the royal birthing

I suppose it's a good news day when the headline is an heir to the British throne being born while the whole world watches. It beats the hell out of reading about the catastrophe du jour, usually involving guns. That poor lady that flew out of the roller coaster to her death lived one of my biggest fears. That is precisely why you will NEVER catch me on a ride like that. Not only does it make me sick as a dog, I've seen how those things are put up and why go looking for trouble? I have enough of my own making! Daddy and I went shopping for a can opener, dilly bars and slaw and I even managed to score a Dairy Queen t-shrt. Life is good

In other news, the affordable care act won't even go into effect for an extra year and yet hospitals all over the nation are suffering financially because of the "fear factor" of how it will all play out. Plus the economy and job market are such that unless you're dying, nobody has the money to stay healthy. Because of the complexity and changeability of Medicare rules (sometimes daily) most physicians can't afford to keep up their own practices so they opt to work for the healthcare corporations who take care of that for them. Reimbursement is ridiculously low and all private insurers base their rates on Medicare payments. Therefore, healthcare providers must charge way over what is reasonable just to cut their losses. It's all funny money with the tax write offs and whatnot.

Here's the thing. Preventive care that includes regular affordable screening for most diseases is a basic human right and a very good decision fiscally. I was chatting with my Indian friend Mike on my pit stop for beer and he said that a 100K gall bladder is unheard of in his country. Even with the poverty in that nation, there are options for those who really WANT to stay healthy. Here's the other thing: Somewhere along the way people decided that healthcare providers never make mistakes so when "shit happens" which it inevitably will at one time or another, they lawyer up. The price of malpractice insurance has put many a doc out of business and I predict a massive shortage in the near future of anyone who really wants to be a compassionate healthcare provider because we're all so burned out from working in a broken system. It's not just here....it's everywhere! Let's call the mill lawyer up and sue them because Grandma died at 92. True story: My mother's 2nd wreck happened when she pulled out in front of a guy with terminal cancer who died three months later.Neither of them was seriously hurt, yet his daughter lined up an attorney who sued her and her insurance company for a million dollars because that wreck "contributed to his early death." That's the kind of lawyer I'd love to take out back and whip like a red headed step child.

There are indeed true cases of negligence as in any profession, and those are much less common than you would think. I will tell you this from personal experience, everyone should designate a healthcare advocate for him or herself and make sure they're accessible. That's what I've been for the past six years of my parents' life and it's pretty exhausting. I take the DPA for healthcare very seriously and am fortunately in a position to see that they do indeed have somebody fighting for their best interest.

Our friend's pregnant dog got killed in a hit and run last night and Shannah said she could still feel the puppies moving in her dead body. That really made me sad. The had a funeral for her and Uncle dug the grave so the two sobbing girls wouldn't have to do it alone. We had a big ass storm at daybreak and lost power but got it back quickly. Thank you very much Dyersburg Electric. That makes it worthwhile to spend 1/3 of my income on heating and cooling. It is, of course, quite steamy around here now since it all got hot and hydrated. Did I mention that I hate to sweat? Oh yeah, I thought so.

I am weary and have a chance to catch up if I can just settle down long enough. Let's all pray about that one. And keep the faith ^j^