Think the talk of partisan acrimony on Capitol Hill is overblown? Consider this tart exchange recently from a hearing in the House about reauthorization of the children’s health insurance program:
“I think if you kick a Republican in the heart, you’re going to break your toe,” said Rep. Ed Markey, D-Mass.
“I submit that if you kick a Democrat in the heart, you would break the bank,” replied Rep. Cliff Stearns, R-Fla.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
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92 Comments
Ya, sureeeeeeee. Lets compare Florida’s economy and living and earmarks to Massechusetts.
Florida…the state that goes to court to FORCE you to live on tubes..but then refuses to pay for them.
Or how about…Florida..the only state who would rather lose their disabled children in foster homes rather than pay out money to assist them to live at home.
This is a telling moment about the Republicans. While they love fetuses, they hate children. Anything having to do with children, they don’t want to pass. But the fact is that millions of American children depend on SCHIP. Here in Georgia Peachcare insures about 300,000 kids. Parents pay premiums between $20 and $60 a month which is much more affordable than private insurance. And the program here was started by Zell Miller and expanded by Sonny Perdue- hardly flaming liberals like me. The Republicans say that “people that make $60,000 can qualify” and they may be right. But $60,000 in a household is not that much money and if the job doesn’t provide benefits for your kids, you are going to have to fork out $500 and up for EACH kid you have. The Republicans also claim that this is a “backdoor way to “socialized medicine” (national health plan) to which I say we can only hope so.
Also funny that the Republicans complain about the cost while we pay $150 billion a year (now close to a trillion dollars) for Iraq- part of which goes to build hospitals to provide FREE medical care to Iraqis.
Rhonda, your post highlights how ‘constructively’ our Congress debates healthcare or any other topic.
We need LEADERS in Congress who will address the real problems in a constructive way, debating the issues and having constructive arguments over solutions.
Instead, you get personal attacks from one political party to the other, and back and forth, so that for years, nothing gets done.
Oh, Congress is able to agree to authorize as many Pork programs as they think are needed to buy the next election, and raise taxes for hard-working Americans. Funny how they can agree to do that, but can’t agree on anything else.
It’s time to vote them all out.
And it’s time for the Wichita Eagle to stand up and take such a gutsy non-partisan, non-biased position and call for a completely new Congress as well.
This thread is posted at the same time as a news article highlighting the demise of small town pharmacies caused by Republican changes in medicaid gets headlines.
Truly, for the Bush administration, it seems to be all about the money!
Well Rusty, if small town businesses can’t compete guess they just have to go out of business. But there are some who are smart business people and do very well. I can think of one on the Corner, in one of your neck of the woods downtown. Same holds true for car dealerships.
I’m heading to go shopping where I get the best prices, the store is open Sundays and long hours, and convenient.
Those supporting socialized medicine under the Clinton or Obama plans are simply living in a world of make believe.
There is no money tree out back:
US Headed for Financial Disaster
(CBS) This segment was originally broadcast on March 4, 2007. It was updated on July 8, 2007. (can’t get any more liberal than that)
When the stock market soars or plunges, everyone pays attention. But short term results aren’t that important to the man you’re about to meet. David Walker thinks the biggest economic peril facing the nation is being ignored, and for nearly two years now he has been traveling the country like an Old Testament prophet, urging people to wake up before its too late. Who is David Walker and why should we care?
As correspondent Steve Kroft first reported earlier this year, he is the nation’s top accountant, the comptroller general of the United States. He’s totaled up our government’s income, liabilities, and future obligations and concluded that our current standard of living is unsustainable unless some drastic action is taken. And he’s not alone. It’s been called the “dirty little secret everyone in Washington knows” – a set of financial truths so inconvenient that most elected officials don’t even want to talk about them, which is exactly why David Walker does.
“I would argue that the most serious threat to the United States is not someone hiding in a cave in Afghanistan or Pakistan but our own fiscal irresponsibility,” Walker tells Kroft.
David Walker is a prudent man and a highly respected public official. As comptroller general of the United States he runs he Government Accountability Office, the GAO, which audits the government’s books and serves as the investigative arm of the U.S. Congress. He has more than 3,000 employees, a budget of a half a billion dollars, and a message he considers urgent.
“I’m going to show you some numbers…they’re all big and they’re all bad,” he says.
So bad, that Walker has given up on elected officials and taken his message directly to taxpayers and opinion makers, hoping to shape the debate in the next presidential election.
“You know the American people, I tell you, they are absolutely starved for two things: the truth, and leadership,” Walker says.
He calls it a fiscal wake up tour, and he is telling civic groups, university forums and newspaper editorial boards that the U.S. has spent, promised, and borrowed itself into such a deep hole it will be unable to climb out if it doesn’t act now. As Walker sees it, the survival of the republic is at stake.
“What’s going on right now is we’re spending more money than we make…we’re charging it to credit card…and expecting our grandchildren to pay for it. And that’s absolutely outrageous,” he told the editorial board of the Seattle Post Intelligencer.
You have heard this before, from Ross Perot 15 years ago. You might have even thought the problem had been solved, when President Clinton announced, “Tonight, I come before you to announce that the federal deficit … will be simply zero.”
“Well, those days are gone. We’ve gone from surpluses to huge deficits and our long range situation is much worse,” Walker says.
“President Bush would argue that the economy is in pretty good shape, unemployment is down, the deficit is actually less than expected,” Kroft remarks.
“The fact is, is that we don’t face an immediate crisis. And, so people say, ‘What’s the problem?’ The answer is, we suffer from a fiscal cancer. It is growing within us. And if we do not treat it, it could have catastrophic consequences for our country,” Walker replies.
The cancer, Walker says, are massive entitlement programs we can no longer afford, exacerbated by a demographic glitch that began more than 60 years ago, a dramatic spike in the fertility rate called the “baby boom.”
Beginning next year, and for 20 years thereafter, 78 million Americans will become pensioners and medical dependents of the U.S. taxpayer.
“The first baby boomer will reach 62 and be eligible for early retirement of Social Security January 1, 2008. They’ll be eligible for Medicare just three years later. And when those boomers start retiring in mass, then that will be a tsunami of spending that could swamp our ship of state if we don’t get serious,” Walker explains.
To illustrate their impact, he uses a power point presentation to show what would happen in 30 years if the U.S. maintains its current course and fulfills all of the promises politicians have made to the public on things like Social Security and Medicare.
