Best thing on the web today: Dark Ages Redux: American politics and the end of the Enlightenment by John Atcheson
Why Vincent Chin Matters 30 years ago, Vincent Chin was beaten to death in Chicago for being Asian. His killers got off with probation and a $3000 fine.
What happens when more people get health insurance. See more comments by Paul Waldmen and Dan Taylor.
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We finally have a diagnosis from Lily’s biopsy, which is feline lymphosarcoma. Its a very nasty disease, although the Vet said very often it responds well to chemotherapy. I’m supposed to take her back in a week to see if she’s a good candidate for that, but of course that’s going to run up a bigger bill.
With all the medicines I’m giving her now she is actually perking up and eating a little. She’s also climbing on my lap to be petted. She’s not her old self, but she’s improved considerably from Tuesday, when I thought the only option was euthanasia. She may have some life in her yet.
So, I’m still taking donations, although what I’ve received so far has been enormously generous and a huge help.
I don’t know what her chances for any meaningful recovery, but at least there’s a little hope.
Thanks for that link, Barbara, sad as it is.
I’ll keep sending good thoughts for Lily; if the doctor is offering hope, then there may be a chance.
It’s so nice to hear Lily is perking up. One of my cats who died of cancer showed few signs of being sick. She ate well and was always the way she had been. I took a week off for a vacation. On the first day of my vacation, her lumps had come back for the third time, so instead of using my vacation time rushing her to the vet. I spent the week playing with her, feeding her anything she wanted, and relaxing. I took her in on the Monday afterwards before I went to work. They called me at lunchtime and there was nothing more they could do for her. I just asked if I could come pick up the cat carrier later in the week. Fortunately, at that time, I worked in an office with a door. I closed it, worked as best I could but mostly cried the rest of the afternoon. She had been a great little pal for 12 years. So, here’s to more time with Lily.
I am sorry to hear about Lilly. Love for animals and people enriches us and maybe we only realize how much when we we fear losing them.
Regarding “what happens when more people get health insurance”: I admit that I definitely believe that prevention saves money. So, I may be just reacting to the 25% higher costs due to my personal bias. My thinking might be flawed, but, I don’t think you can assess the comparative expenditures on health care in such a short period. I suppose if you made a comparison over the course of a lifetime, people with insurance would have higher expenditures because they would live longer. But, this leaves out the cost of lost productivity in those who cannot afford to opt for prevention. But, the most important difficulty would be that the data on those without healthcare would be hopelessly incomplete. If two people have the same cancer, one insured, one not. The insured person is far more likely to have the cancer discovered and treated, leading to some expense. For the uninsured person, the cancer would cost nothing in the short run, as long as it remained undiscovered. It may cost more if discovered at a more advanced state, or less if it caused a precipitous demise. This view of course, limits expense strictly to money required to pay for medical attention.
The comparison is between two groups. We have a lot of data about one group and members of that group are able to act on the available data. We have far less data on the other group so we are uninformed about their situation so action is not possible.
I also wonder if the use of medical services would fall off after a few years of adequate care. If I were a poor person without insurance, and I suddenly had insurance, I would be sure to attend to every medical problem until I was confident that I was in good health and that my insurance was secure. I also would become better at using medical services appropriately as time went on. Over the course of time, my general health should improve and less medical attention would be necessary.