Dr. Thompson's Blog

What Could Happen with Another Conservative Supreme Court Judge

It was a great loss when Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died yesterday. She was an outstanding woman and a great fighter. Now Trump and his group are gleeful thinking they can get rid of the Affordable Health Care Act and leave thousands of  people without medical care. That would be a tragedy and the poor, the disabled and minorities will be hurt the most. I have never understood why there is no Republican health care act when Trump keeps saying there will be. How could any caring individual deprive thousands of the ability to see a physician or go to the hospital ? That is inhumane.

Not only will Obamacare be at great risk, but pregnant teenagers, poor women and those with an inheritable lethal gene will be at risk. Abortions are already being impacted, but if a woman with several disabled children, such as  Duchenne muscular dystrophy,  realizes she must continue having children with a lethal disorder that is cruel and wrong. I had one  mother of three boys who all died from Duchenne dystrophy and her sisters also had  boys with the disorder.  The woman's  husband disappeared, so no more children were fortunately born with the disorder. One mother who had two boys with the disorder told me she had no idea what she would do if she could ever have time for herself. Her whole life was taking care of her two boys with no help, little money and no time for friends or fun.  

Your Choice of Medical Care Can Make a Difference in Your Life or Your Child's.

I have seen some very good medical care and some that is unbelievably bad. My parents had a doctor they loved but he was most inadequate and would ask me what tests to order for my mother! I was in Northern California, he was in Southern California, and I was a pediatrician. I found an excellent internist for my parents but they refused to change. I suspect it was partly for financial reasons, since the  doctor was in Kaiser. My mother died of a stroke and I am not sure the doctor ever saw her. 

A good friend never saw an M.D but was being cared for by a nurse practitioner in an HMO. I urged  him to see an M.D., but he liked the nurse practitioner. He  died suddenly at age 59 and was a brilliant man. It was a great loss.

A remarkable woman who helped many children told me a few years ago about a medical problem she had that her HMO doctor ignored. I urged her to change doctors but she did not. A year later my friend was found to have diffuse cancer and had several very bad and painful years. She died recently. She could have afforded to get a second opinion or change doctors, but she did not. 

I am always puzzled about how patients make medical choices. Even extremely bright patients make strange and unusual choices. If you chose a doctor, you want to check where he or she went to school, if they are board certified and also read some of the reviews that patients write. Your life or your child's may defend on it. 

Lobbyists and Health Care

While many people are hungry or at risk  of losing their homes because they are unemployed, the health care lobbyists are working hard and have been very successful. Hospitals and others are paying lobbyists thousands of dollars to be sure they are included in the different laws  Congress has passed to help businesses. Hospitals are suffering because elective surgeries are markedly decreased and because their CEOs often make several millions of dollars.

One of the major lobbying firms is Brownstein, Hyatt, Farber and Shreck. They were able to see that Tenet Healthcare received more than 1.4 billion dollars in Cares Act grants and loans. This is while small businesses are in trouble or having to close and people are relying on food banks to feed their families. Several of the lobbyists have personal connections to Trump and his  group. 

I am told by a Washington insider that many of the bills which come out of Congress are written by lobbyists and may be as long as 800 pages. Walgreens has received 35.2 million, Johnson and Johnson 15.1 million and Eli Lilly 7.6 million. 

I hear about healthcare in other countries and wonder how the U.S. can be doing such a bad job. Money here seems so much more important that good patient care. If you have money you can get good medical care, particularly if you join a Boutique medical practice or have a connection to a hospital. I would be ashamed to make the salary some doctors get when there are poor people and others who can not afford even basic medical care. Yet  Trump keeps trying to get rid of the Affordable Healthcare Act because he is so jealous of what President Obama accomplished