health insurance

Surgical Suites

~ MaryG ~ 17 Comments

My husband had his second total knee replacement this morning at 7am and we are back home sitting on our sofas by 12:30pm—the same day.

If you have the option to get your next surgery as an outpatient at a “surgical suite” vs overnight in a hospital, go surgical suite. I wouldn’t have said that a year ago, but now I see how efficient they are. I’ve heard that the post-op infection rates are lower as well.

Actually, who am I kidding? Nobody has options in healthcare anymore. It’s all about what your insurance dictates and insurance prefers surgical suites because they’re cheaper than hospitals. But you don’t need to be upset if they tell you can’t have your surgery in a hospital. Surgical suites are the better option, in my opinion. Same doctors, but fewer sick people. Nobody is coughing or sneezing. Everyone in the surgical suites is getting something fixed or replaced. And if you’ve ever spent even one night in a hospital, you know being at home is preferable.

Also, they’re sparkling clean. Maybe that’s because everyone leaves by 6pm and the cleaning people can do their work unencumbered.

There – I’ve said something nice about healthcare in America.

Related post:

Arthroplasty

Off the rails

~ MaryG ~ 10 Comments

Do you ever see wild animals?

I see lots of wild animals around here, but I don’t feel like writing about them today.

Unfortunately I took a peek at the national news yesterday and I’m feeling scared today. It feels as if the country is definitely going off the rails. Humans behaving like animals is going to be the norm.

For the most part, I have not been watching the news since the election, but my husband told me about the assassination of the UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, and then my son showed me the horrific video. It was so chilling. I was thinking, “Is this Russia? Is the President-elect somehow involved in this?” I literally thought that…and I am not a whacko conspiracy theorist.

But the reality is almost worse. The overwhelming reaction to this guy’s murder is completely justifiable rage at the health insurance industry. There is very little sympathy for his widow and children. I did a quick check of social media and it seemed the overwhelming consensus to the police’s request for help in finding the suspect is “snitches get stitches.” (So yeah, maybe “the public option” or even “Medicare for All” weren’t such crazy communist ideas after all.)

Animals. We are like animals now.

Then I read a quick article about the animal that has been nominated to lead our Department of Defense—Peter Hegseth. If you think “animal” is too harsh a characterization, please just google him. This guy could be walking around with the nuclear codes as soon as next month. I wonder if he’ll keep them in a pocket near his pro-Crusades tattoo?

Animals. An animal is nominating other animals to help him debase this country to a level we could have never imagined 10 years ago.