Michael Swickard
Many Americans wonder how our health care will change with ObamaCare. Yes, it is generally assumed that somehow someone will kill that bad-boy of an idea. What if it does not get killed? What if our country finds only government workers to talk to when our heads hurt? Oh my.
At the coffee shop there is consensus it will be a disaster for those who do not enjoy being under the thumb of government. When I deal with the government it is always on the terms of the government. I have yet to find a government agency that cares what I think. I do what they tell me, or else.
Some people are looking forward to the change such that the government controls how we get health care and all of the details that Congress neglected to think about when they passed the legislation in 2010. My buddy Harvey said only people with brains of custard will be willing to stand for hours on end with no thoughts while unfeeling bureaucrats eat up their time needlessly. These people will thrive in the government system because nothing bothers them. But what about the rest of us?
In the last couple of decades insurance companies have picked up the tendency to act like they are part of the government. You ever try to argue with someone from an insurance company? Feels like trying to argue with a government agency, eh?
When governments run something it ceases to be user-friendly. Government entities seem to view citizens as “giving units” who must interface with the government. Occasionally they say, “We serve the public” but with fingers crossed. Private companies can also be user-unfriendly, as I will document.
Ready for the government takeover
Contrast that attitude with what it is like to deal with most small businesses. While there certainly are exceptions, in general most privately owned businesses attend to the needs of customers and do not take them for granted. If not we will take our money elsewhere. When I speak to the owner what I say carries some weight. I have changed my spending upon not being satisfied. They know they must satisfy me or lose my business.
It is different with for-profit insurance companies and pharmacies, and I suspect it will get worse when people cannot change pharmacies upon being angered. Examples of us moving that direction are two scuffles I had at two different pharmacies this last week. Both times I walked out shaking my head, wondering what it is about handling drugs makes some people so stupid. I have written on this topic a couple of times and am still amazed at how badly things are going now before the government gets its hands on the heartbeat of health.
A few months ago, per a new rule, I was dispensed insulin but not the needles. When I first reported this, some readers scoffed, saying that certainly could not happen. Several came with me to the pharmacy where they heard that the new rules are the insulin and the delivery system are separate prescriptions; therefore, the needle prescription ran out by measure of time before the insulin prescription, which was several days newer. Hence, the pharmacy had no qualms about giving me insulin but by rule could not give me needles. Enjoy!
This time it was something similar. I could not get test strips to test my blood sugar because each year, unnoticed by me, at the start of the year the insurance company resets everything to zero. Therefore, getting the insulin was fine, but not the testing strips. As all diabetics know, test strips are essential so I can see how much insulin I need to administer or if I have injected too much and am about to go into the death zone.
So at the pharmacy I’m having a chat with the face behind the window, asking how would I know that everything resets at the start of each year. He sneers at me that it is my job to know everything about what the insurance company does. Then I had this exchange: “I may be wrong, but I’m still the one with the money.”
The unblinking unfeeling pharmacist said, “So?”
I said, “If everyone gets mad at this pharmacy and takes their business elsewhere, you will have to find a new job.” He shook his head, “That’s not true; I get my pay from the corporate office, not from the cash register.” I could not convince him that ultimately he served at the pleasure of the customers. So there is one pharmacist ready for the government takeover of health care.
‘Step up, pay up and shut up’
A couple of days later, at a different pharmacy, I was picking up a prescription for my elderly uncle. Not the correct dose. I was told that they had an old prescription for the old dose and a new prescription for the new dose of the same medicine. The pharmacy worker maintained that they could not tell which dose to give; hence, they administered the old dose rather than the new dose. More people ready for the government takeover.
There is no incentive for government to try to make me happy, as opposed to in the private sector where I can take my business elsewhere. Except that many pharmacies have already adopted the government attitude.
I am still the one with the money but certainly will be told, “Step up, pay up and shut up.”
Swickard is co-host of the radio talk show News New Mexico, which airs from 6 to 9 a.m. Monday through Friday on a number of New Mexico radio stations and through streaming. His e-mail address is michael@swickard.com.