June 22, 2014

What Are the Old Curmudgeons Up to Today?

A curmudgeon generally refers to an elderly person that is bad-tempered, difficult, and cantankerous. I can be one of these people at times, especially when I am in the company of another person with diabetes that is doing little to manage his/her diabetes.

In general, there are at least two types of curmudgeons. There are those that have life's experiences that they are being difficult about, or those that have knowledge and/or wisdom that they are imparting to the rest of us. Whether the person is bad-tempered or cantankerous will often depend on the listener and if they can agree or find a way to sooth the feelings of the elder person.

I don't enjoy being bad-tempered or difficult, but there are times when this is the only way I can capture the attention of the person not managing his or her diabetes.

Now I am doing something that I don't like doing or very often, but feel that what I have been reading and learning over the last few years is very indicative of what will happen over the next few years. Yes, I am taking a chance and a risky one, but someone needs to make people aware that this is not that far away.

#1. Under the current medical laws, people with diabetes reaching a certain age (mostly 65 and up) will no longer be able to obtain organ transplants of any kind even if they have a proven record of excellent diabetes management.

#2. People with HbA1c levels above certain levels will no longer be able to obtain certain medications to manage their diabetes. Equipment to help them manage diabetes will not be available. The CMS is also making it more difficult to obtain reliable testing supplies for diabetes.

#3. Many people with certain diseases and cancer will not be able to receive treatment and will be denied lifesaving medications or treatments. They will be given pain medications and allowed to die.

#4. Many hospitals will refuse treatments to people that don't have living wills and do not resuscitate orders on file. A few hospitals are already enforcing this.  More hospitals will be practicing medical blackmail when parents of children ask to get a second opinion.  This blackmail involves calling in childrens' social services and taking control of the children.  Increasingly, hospitals are accusing caretakers of medical child abuse, also known as Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy, in order to seize control of a child’s medical fate. 
Doctors at the Boston Children’s did just that in 2013.  Read more about how hospitals are treating our children here.


#5. More people will file bankruptcies under the current Affordable Care Act than ever before in all generations.

#6. More money will be wasted on studies of no clinical value than is already being wasted. More people will want to prove their values and will spend the money to do just that. Valuable studies of clinical value will cease to happen as Big Pharma, Big Food, Big Chemical, and Big Agriculture are going to find their profits shrinking in the face of Big Government forcing costs down.

#7. The war on patients will make patients' lives more difficult and make #5 accelerate at an even faster pace.

Life for the elderly will be returned to the days when they were dependent on the handouts from others. For those unable to afford medical care and the necessities of daily living, life will become a battle unlike this country has ever seen.

Although this link is not about any one disease in particular, it is still interesting and has a powerful message.

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