What would happen in 2040 if nothing changes?
“If nothing changes, the federal government’s not gonna be able to do much more than pay interest on the mounting debt and some entitlement benefits. It won’t have money left for anything else – national defense, homeland security, education, you name it,” Walker warns.
Walker says you could eliminate all waste and fraud and the entire Pentagon budget and the long-range financial problem still wouldn’t go away, in what’s shaping up as an actuarial nightmare.
Part of the problem, Walker acknowledges, is that there won’t be enough wage earners to support the benefits of the baby boomers. “But the real problem, Steve, is health care costs. Our health care problem is much more significant than Social Security,” he says.
Asked what he means by that, Walker tells Kroft, “By that I mean that the Medicare problem is five times greater than the Social Security problem.”
The problem with Medicare, Walker says, is people keep living longer, and medical costs keep rising at twice the rate of inflation. But instead of dealing with the problem, he says, the president and the Congress made things much worse in Dec. 2003, when they expanded the Medicare program to include prescription drug coverage.
“The prescription drug bill was probably the most fiscally irresponsible piece of legislation since the 1960s,” Walker argues.
Asked why, Walker says, “Well, because we promise way more than we can afford to keep. Eight trillion dollars added to what was already a 15 to $20 trillion under-funding. We’re not being realistic. We can’t afford the promises we’ve already made, much less to be able, piling on top of ‘em.”
With one stroke of the pen, Walker says, the federal government increased existing Medicare obligations nearly 40 percent over the next 75 years.
“We’d have to have eight trillion dollars today, invested in treasury rates, to deliver on that promise,” Walker explains.
Asked how much we actually have, Walker says, “Zip.”
So where’s that money going to come from?
“Well it’s gonna come from additional taxes, or it’s gonna come from restructuring these promises, or it’s gonna come from cutting other spending,” Walker says.
He is not suggesting that the nation do away with Medicare or prescription drug benefits. He does believe the current health care system is way too expensive, and overrated.
“On cost we’re number one in the world. We spend 50 percent more of our economy on health care than any nation on earth,” he says.
“We have the largest uninsured population of any major industrialized nation. We have above average infant mortality, below average life expectancy, and much higher than average medical error rates for an industrialized nation,” Walker points out.
Walker says we have promised almost unlimited healthcare to senior citizens who never see the bills, and the government already is borrowing money to pay them. He says the system is unsustainable.
“It’s the number one fiscal challenge for the federal government, it’s the number one fiscal challenge for state governments and it’s the number one competitive challenge for American business. We’re gonna have to dramatically and fundamentally reform our health care system in installments over the next 20 years,” Walker tells Kroft.
And if we don’t?
“And if we don’t, it could bankrupt America,” Walker argues.
You’re probably expecting to hear from someone who disagrees with the comptroller general’s numbers, projections, and analysis. But hardly anyone does. He is accompanied on the wake-up tour by economists from the conservative Heritage Foundation, the left-leaning Brookings Institution, and the non-partisan Concord Coalition. The only dissenters seem to be a small minority of economists who believe either that the U.S. can grow its way out of the problem, or that Walker is over-stating it.
“The Wall Street Journal for example calls you ‘Chicken Little,’ running around saying that the ’sky is falling, the sky is falling,’” Kroft remarks.
“Unfortunately they don’t get it. I don’t know anybody who has done their homework, has researched history, and who’s good at math who would tell you that we can grow our way out of this problem,” Walker replies.
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke validated much of Walker’s take on the situation at congressional hearings this year, and so did ranking Republicans and Democrats on the Senate Budget Committee. Senator Kent Conrad of North Dakota is the chairman.
Sen. Conrad thinks David Walker is “providing an enormous public service.”
Asked if he agrees with Walker’s figures and his projections, Sen. Conrad says, “I do. You know, I mean we could always question the precise nature of this projection or that projection. But, that misses the point. The larger story that he is telling is exactly correct.”
Conrad acknowledges that most people in Washington are aware how bad the situation is. “They know in large measure here, Republicans and Democrats, that we are on a course that doesn’t add up,” the senator tells Kroft.
“Why doesn’t somebody do something about it?” Kroft asks.
“Because it’s always easier not to. ‘Cause it’s always easier to defer, to kick the can down the road to avoid making choices. You know, you get in trouble in politics when you make choices,” Sen. Conrad says.
Asked if he thinks taxes should be raised, the senator says, “I believe first of all, we need more revenue. We need to be tough on spending. And we need to reform the entitlement programs … we need to do all of it.”
But he admits he doesn’t think there’s a consensus for raising taxes.
“Any politician who tells you that we can solve our problem without reforming Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid is not telling you the truth,” Walker told an audience at the University of Denver.
Over the next year, the nation’s top accountant will be traveling to the early primary states, telling voters that we need to begin raising taxes or government revenues and put a cap on federal spending if we want to maintain our economic security and standard of living.
“If you tell them the truth, if you give them the facts, if you explain this in terms of not just numbers but values and people, they will get it and empower their elected officials to make tough choices,” Walker argues.
Asked if he knows any politicians willing to raise taxes or cut back benefits, Walker says, “I don’t know politicians that like to raise taxes. I don’t know politicians that like to cut spending, but I think what we have to recognize is this is not just about numbers. We are mortgaging the future of our children and grandchildren at record rates, and that is not only an issue of fiscal irresponsibility, it’s an issue of immorality.”
Graffitti Troll–
This was already posted once AND you are breaking copy-right by posting the entire article.
We ALREADY spend 7,000 dollars a year per person on health-care in this country.
We spend more as a percentage of GDP than any other industrialized country.
Nationalized health-care would reduce costs, not raise them.
An article to take heed from. The government has been steadily going broke from entitlement spending. It will only get worse. Of course, try and do anything about any of these programs, and you get “grandma will be eating dog food” “Uncle Joe will die because he simply can;t afford medical care”. “We must provide children with a breakfast at school because they learn better”. Free needles. Free lunch. Free medical care. Free Free Free. Of course, the only answer is to not cut entitlement spending, but to cut defense. It must be done. Every dollar spent providing a job to a military contractgor could be given to someone who sits at homne all day and complains about being broke.
I realize that the above is an oversimplificaiton, but it seems that is all people can understand, and politicians are willing to speak out on, oversimplifications. The matrix is real. Meet the new boss, same as the old boss. Sell the future down the river for a vote today. Politicians of both parties.
