Healthcare 65 Plus

We seemed to be in decent health in 2021, we were both active and no major problems were discovered.  That is, until my husband went for new eyeglasses. 

His optometrist recommended cataract surgery.  Since this was a V.A. optometrist, we thought it was an honest evaluation since they had nothing to gain by making a referral. My husband went to the suggested eye surgeon, referred by the V.A.  

He had his cataract surgery on the right eye just before Thanksgiving.  The surgery was uneventful, everything went well, and his vision in that eye improved remarkably. 

In December, he went for his second surgery to have the cataract removed from his left eye. This was indeed a more eventful experience. My husband was the last of fourteen surgeries to be performed that day, and the surgeon was leaving for a tropical vacation immediately after.  I think it was reasonable to say he was more than looking forward to being finished for the day. My husband came out of surgery with his shirt soaking wet! No explanation, nothing!

In addition, the surgical center called us to inform my husband that one of the Nurses assisting in his surgery had tested positive for COVID. My husband took precautions, and we watched intently for any signs of a virus. ‘My husband kept his day after surgery follow-up appointment and was declared to be doing well.  A week later, however, he was not doing so well!  His eye was extremely inflamed and swollen, and he had bad vision with pain. We made an appointment with the surgeon’s associate in another town, and he took him in right away. This associate referred my husband to the company’s Retina specialist, who was in a northern office about forty minutes away. We visited the office, where the specialist diagnosed an infection. He used a needle to get a sample of the infection from my husband’s eye. 

The specialist then gave my husband an injection in his eye with antibiotics. We had to return two more times for two more injections, which obviously did not work because the specialist then had to perform surgery to try to get debris out of the eye. This entire process spanned three months. Finally, to add injury to insult, they billed our insurance for all they did to fix their own negligence! That takes real Chutzpah!  It seems these Retina specialists are popping up all over the globe, They make one thousand per shot in the eye, and every ophthalmologist and cataract surgery is associated with one. Talk about big money! Even the optometrists refer to them now. You see surgery is no longer the total cost to Medicare, because we now have prolonged injections to the eye which is 1K a pop, per patient, per month, for at least another year. Tak about job security! Huh!

 We did the responsible thing. We went to the Attorneys. Guess what? They no longer sue for medical malpractice unless it is a “Slam Dunk ” case worth millions. It seems our government has put a cap on medical cases, so you cannot get enough to make it worth the time or effort.  You see, the attorney gets 30 to 40 percent and….  Expenses, which usually bring it to 50 percent or better and all the experts are right there in their office. That is so convenient! Therefore that tiny little settlement of 300 K only nets about 150 thousand dollars ot a little more. That is not enough for a slam dunk case., They need at last a million! That explains the amount of carelessness in healthcare today! Ah, but being a retired investigator, I still knew where to complain effectively, and I knew what I could sue for. It wasn’t Medical Malpractice. Nooooo… that was played out. Stay with me to learn about the alternate law suits that usually go well.

Welcome to the new Healthcare for people over 65. Congratulations, we are all brand new ” Cash Cows” for the revised medical industry. Read on to hear more about why this is the “New” healthcare or shall we say “sick care”.