

In ending this post on a positive note as a writer now, instead of as a congressional candidate, at least some of my family including myself are still alive having benefited and endured for many years both some of the good and bad parts of socialized medicine. There are a few that will benefit, but overall, the quality of health care will decline and the prices of both quality health care./insurance will continue to rise to the point even the rich will be forced into socialized medicine.

Sadly, some of my family are dead from having no options other than having to rely on socialized health care and insurance.  I am aware as much as anyone, the ramifications of millions more being added to socialized medicine rationing system soon, based on the Supreme Court making Obamacare the law of our nation.

On a negative note, socialized health care can also cause one to die waiting for a heatlh care provider that can treat us.  What is going to happen post-election with Obamacare, I am uncertain out here like most.  Some will benefit and some will die due to the federal government taking over basically both socialized medicine and health insurance. If many governors do not create a state program, the federal program will lead to rationing out health care.  It is plain and simple this will happen.

I just am not real happy on these entities that will economically profit from Obamacare and watch a further decline in quality; while concurrently, I will watch costs of quality health care to keep rising, forcing many more into this socialized medicine network, regardless of  what most of us do not  want.

In conclusion, your turn is next in dealing with some form of socialized health care and insurance.  It now just becomes a question of when.  And if it not now, I am pretty certain someone in your family is.  Some will die and some will stay alive for a while; while having to deal with some form of socialized medicine and health insurance.  It seems warranted to suggest if you are like me and are still alive, that makes us fortunate. 

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