“Uncle Joe will die because he simply can;t afford medical care”. Little John
You are so correct. A few years ago, I was at a branch of the Mayo Clinic just outside Phoenix. I was there in January visiting my father who was undergoing treatment for a cancer. Spent many hours in waiting room, cafeteria with other families. Many, many from Canada. They were coming to get treatment they could not get in Canada. Additionally, they were snow birds too. Some of them plan their dental treatments during the winter while they are in AZ.
Additionally, I once read an article written in a Leavenworth newspaper (editorial) by the British wife that countries representative at the Army’s college. It was her good-bye and going to miss you all letter. She mentioned she would miss the healthcare she received in the “states”. She was rapidly getting all her dental work done before they departed back to England. She mentioned that it could be YEARS before she made it up the list back home for the dental care -if it was approved.
Why are people still coming to the USA for treatment?
I know people from Canada that has to buy health insurance before they will visit the US in case something happens to them while they’re here.
Because in Canada, everything is free and there is no waiting for them. These people that throw out horror stories about the evil socialied medicine are those that usually profit for the status quo system.
The US healthcare system is based on profit and until that motivation is taken out of the factor, the US will continue to spend billions more than necessary to have a first-rate healthcare system.
There needs to be a middle ground. I see way too much abuse of the system by people who can work but choose not to. It’s not fair to the ones who are truly disabled…entitlement programs need to be better regulated, so it’s more efficient and there is less chance of abuse.
And why shouldn’t the goverment do random drug screening on those who recieve public assistance? One of the biggest problems in our society is that we don’t hold people who take advantage of entitlement programs accountable enough, instead we enable them to stay sick and drug addicted by taking care of their every need so we don’t feel uncomfortable with their discomfort.
Humans NEED to be challenged in order to reach their full potential..taking care of people who need to take care of themselves does EVERYONE a disservice.People should have to work and give back to society for their public assistance, “even someone in a wheelchair can answer a phone” (Bill Clinton). Giving back and earning your way is the ONLY way to build self-esteem.Even my patients with severe and persistant mental illness feel so much better when they have a purpose and earn a paycheck.
If these people were snowbirds in Arizona, then obviously they are wealthy enough not to have to work for several months. But yet they expect free healthcare while in the US? What is wrong with this picture?
Because in Canada, everything is free and there is no waiting for them. These people that throw out horror stories about the evil socialied medicine are those that usually profit for the status quo system.
Nothing is free. AND they DO PAY OUT OF POCKET in Canada.
We need equal access to health care for everyone..even if it’s provided on a sliding scale. Right now you better be really rich, really poor, or have a secure job that provides healthcare benefits. There are too many stuck in the middle who can’t afford to get sick. If we can spend TRILLONS invading other countries for oil, why can’t we provide affordable, quality healthcare for all our citizens? The only losers in that scenerio would be the insurance companies who now do everything to keep from paying claims in ordert o fatten their own wallets and doctors who make much more money than they’re worth.
The other losers would be those who pay increased taxes to pay for the free medical care of others. I iam not really, rich, but my job does provide healthcare benefits. It was my choice to enter such a field. THeirs to not. We all bear the responsibilities of our choices. And how much is a doctor worth? Honest answer please.
Not free – are you from Canada? Do you know for a fact that they pay out-of-pocket? I know Canadians that would rebel at the thought they had to go to a healthcare system like the US currently has. And I know things are not free but the healthcare system is not driven by profit-seeking corporations that see only the bottom line. Somethings in life should not be measured only by profit – and healthcare should be at the top of the list.
I worked for a neurologist who filed on $500,000 the year before his wife came into the office whining and crying that ‘he is not making enough money’. That was when this woman came into the office, took over and one by one, the office staff left because she was such a witch.
Is $500,000 too much for a neurologist that only wanted to work Mon-Fri 9-5? Needless to say, this man’s practice suffered greatly due to his ’second wife’s’ obsession about money.
kate, a suggestion that may have some application to the for-profit insurance companies. Simple step, mandate that insurance companies cannot be stock companies, rather the same must be mutual companies. By so doing, this removes the need to satisfy the duty to stockholders to maximize the value of their investment. As a mutual company is owned by the policy holders, the duty would then be to minimize their costs, while returning to the owners any excess earnings in the form of dividends used to reduce the premium.
If we stopped wasting money on war, foreign aid, stc, America COULD afford to provide healthcare to everyone. Medicare and Meidcaid are already doing an adequate job providing for the elderly and poor. It’s time to take it to the next step. Littlejohn, what will happen to your healthcare benefits if you lose your job? Sometimes things happen that are NOT of your choosing..that’s called life. It happens to all of us sooner or later.Dr’s aren’t worth what most of them make. I’ve worked with several who should make less than I do.
Littlejohn, what will happen to your healthcare benefits if you lose your job? Sometimes things happen that are NOT of your choosing..that’s called life. It happens to all of us sooner or later.
You are right. That is life. Happened to me more than once. It is not the governments job to protect us from life
Second, again. honestly. How much should a doctor make?
Grafitti Troll writes “Spent many hours in waiting room, cafeteria with other families. Many, many from Canada. They were coming to get treatment they could not get in Canada.”
REALLY?! Well, you better inform the American Medical Society. They seem to have a different view according to this journal article–
Canadians coming to the U.S. for care: a “health care zombie”
Opponents ofthe Canadian healthcare system commonly conjure upthe image of hordes of Canadians crossing the border to receive healthcare in the U.S. due to long waiting lists.
Yet,the studies that have been done on this issue do not support the legitimacy of this idea. Katz et al [14] developed a multi-faceted strategy to study this issue, drawing upon 1)Surveys of ambulatory clinics in three large U.S. cities near the Canada border (Detroit, Buffalo,Seattle); 2) State hospital discharge data from Michigan, New York, and Washington State; and 3) Surveys of the U.S. News and World Report “America’s Best Hospitals”, where Canadians might be thought to go to for care.•
136 ambulatory healthcare facilities in Detroit, Buffalo, and Seattle responded to the survey. In 1997-1998, 52 of these facilities reported seeing no Canadians, 56 reportedseeing fewer than 10, 21 reported seeing 21-25, and 7 reported seeing more than 25.
