Medicare and Pharamcies

I hit that magic 65 last June and went from my wife's really good insurance to Medicare with lots of Medigap insurance. It hasn't been too bad but the medication stuff has been a pain. There has been some increases in out of pocket expenses. The two most costly medications I take went from $60 to over $130 out of pocket. Also there has been some really odd increases for stuff that had been free or a $20 co-pay. I use insulin and the price of the needles is outrageous to say the least. It cost $112 for 300 needles the last time. Why? The insulin is unusable without them and in my mind they should come with the insulin when you refill that.

Also there seems to be more paperwork than ever. When I do refill the needles and test strips there is paperwork that has to be filled out by the doctor before you can get them refilled. He is basically certifying that you are using them. Really? Again the insulin is unusable without the needles and you need the test strips to know how much you need to take. It would seem to me that if the government was trying to control costs they would stop some of this unnecessary paperwork and trust the doctors to know what their patients need, at least when it comes to diabetes.

Insulin has been in the marketplace since the 1920's but there is no generic for it. This is partially because it is a biologic and not a chemical. The government and FDA control the chemical stuff but allow the pharmaceuticals free reign when it comes to biologic based medications. So, no generics and super high costs. Insulin is an $8 billion a year cash cow for the pharmaceutical companies in the USA.

Guns at School

Sadly the gun debate hasn't made any progress or shown any signs of finding some common ground or common sense. Now the talk is about arming the teachers and other staff. I have no problem with this if the staff and teachers are willing to do it  but no one should be forced to carry a gun. Also there is lots and lots of training that would have to be done before this would have even a ghost of a chance of working. Also I really doubt that more guns is even close to the solution we need. Can you even begin to imagine if for some reason a teacher shot a student by mistake.

Real common sense and solutions that both sides of the more sensible people have said they'd like aren't even on the table as the NRA and its members get absolutely hysterical if they are brought up. Things like an assault type weapons ban or large capacity magazine bans. More and better background checks. These can't even be brought up because of the NRA. In Florida the legislature voted down an assault weapons ban while survivors of the last mass shooting watched in the gallery. I wonder how much that cost the NRA. How bankrupt of a moral compass do you have to have to do that.

I read on a news site that there have been 16 police officers killed in the line of duty so far this year. The article was written as if this was horrible thing and made the school shootings less of an issue because police had been killed. I worked with law enforcement for 25 years and every officer knows and understands there is a chance they may meet a violent death. And don't get me wrong here, any persons death is a tragedy but how messed up and pathetic is the world if our children have to accept that same idea when going to school. What a sickening and sad vision of America do you have to have for that to be acceptable to you.

As for teachers with guns to protect our students, just remember that every police officer that died while on duty was armed. Now imagine a teacher armed with a Glock in a classroom with 20-30 very frightened, possibly screaming kids fending off an attacker armed with an AR-15 with a 30 round magazine.

Guns and America

Sadly the last couple of years have been rather busy with lone gunmen shooting up schools, churches, malls, workplaces and just about anywhere else they can. The weapon of choice has been the AR-15 or some sort of semi-automatic rifle based on one or another military assault rifle. They use large capacity magazines and in at least one case a bump stock or trigger crank to increase the rate of fire on these semi-automatic weapons. These events are followed by a national outcry for some sort of gun legislation followed by hand wringing and politicians saying it is too soon to talk about this issue. And of course the obligatory "Thoughts and Prayers". Anymore it seems that thoughts and prayers is Washington DC speak for we are going to do nothing.

There has been no meaningful gun control laws or common sense in the gun debate for the last 40 years. The last real gun law was the Brady Bill that controlled  magazine capacity and civilian styled assault rifles, AR-15's and AK-47's mostly. When that bill expired it has been impossible to have any kind of discussion or legislation about gun control without the NRA and other gun enthusiasts screaming that "they are coming to take away our guns".  The NRA has spent money lavishly to buy off the politicians in both DC and the state capitols. In Idaho alone the four person congressional delegation has received $95,050 over the years they have been in office. They all mention very loudly in their reelection speeches and pamphlets that they are unconditional supporters of the Second Amendment. Hard to get a word in edge wise with that kind of rhetoric.

Then there are those folks that own weapons. If you believe the media and their pollsters, the majority of Americans and gun owners too support some sort of gun control. That said the vocal minority is the only voice the politicians hear. The gun owners and the NRA yell that more people are killed in cars than killed by guns every year. While in numbers that is true, that argument misses the point. Which I believe is what they intend anyway. The last thing these people want is a calm, rational discussion and solution to the issue. Something about a slippery slope, I think.

I don't believe there is a simple or easy solution here but in the present atmosphere it is impossible to even talk about it. Right now the only things you hear are talk of outright bans and abolition or, and this is from the NRA, only a good guy with a gun can stop a bad guy with gun. Just try having a rational discussion when that is the kind of people you are talking with. So, unfortunately the only options left are useless hand wringing and of course thoughts and prayers. 

Here I am again and it has been years since I have written anything here. Lots has happened. I did get the gastric bypass surgery in February of 2014. I had lost right 100 pounds but in the last year about 25 pounds has come back. The best thing is that I have stopped taking as much medication and stopped taking two different medications. My type 2 diabetes is mostly under control and my blood pressure has come down significantly.  I can't say that I'm totally pleased with some of the changes that the surgery has brought on. Eating is more of a challenge as I can only eat a little of most things. My wife and I used to love going out to eat but we don't that hardly at all anymore. There are now foods that will make me sick to the point of throwing up and many things will just make me feel as if I would like to throw up. Not the most pleasant feeling. While I'm glad I did it I'm not sure I'd do it again knowing what I know now.