it's the medical system stupid!

With the President claiming that Social Security is the biggest threat to aging in America, blog posts on dentists and news of the untimely death of a 20-something community artist really point to medical care as a greater issue, something more relevant and pressing for the vast majority of the population, whether they be 20 or 80.

Over the years, been to at least three memorials for people who died in emergency rooms, delaying visits to doctors because they didn't have the money, self medicating with over the counter aspirins til it was really too late. My fiance's friend who works at San Francisco General ER sees it all the time, large amounts of triage cases of people who had curable problems that lingered too long.

One of my clients is a Public Health group that produces the "HMO guide" a guide that assists people to maneuver through their medical plans. Those are the lucky. The editor of the guide tells me that so far employers have been able to shield us from the skyrocketing costs of medical care, but the predictions are that they won't be able to for very long.

So, while the president talks about how social security payments will diminish, no one is addressing where people will use the vast majority of their checks. My mother who is in her 50s already has several bottles of various cholesterol lowering medications.

Sure we'll be living longer, but will we be living well.