• From 1994 to 1998, 2,031 Canadians were admitted to hospitals in Michigan, 1,689 to hospitals in New York, and 825 to hospitals in Washington. During this period, these hospitalizations represented only 0.23% of all the hospitalizations that occurred in the three provinces bordering these states.
• Finally, responses from eleven of America’s Best Hospitals generally indicated that the number of Canadian patients seen at the hospitals was low.
http://www.amsa.org/studytours/WaitingTimes_primer.pdf
Some comments on health care costs:
When I get something done under insurance it is discounted often 50% or more.
When I do prevention/early interdiction it is a hell of a lot cheaper.
ER is by far the most expensive way to treat an earache.
Especially if it has progressed.
So …
A system that encourages check-ups, regular visits and tests, prevention will cost (overall) much LESS than what we have now.
Remember, all those uninsured in the ERs end up aing paid for by us anyway.
Ben-
I have insurance. I have never seen a bill discounted 50% or more. It is discounted, but I have never seen that kind of discount. You must have better insurance than anybody I know.
A doctor should make what he’s worth, I never met a doctor that I thought was worth half a millon or more.
lj – the really deep ones seem to be lab tests and drugs.
How many doctors, other than plastic surgeions, and some extreme specialties, make a half a million or more? and tv actors, ballpalyers, moviestars, etc. should make millions more? for what> providing entertainment? How much is a doctor worth when you need him? How much malpractice insurance does he pay? how much does he pay his staff? How many hours does he work? All depends on the specialty, doesn;t it?
“Dr’s aren’t worth what most of them make. I’ve worked with several who should make less than I do.”
Posted by: Mary Caruso | August 06, 2007 at 10:08 AM
why? How many year of education did you have to get your job? How many hours of internship did you do? How many times have you had the responsibility of life and death?
Ben-
WOw. That’s pretty good. Never seen such discouonts. I need to tell others that that is available.And I am not being sarcastic. I have jsut never heard of so deep a discount.
I have to go to school for as long as I’m a practicing nurse, and yes, I do take life and death responsibility. I work long hours and take more responsibility for my patients than any doctor does. It’s obvious you have no experience in healthcare. I don’t think ball players or entertainers are worth what they get paid either. Doctors have been spoiled by the big bucks for too long, and unfortunately it often corrupts their practice, because money often becomes the motivating factor for many of their patient care decisions. Nothing can corrupt like greed and too much money.
I think what Ben was referring to was the ‘write-off’ the insurance company takes when paying a claim. It is not a discount. That is the name of the insurance racket. The insurance companies negotiate with the health care providers as to who is the cheapest and then they will contract with the cheapest. Never mind the fact that perhaps the cheapest is not the best healthcare one could find.
I think Vaugn Tolle has the right idea. Let’s make it so insurance companies are not stock companies. That way, the motivating factor is not profit-driven.
I am tired of the insurance company telling me where I need to go for healthcare and how much they will pay for each procedure. I recently learned that my insurance company refused to pay for all lab tests that were read by a machine. Their logic was that no healthcare professional was involved. I beg to differ with them – a healthcare professional had to draw the blood, process the sample for the machine to read it. Who are they trying to fool with these ridiculous statements?
But yet this same insurance company promotes their PPO hospital which I would not send my dog to.
WOw. That’s pretty good. Never seen such discouonts. I need to tell others that that is available.And I am not being sarcastic. I have jsut never heard of so deep a discount.
Posted by: littlejohn
A self-pay person does not get the same ‘discount’ as insurance companies take for themselves. How do you think these hospitals and doctors make up the difference between the insurance payments, Medicaid and Medicare paying less?
Visited with a client the other day catching up with him. He is currently working with a corporation who places ER doctors.
My question to him was: How do you find these ER doctors? Do they not work in clinics, etc?
His answer: They are leaving their practice. No time with family. On call almost 24/7. Not as glamourous a life as one would think, he said. Most are classified as “family doctors.” Not a specialist. As an ER doc they have regular hours, as an 8-5 job, treat the ER patient, consult with their dr many times by phone and then pass the pt on to their regular dr.
Some drs must think not even the $$ connected with being a “dr” is just not worth it.
Mary,You never had to go to school as long as a physician. A nurse is a BS program, Doctor is BS + Medical School + how lon an internsip?
You take less responsibility, because if you work under a doctor, he is responsibile for YOUR work. You work under HIS directions, and authjority, not the other way around.
I know doctors that not only work ate least 8 hours a day in their clinic, they then make rounds at the hospital, before and after their clinic opens. I know many that are called to the hospital in the middle of the night, to take care of their patients, or in smaller hospitals, do Er work on a rotating basis. I know many doctors, and nurses. I am quite familiar with the health care industry. I have seen doctors chew out their business managers for turning away patients that did not have health insurance. I have also seen poor doctors. I have seen poor nurses too.
So Mary, how much should a doctor make?
I know nurses who have Masters degrees and pHDs. I’m responsible for my own practice, if I screw up, it’s not the doctor that takes the rap..it’s me.I deal with life and death just as much if not more.I have worked all night long in a hospital caring for patients…nurses work more at night than doctors and we’re often the eyes and ears on which they make medical decisions. I would think most doctors are worth about 100,000-200,000 per year, based on their responsibilty and field of practice, that’s not unreasonable. I think nurses should make more than we do, becuase we take as much responsibilty for patient care as any doctor.
Gotta go to work and earn my 50 cents for the day!!
Good ol’ Republicans, they always preach about caring for the children but when it comes to healthcare they ‘turn the other cheek’.
Brownback, you constantly whines about protecting children and the “culture of life” voted against the health care measure. The health care is going for children who are already born after all so it’s not like they matter anymore.
Mary, I know nurses also who have phds and masters. The ones with phds are not doing patient care, and there are few (except for those serving as nurse clinicians) that do direct patient care also.There are some. However, it is not a rquirement for a masters of phd to be a practicing registered nurse. SO, you work completely independent of any doctor? Carrying out whose orders? You own? Or a doctors. you decide patient care? Or give patient care. Two different things. And most doctors will make between 100k and 200K. The outside of that being very specialty doctors (neurologtists and such)
Try looking here:
http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_nat.htm#b29-0000
And yeah, I think nurses should make more. I think I should make more. Supply and demand
where Canadians might be thought to go to for care.•
Capt America
I was speaking of my experience in Arizona. These patients came to AZ from Canada for cancer treatment. I still correspond with some of these families as they lost their family members in hospice as did I.
