It is bad enough that the Government has determined that soda is not good for us so it must be taxed, along with the higher taxes on nicotine products which was already ridiculously high. It is preposterous to allow your health care to be determined by a governmental agency and not your doctors. Do you want your medical records open for the world to see, might as well. Do you think your medical records are accurate to begin with? You may be surprised with what you find. Just like your credit report that has flaws, and errors; your medical record does too.

A report on Fox News today will terrify you, and if it doesn’t it should. Check the link below for the video footage

Big Brother? Health House Keeps Patients ‘Safe’ by Watching Every MoveGov

So with Government watching how many times you open your fridge, wash your hands, and any and I do mean ANY move, that in turn will be used against you in paying for your health care. Not for your “safety”. Do you want your safety in the hands of others? What makes Government believe that we as a whole cannot and will not think for ourselves? Does it take away from what our founding fathers intended? Definitely, Big Brother takes away freedom. It is amazing that no one understands that. Once it is taken away my friends we will never see it return. Like IRS and Income Taxes were to be a part time thing this too will be permanent. It cannot be allowed, the Health Care reform has to be scrutinized very closely by ALL of us while we still have a choice.

For example as I was a Medicare claim specialist for 9 years I had the opportunity to see first hand how Governmental Health care works, or should I say essentially does not work. Doctors and hospitals had to conform and compromise to Medicare rules which were usually absolutely ridiculous. Which, sorry folks in turn compromises the care of the disabled and elderly.

Here is a simple example; Medicare can say we will not cover this procedure, test, or hospital stay because they have a diagnosis of obesity. Now what if the diagnosis is purely secondary to steroid use for an auto-immune disease, asthma, or other inflammatory condition. What if the weight gain is contributed to thyroid, hormones or diabetes? Those are not normally included in a claim if they were not seen directly for that condition that visit. However as your blood pressure and weight are taken every visit it is commonly included in your diagnosis without your even knowing. Then the patient gets the bill and has to fight from there.

Sadly a persons care depends on what the insurance allows, or in this example the Government. We don’t want this for our children, ourselves or our nation. We want our disabled and elderly to be treated with respect and dignity and not denied care because of the conditions they face. Not all illness is a result of bad behavior, but even if it was it should be our freedom to have our own practices in life. We forget that we have paid along with our employers into the Social Security/Medicare system and should not be penalized for its lack of ability to run efficiently.

My suggestions are to obtain a copy of your medical records from all your doctors, labs, hospital stays, etc. Go as far back as possible. Verify these records stem to stern for accuracy and completeness. When you see an error in dictation or possibly the doctor misunderstood you, make an appointment to discuss the errors in your medical record. I recommend making an appointment instead of calling so you can ensure it is corrected then and there. Then request a copy of the correction along with the current visit note. Once you obtain all your records make a habit of requesting them at each visit.

These records in your possession are good for many reasons;

You may require specialist care that you may need the information. No matter how healthy we are, our memories are not perfect and it is good to refresh ourselves of what was preformed when or what medications we have tried.
To verify accuracy and completeness in our permanent medical record.
For legal issues, we never know what will be sequestered and used against or for us in a court of law.
Lastly before our records become property of the Government which may happen we want to ensure what is in there is correct to safeguard our own care.

On that note I think I will enjoy a bubbly refreshing soda of my choosing… from while I still can.