The article in the local Leavenworth Newspaper is probably verifiable too.
But studying hospitals immediately across the border does not relate to Canadians treated in the USA nationwide, and it doesn’t address out patient care, dental, rehab, and many others.
Ever just walked into a hospital for service other than emergency without an appointment? You wouldn’t race across the border security for emergency treatment, so that is out (time). And you would visit a doctor in his/her office before being assigned for treatment in a specific hospital.
These study is lacking.
“mandate that insurance companies cannot be stock companies, rather the same must be mutual companies. By so doing, this removes the need to satisfy the duty to stockholders to maximize the value of their investment. As a mutual company is owned by the policy holders, the duty would then be to minimize their costs, while returning to the owners any excess earnings in the form of dividends used to reduce the premium.
Posted by: Vaughn Tolle | August 06, 2007 at 10:01 AM ”
That is a great idea! Seems like it would be a great start to some sort of healthcare reform.
Is there any reason a politician could not get behind this idea?
brian, the horse has left the barn on that idea. Many insurance companies were originally mutual companies, and of these, many have converted to stock companies. It seems to me that after the conversion, premiums for certain coverages have increased for reasons not totally related to underwriting risk. I’m sure that there are instances of decrease in premium as well, or lesser increases in premium due to the availability of outside capital resulting from the conversion, but all in all, I’m a fan of mutual companies compared to stock companies.
The facts ignored by the worshipers of Michael Moore:
- Every economic disadvantage person in the U.S. is entitled to health care under Medicaid or the thousands of Charity Based health care solutions.
- 14,000,000 people choose not to enroll into Medicaid programs
- 12 – 20,000,000 people counted in Michael Moore’s movie are illegal immigrants of whom can go into almost any health care facility and receive free health care.
- 8,000,000 people who do not receive health care are either apathetic (they don’t care or don’t like Doctors), are among the transient mentally ill (impossible to track), are criminal and avoid establishments of any kind.
Kansas,
One of the major media outlets was threatened by Moore for publishing factual information which disputes his movies claim. It was very detailed and informational. Wish I had that.
It basically tore his movie to shreds.
One thing I cannot understand is the ratings of that movie. It has a four star rating in a major Kansas newspaper. Rated higher than all other movies now playing, and many great movies that have played recently.
Imagine that.
Far more children will die waiting for necessary life saving treatments than will be saved because you give the non-insured parents free health care.
Shouldn’t take a brain surgeon to figure that out (pun intended)
Kansas and Agree with Kansas – we have the working class in this country that are barely making ends meet and they are not offered healthcare insurance through their jobs. I noticed you did not count this group in your list of statistics. Why not? Have you tried to purchase health insurance privately? Good luck if you have a child that happens to be diabetic – no insurance company will cover that child. And heaven forbid if you get labeled with the diagnosis of cancer – then that person can kiss healthcare insurance and life insurance goodbye for the rest of his/her life.
It is people like you two that seem to think the world is hunky dory just so long as you have yours and the other guy can just do without.
Well kate, the health care problem isn’t about me is it?
It’s about people who need health care right?
As I said before, there are 14,000,000 people who won’t even apply for Medicaid and may very well meet the requirements for getting Medicaid under qualification of “working poor” status. Lot of states have the 120 percent standard (120 percent of the current poverty line of which family size is included.)
There are Medicaid programs for Pregnant women and Medicaid programs for people awaiting Social Security Case Determination.
There is a program called SCHIP made specifically for children. These children have received medical care for years and some are as old as twenty five years of age.
There are programs right here in Kansas that will assist people in finding low cost health care insurance.
There are charity funds in almost every large hospital in Kansas where medical care can be provide for free or costs written off by the hospital if the patient is unable to pay.
There are special charity hospitals around the country like Shriners, St. Jude and others which provide free health care to the terminally ill or injured children.
Show me a person that says they can’t get health insurance or coverage amongst the thousands of available coverages and I’ll demonstrate to you that person hasn’t even tried to enroll in the many assistance programs or has asked for assistance in how to redefine their income where they are eligible for said medical care.
Again, kanas, it sounds like you have never had a problem getting health insurance. For your information, my child was 6 years old when diagnosed with Type I diabetes. I was married, two children and my husband had a good paying job. I was advised, by the social services person, to divorce my husband, go on welfare and then both my children would get free health care until they reache legal age.
Now how is that going to help our healthcare system if I had chose to go get free health care and split up my family? In fact the social services person told me that I didn’t have to separate from my husband – we could still live in the same house – just get legally divorced. Now how moral is that?
So the current healthcare system needs to be changed and more accessible to everyone – not just those lucky enough to have health insurance offered through their jobs and those that choose to live off the system for free care.
So you’re saying that you would rather see people on the welfare rolls than to make it possible for each working person to have access to afforable health care insurance?
I’ve heard these types of stories before kate and am somewhat skeptical that a responsible health care adviser would tell you such a thing at least not done in jest.
I have two cousins that have had Type I Diabetes since they were teenagers. Their mother never worked and the father had a fairly decent job at Cessna. The managed all these years through careful planning, even through layoffs to have health care coverage to cover their diabetic children.
That’s two children with diabetes in the same family mind you.
Have you tried SCHIPs?http://www.insurekidsnow.gov/877-KIDS-NOW
Have you tried the High Risk Pool?It is insurance that gives the same care insurance as people with similar coverage to those covered by private insurers.http://www.diabetes.org/advocacy-and-legalresources/healthcare/healthinsurance/high-risk-pools.jsp
Check out this Website for qualification for assistance from the State Insurance Commission in Kansas.http://www.healthinsuranceinfo.net/ks00.html
If you live in another state, go here.http://www.healthinsuranceinfo.net/
Have you tried assistance from Pharmaceutical Companies?Check this out:http://www.diabetes.org/advocacy-and-legalresources/healthcare/healthinsurance/prescription-assistance.jsp
Have you contacted the American Diabetes Association?http://www.diabetes.org/home.jsp
There is one right here in Wichita.
American Diabetes Association837 S Hillside StWichita, KS 67211(316) 684-6091
Have you checked medical programs in other states like Texas for example?http://www.dshs.state.tx.us/diabetes/dcinsure.shtm
Try some of those suggestions kate. I know my cousins are happy and healthy thanks to treatment with their insulin and blood monitoring equipment, diet counseling and are in their later 50s and 60s now.
Give it a shot, I’m sure you can find something kate, there is lots of help out there.
Evidently troll, so does your Blog hero CapnAmerica as it appears he is retired Federal Civil Service.
Watcha got to say to that troll?
I know all of that because I researched it Mr. Troll.
But do come back when you can add something substantive to the argument Mr. Troll. :)
Whether or not that is the correct reason he knows all this, does it make the information any less valid?
My son is now 26, married and has a child of his own. His job does not offer health care insurance and his wife’s insurance would sky rocket in premium that they cannot afford it. What do you suggest they do? Cut back on food, rent and quit their jobs and go on welfare? For being a Republican, you spout that you don’t like big government but yet that is the solution you throw out to people.
My son has been stable, he takes his insulin, eats the proper diet and monitors his blood sugars. He buys all the necessary supplies and these are not covered by most insurance policies – so that is out-of-pocket expenses. Just how do you expect people to pay high-priced premiums, their pharmacy supplies and still provide for their families?
Again, Kansas, I suggest that you do not know what you are talking about and yes the social services person advised me to divorce my husband. This happened in 1986 when President Reagan was in office so don’t try to blame the Democrats for this one!
If your son is not satisfied with his job because it doesn’t offer healtcare, he should get a new job.
sorry “healthcare”
Say bye bye troll. :)
So kate, I’m guessing you never bothered to check out any of the Websites that I posted or even talked with the American Diabetes Association in Wichita.
No one is blaming anyone kate. If you want to be the perpetual victim, then by all means be my guest.
There are plenty of victim guitars to be played in the Democratic Party, just pick one up and start strumming. I bet you don’t even need lessons. :)
Oh btw kate, I have diabetes too. :)
You are the one telling me to have my son go get welfare so he can get free healthcare. Who is playing the victim?
And not many jobs nowadays offer affordable health care insurance. That is the key here – affordable.
Why do you insist on promoting free healthcare through all these programs when our country could have a healthcare system that is based on everyone paying affordable premiums for basic health care. That way everyone is paying into the pot and we taxpayers are not going to have to pay for the free healthcare we currently pay for through all these programs.
So, Kansas, what free healthcare program are you on due to your diagnosis of diabetes?
My son and his wife do not want a free handout. They both work, pay their taxes and are contributing taxpayers. Why insult them by telling them to take welfare?
I am not playing the victim here – I just find the current health care system inadequate and you must find it acceptable. That’s the difference between you and me.
No kate, I was trying to offer friendly advice.
If you don’t want that advice just say so.
I’m not insulting anyone including your son.
No kate, the difference between you and me is I look for solutions without giving up.
SoKate–What is affordable premiums? and is that a sliding scale, per income? Or a straight amount? Per household? Per family member? ANd is it tax subsidized? And since approx 50% pay no taxes, what would be thier share? 0%?
See, the devil is in the details
There are plenty of jobs out there that do offer health insurance.
You may need to relocate to find one, but the jobs are there.
The reason companies offer health insurance is to attract high quality, high-skilled qualified employees.
When highly qualified people shop around for an employer, more employors must offer health insurance.
If your son lacks the skills, he should get more education. If he has the skills, he just needs to shop around for a better employer.
That may mean leaving Kansas.
Again, you who have the health insurance do not know what the problems young people have in today’s world. Not every company offers affordable health care insurance and there are some who do not offer health care insurance at all.
What is a young person to do? I know of several college graduates and some with their masters degree who are working for less than $10.00/hr. And why do they do this – could be because there are less jobs that offer a living wage. Can we say corporate greed here?
And as for Kansas seeking a solution to the problem – all I have seen as to your solution is to go on welfare or take free healthcare from some program. AGAIN, Kansas, my son and his wife both work and do NOT qualify for any free handout.
Unlike you, we do not believe in fudging our income to qualify for welfare and unlike you, we are not comfortable with taking free healthcare. You have completely missed my entire point of this topic.
In this country, there should never be a situation where working people, paying their taxes and following the rules should be without basic health care insurance. What is so wrong with that idea?
Is the threat of everyone having health insurance going to incringe on Kansas’ free healthcare? Is that problem Kansas? If everyone has to pay premiums then you won’t get yours for free?
You don’t have to fudge income to qualify for some assistance. If you make close to the low income status, you may qualify for assistance. There is no fudging involved.
Sometimes pharmaceutical companies will give free syringes, supplies and etc if you purchase the insulin from them.
Not everyone in my family has health care like I do. I’m familiar with the system because I researched it and helped a few families in our church that needed it.
Anyone making $10.00/hour with a Master’s Degree needs to keep looking for a different job. Yes, sometimes that involves moving out of state. Lots of people do it, my Dad was one and my Uncles, cousins have moved quite often to find good jobs.
Seriously kate, there are plenty of excuses out there and there are plenty of solutions out there as well.
The people with Master’s Degrees could go back to school and get credit hours in order to get a teaching certificate. They would start out around 35-42,000 /year with medical and other benefits. Check around, ask, be inquisitive.
As I said before kate, one can be a victim or they can look for solutions. It’s up to the individual and this is the land of opportunity.
“I was married, two children and my husband had a good paying job. I was advised, by the social services person, to divorce my husband, go on welfare and then both my children would get free health care until they reache legal age.”
I actually know a couple that did that in Illinois for the same reason. They had to get divorced and dad had to “move” into a small cheap apartment in a bad part of town so the kids would qualify for health care. Of course the dad never really “moved” into the ratty apartment. He just paid the rent there and slept in the same bed with his ex wife they had shared for 10 years.
If your young and healthy why would you even need health insurance?
As I said before kate, one can be a victim or they can look for solutions. It’s up to the individual and this is the land of opportunity.
Posted by: Kansas | August 06, 2007 at 05:38 PM
No Kansas, this is the land of Socialists looking for a free handout, because it’s too hard to look for a better job and it’s too hard to work.
Riculous Big Government social ‘workers’ telling people to get divorces in order to qualify for more welfare and free healthcare is a symptom of the Socialist economic problem.
Stupid people who would listen to the stupid social workers and actually get a divorce to qualify for more free handouts should be put in jail, along with the social worker for fraud.
Kansas is correct in saying America is the land of opportunity. You can either look for the opportunities for work and success, or you can look for the opportunities of not working and free government handouts.
The problem is – the gravy train is about to go off its track. When there are fewer working people then freeloaders, the working people are going to throw in the towel.
What are the freeloaders gonna do about that? Hold a gun to the heads of working people and force them to work?
Nope, sorry, that’s another thread today.
I will have to agree with Kansas if you have Master’s degree and are making less than 10 dollars an hour you have no one to blame but yourself. you can teach night classes community college ect. substite teaching only requires something like 80 hrs,
has asked for assistance in how to redefine their income where they are eligible for said medical care.
Posted by: Kansas
And exactly what does ‘redefine their income’ mean? Fudging your income to qualify for free healthcare?
Again, you don’t seem to get it or you’re too stubborn to concede the point.
Working people should not have to go without basic health care insurance in our country. It’s a travesty to call ourselves the great Christian nation when we show that we do not care about everyone in our society.
My family is not asking for free healthcare – obviously it does not bother you to take free healthcare.
You never did answer my question as to what free healthcare program you are on?
“Well, those days are gone. We’ve gone from surpluses to huge deficits and our long range situation is much worse,” Walker says.”
Yes. David “chicken little” Walker. Not even the stinking cons believe that fool!
“The only dissenters seem to be a small minority of economists who believe either that the U.S. can grow its way out of the problem, or that Walker is over-stating it.”
Hardly a small minority. Almost all respected economist will tell you that the current deficit is no problem and we should swing to surplus within the next few years and eventually grow our way out of deficits which we did after Reagan- who ran much larger deficits as a percentage of GNP.
“”The prescription drug bill was probably the most fiscally irresponsible piece of legislation since the 1960s,” Walker argues.”
Medicare Part D was a great idea and is a great idea. The problem is that the Republicans turned it into a multi billion dollar giveaway to the drug companies instead of doing like Canada and Europe (and the VA here) do and let Medicare negotiate the lowest price for the drugs.
“”The first baby boomer will reach 62 and be eligible for early retirement of Social Security January 1, 2008. They’ll be eligible for Medicare just three years later. And when those boomers start retiring in mass, then that will be a tsunami of spending that could swamp our ship of state if we don’t get serious,” Walker explains.”
Sure they will. How many baby boomers do you know that are planning to retire at age 62? Age 65? Truth is that vast numbers of the baby boom are white collar professionals- not blue collar factory workers like their fathers were. They love their jobs are few of them will retire anywhere near 65. Most of them will work- and pay into SS well into their 70s and even 80s.
The USA needs alot more socialism. Alot more. We should have the same programs and enjoy the same quality of life as the Canadians, the English, the Germans and the French. The majority of us- except the rich- pay the same taxes.
I know of people with their masters degree who are qualified to teach but District 259 brought in those foreign Philipino teachers instead. Why? Could be because they get a some sort of credit from the federal goverment for bringing in foreign workers?
Why weren’t people from Kansas offered those teaching jobs first?
There are alot of reasons why people with masters degrees are working for $10.00/hr jobs.
And I’m not advocating free healthcare – I’m advocating for affordable health care insurance for everyone in the US. That way everyone is paying into the system and are contributing – not just taking out.
You may want to ask Kansas why he advocates for my son to go on welfare and get free healthcare. My husband and I did not get divorced and we struggled financially to pay all the medical bills. But nowadays, in a society that does not care about couples living together and having kids – where is the moral incentive to not go on welfare?
Especially when we have Kansas, who professes to be a conservative Republican, advocating going on welfare, or to redefine the income so that one might qualify for free healthcare programs.
The government should be helping the working people – not working against them by giving free healthcare to those who know how to ‘redefine their income’. That is what is wrong with the current system. too many takers and not enough contributors.
I was at the airport a couple of days ago, waiting at the gate to board a flight.
The flight was delayed because one passenger on the plane being unboarded needed a wheelchair.
At Chicago O’Hare, one of the worlds largest airports, it took 15 minutes to find an available wheelchair to get this women off the plane so that 150+ people standing in line could get on the plane going to our next destination.
Hard to tell from looking, but the 50 year old woman getting off the plane in the wheelchair, did not appear to be incapable of walking. It appeared that she just didn’t want to.
America used to be the place where people worked hard and got things done. We took pride in what we could do.
Now we take pride in what we cannot do.
There were so many other handicapped people in the airport that there are wheel chair shortages. And the incompetent workers at the airport are so damn lazy themselves, that it takes 15 minutes to grab a wheel chair and move it 150 feet to where it is needed.
Americans look at this picture as an example of America’s compassion. The rest of the world looks at this as a picture of America’s weakness and inability.
You don’t find accomodations for handicapped people all over the rest of the world. Instead, you see 90 year old men and women walking everywhere. They are not fat. They might use a cane. If they want to take a bus or a train, they leave early and take a little more time to get there, but they walk to the train station or the bus depot.
No handicapped parking spots or sloped ramps for them. And they survive, because they take pride in what they can do.
Our demand for healthcare is so strong that our healthcare is necessarily expensive. If we were a fit nation, we wouldn’t have so many medical problems, instead 50% of us are obese. And we take pride in what we cannot do.
Kate,
I’m assuming you’re new to posting here.
Most of us who have been commenting on WEBlog for any length of time ignore the troll currently posting as “Kansas.” Not only has it been caught lying on several occasions, but it regularly has threatening posts deleted by the Eagle staff. If it knows your real name and where you work or live, it threatens to break into your place of business, or stalk you at your home. This weekend, it threatened to punch another poster in the face.
The best thing to do is ignore it. Paying any attention to it just feeds its need to be the center of attention.
“You don’t find accomodations for handicapped people all over the rest of the world. Instead, you see 90 year old men and women walking everywhere.”
Duh. Have you stopped to think that because there _are_ no accommodations, mobility-impaired people in those nations have no choice but to stay at home?
Of course not.
No Tom, the choice is not to stay at home. The 90 year olds walk to where they want to go.
And they want to walk. They take pride in that.
Many Americans take pride in not walking.
“Since I don’t see any handicapped people out walking the streets, no one must be handicapped”
Good effin’ grief. I just felt the average IQ of the whole blog take a sudden nosedive.
Troll Patrol is the only authorized source for identifying and reporting trolls.
Tom, you must report any suspected trolls to the WEBLOG Troll Patrol link for a thorough investigation.
Only WE can decide.
YOU can only assume, hope, pray that by labeling legitamite posters as trolls, you somehow can defend your feeble arguments by discrediting someone as a troll.
Not a convincing approach Tom. But then, none of your posts are convincing so go ahead, trudge on the best that you can given your disability.
Late entry: Yes, Littlejohn, I am soley responsible for my practice. Even though I follow dr’s orders, I’m responsible for everything I do or don’t do. If a dr tells me to give a medication that would be harmful if I gave it, it would be MY butt in the sling if I followed his orders and harm came to my patient. I have a responsiblity to keep my patients safe even if it means NOT following a dr’s order. I have a lot of autonomy in my job, and the dr’s I work with trust me to make good decisions. Sometimes that means I write my own orders and let them know after the fact. They’d get pretty pissed off if I called them everytime to ask permission before I changed a dressing, made a visit, or withheld a medication for the benefit of the patient. I don’t work FOR the dr, I work WITH the dr.
The pro-abortion State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) bill passed the U.S. House Wednesday by a 225-204 vote. Five Republicans voted in favor of the bill, and 10 Democrats voted against it. Besides gutting pro-life provisions for unborn children, the bill is a step toward nationalized health care, and provides benefits for illegal aliens, requiring a huge tax increase.President Bush will veto the bill, if the Senate version looks like this one.
Mry makes a good point – a nurse can get stuch between a rock and a hard place if a DR gives bad orders. Follow them and she is malpractice; not follow and insubordination.
The nurse is really the front line, especially in a hospital.
True Grit, there is something seriously wrong with you, matter of fact, it’s people like you who should be struck with an invisible illness like MS so you “Don’t look sick”. Then you can get the ugly stares when people think you’re just too damn lazy to get up and walk.
I know that look, its the same look I get when my autistic but very normal looking child starts screaming in public and people stare and say loudly “that parent is awful for letting her kid behave like that”
God people like you disgust me.
The whole point of a Universal Healthcare System is that everybody has access to the same quality of care. If those who have the money, power and influence have to accept the same level of care as a homeless person, we can rest assured that they’ll see that we’re all be getting the best available.
P-Mom,I know that look well; I used to get it a lot when I took care of a friend with MS, and went to the store to buy her groceries with her Vision card (which I was authorized to do). I had any number of people behind me in line who told me I looked healthy enough to work, so why was I using food stamps? I admit I lost it once or twice and turned around and told them I worked harder and longer any day than they had in their lives. But I also confess that taking care of her was one of the most rewarding and meaningful things I have done. I wouldn’t trade those years for anything!
The whole point of a Universal Healthcare System is that everybody has access to the same quality of care. If those who have the money, power and influence have to accept the same level of care as a homeless person, we can rest assured that they’ll see that we’re all be getting the best available.
Posted by: Jed | August 06, 2007 at 11:53 PM
Next, we need universal home care, where the homeless are entitled to the same home as those with money, power, and influence.How about universal nutrition care, and on and on and on.
Who is going to pay? ANd why should they? If I come up and rob you, and give the money to the homeless guy, it is okay with you?WHy is it any different for the government to do it?
Mary-
You are still working under a doctors orders. That they give you lattitude shows their confidence in you, in that they trust you with THEIR malpractice. Because if they give you that littitude, and you screw up, it won;t just be you that gets screwed.
I am not taking anything away from you, or nurses in general. I have relatives that are one or the other. One doctor, couple of nurses. I respect good doctors, and good nurses. But their level of responsibility is different, as is their defensible positions. You as a nurse are not required, for instance, to know the pharmacological effects and sideeffects of all the drugs
the doctor might prescribe. He is. Only one example of the difference in responsibility. I take nothing away from your practice. Good nurses are a godsend. Good nurses are usually far better at person to person skills than the average, or even sometimes better doctor. Surgeons are by far the worst. And if it’s your own practice, hurray for you for being self employed. As to your comment:
“They’d get pretty pissed off if I called them everytime to ask permission before I changed a dressing, made a visit, or withheld a medication for the benefit of the patient.”
Please don;t be ridiculous. The only one of note in the above is the withholding of medication. If you are doing that, of your own decesion, and it is not an “as needed” medication, you are putting yourself on a limb, not him. If the doctor is allowing a nurse to adminsiter drugs whenever she feels like it, the orders better damn well say so, because it is his neck on the line also.If not, If you did not give a prescribed medication, not on an “as needed” basis, without calling me as the prescribing doctgor, I would fire you. Period.
Unless of course you are a nurse practitioner, which you give no indication of being
What do you mean I have no responsibilty to know drug effects and side effects? That’s as far from the truth as possible…If I give a medication, I better damn well know what it does and what the potential side effects and contraindications are or my patient and my nursing license can be seriously at risk. It’s obvious you have no medical experience.I don’t ask call a doctor and ask permission to withhold Digoxin if my patient has a pulse below 70. I will let him know what I did, but I don’t have to ask his/her permission first. If my patient has a blood sugar of 30, I can hold his insulin and treat his hypoglycemia without asking the doctor first. If my patient is drunk, I can withhold his antipsychotic meds without asking the doctor first. As long as I’m coummnicating and letting the doctor know what I’m doing, I’m not doing anything unethical. That’s how home health works, because you can’t always get the doctor at 10:00 at night or 6:00 in the morning. Nurses have to use their skills and judgement, that’s why we spend years in school and we have to continue our education throughout our careers.
Very well mary,
I am wrong. You have just as much culpabilty and legal liability as the doctor. you may operate under your own, and not the doctors orders. and you must know just as much. I am mistaken. You probably pay as much in malpractice insurance.
Ohg, by way Mary, what are the doctors standing orders? Give 2x daily Or give 2x daily unless….
in any case, I stand corrected.
Yes, I do have to carry malpractice insurance.
No, I don’t have “standing orders” on any of my patients.I’m glad you’re the expert on nursing standards and practices…most doctors don’t even know them.
I’m impressed.
That would be written in illegible handwriting as:
BID per OS or IV or w/e :D
Twice a day per left eye or IV or “what/ever”? Damn, you must be a doctor, Kansas!!
You better brush up on your Latin Mary.
Dexter is right for eye,Sinister is left for eye,
The divisions of the Sagittal plane.:)
Unless my memory has failed me again.
But I’m pretty sure.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nil_per_os
:)
oops wrong link…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Per_os
per os :)
“OS (Oculus Sinister) means left eye.”That’s what I said “left eye”OD means “right eye.”
What does “w/e” mean?