Why aren't locals buzzing about the story this week on Kiersa Jacobs?
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Appropriate Course to Diagnosis
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I think it is important to point out that the young girl has an extremely rare form of cancer. If you read the article closely, you will notice that the local physicians initially followed a typical course of examination and treatment based on the primary complaint (the article doesn't specifically point that out, of course). My guess is that, as a physician, you don't perform a special scan on the first visit with common complaints (headache, etc.)just because of the faintly remote possibility of the worst case scenario unless there was some other indicating factor. If that were the case, a CT scan would be prescribed every time you went to the Dr. complaining of a headache. That is just plain unrealistic. It is unfortunate that it took a couple of visits to the Dr's office to diagnose Kiersa's particular condition. I can appreciate the family's frustration with the lengthy diagnostic process, but it has absolutely nothing to do with the their insurance status or the physicians abilities, it has everything to do with the complicated type of disease affecting their daughter. I used to work closely with physicians in my former job, and as a group they are totally dedicated to taking care of their patients...unlike the typical golf-playing, fancy lifestyle stereotype we all think of, they are generally like you and me. I am a little tired of seeing physicians getting raked over the coals in the news. I think instead of complaining, we should be happy that we have a local hospital staffed with highly trained individuals from all over the country right here in Bozeman...remember, there is no medical school in this state to recruit graduates, and we should be grateful that our cities and towns in MT can attract medical staff at all. I'm just glad to have them around when I need them. |
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RE: Appropriate Course to Diagnosis
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Don't get me wrong, I am glad to have local medical care, but what is the quality of the care one gets in Bozeman, Montana? Sure they are more than adequate for: the appendectomy, childbirth, broken bones, and so forth, but when it comes to the complicated and/or rare, what is the first thing they do here? If it is emergent, they Life Flight you out of here to somewhere better able to help you. If it is non-emergent, then they tell you, like one doctor told me: "You need to get to a large academic hospital who can better help you." So, I ask you: Should I be grateful or should I be worried that I will receive wrong or inadequate treatment here? Montana is not attracting the best and brightest that medicine has to offer because those professionals can make oodles more $$$ elsewhere. Isn't it sad that the medical community is so driven by the almighty buck? The caveat is to stay well because our frontier medicine may not help you and may, in fact, harm you. This is a problem all over the inter- mountain west. |
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Insurance/Employment and BENEFITS?
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Everyone notice that half the employers here offer "insurance" as a benefit? Then the "employer" charges you for that "benefit?" One of my daughter's applied for a p/t job. Job offered benefits including insurance. Well, for $154.00 a month, my single daughter could pay the employer for it. Employers can offer "health insurance" as a "benefit," and then charge these kids more than if they simply called Blue Cross Blue Shield and joined on their own. I think it should be illegal for employers to offer benefits, and then expect the employees to pay for it. Seems kind of like an oxymoron of some sort, and not really honest. |
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RE: Insurance/Employment and BENEFITS?
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Believe it or not, that $154.00/month is a pretty good deal. The benefit offered is the reduced insurance premium cost...maybe that is how it should be advertised. Have you tried to obtain health care insurance lately? I have. I have no medical problems and the best deal I could find is almost twice as much as your daughter's premium. In fact BCBS was the most expensive I found. Until an alternative presents itself, we're all going to pay more for health care coverage. Perhaps this is another fine argument for universal health care insurance? |
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Universal Health Care...
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Our daughter is too old to be on our plan, covered as a student. So, yes we have insurance. I may have gotten off track with my point. (what's new!) I was trying to make a case that employers should not legally be allowed to state that health insurance is a "benefit," unless the employer is paying for it. With our help, we've got her on a plan for $123.00 a month. Many of the college age kids/young adults are working their way through school, receiving offers only of "loans" are hit the hardest. Many kids are on "grants," and have no idea how lucky they are. Seems that the middle income folks again, make too much for any assistance for their kids in college, but our tax dollars support other kids. Ok, ok, ok...We are forgeting a segement of the population, who are uninsured. College kids/young adults who are struggling to get through school by working. FYI: After talking to financial aid office, asking why our kids are not eligible, have good grades 3.5 gpa while working part-time to full time, we were told this. Scholarships based on gpa run out at about 3.8 gpa, and that the FAFSA form for U.S. Government Grants (our tax dollars) they do not meet the requirements because: 1. They have no dependant's. (That means they are responsible girls) 2. They are no a "minority." (they are caucasion) 3. They are not "disabled." Can't remember the other one or two criteria. One of the girls said, "I'd be better off if I had a child, then the "taxpayers" would be throwing money at me!" In a sense, a reward and "victim" status. Sadly, she is right. |
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The Bigger Picture
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Julumata, I think you need some perspective. I get the feeling that your statements come from emotion and not from facts, common sense and an understanding of basic economics. What do you expect out of a healthcare facility in a town of 35,000, serving a total of about 80,000 if you count the rest of Gallatin and Park counties? Heck, there's not even a million people in the state. If I have bad kidneys, I wouldn't expect a small hospital to employ a nephrologist and to maintain a million dollar dialysis center for the 5 cases that are diagnosed annually in the area, or I wouldn't expect a pediatric oncologist to try to establish a practice here for the 2 or 3 cases they'd see per year (the CDC reports that childhood cancer incidence rate in the US in 2004 was about 166 per 1 million children). I completely expect to travel to receive treatment in such circumstances. Complicated cases are sent out because there is specialized equipment, facilities and expertise to treat complex and rare diseases elsewhere, not because the quality of care is poor or the physicians here are second rate. Specialists and facilities are located in larger cities where specialized training and a patient population exist to support rare and unique medical treatment. Like it or not, it is simply a matter of economics and availability of patients in need. I feel bad that you believe the "medical community is driven by the almighty buck". I also feel sorry that you had such a bad experience to be driven to essentially slander the local medical community. Any idea what it costs to go to medical school these days? U of Colorado resident tuition and expenses are around $40K/year. In 4 years that's about $160K. If you don't believe me look it up on the school web site. If you come from a middle income family, it is unlikely that you'll receive any grants or other financial assistance to attend except for student loans. If you choose to be a primary care physician (family practice, internal med., pediatrician), after graduation and at least three years of residency you'll be about 30 years old and start at your first job that pays about the same rate as a master electrician or carpenter (About $75K to $80K). My point is that most doctors are in deep debt, sacrifice a lot of time and aren't always highly paid like what you see on TV to do what they do...and they don't even have a real job until they're 30! Once they start to practice, the hours are horrible, the pressure to make absolutely no mistakes is high and the liability is horrendous...I could never do it. I used to work with a wide variety of doctors as part of my job. Often, I made more money that they did (and I'm not as educated, or smart for that matter!). And I never knew of any Dr. who, in my opinion, was "...driven by the almighty buck", given the economic facts, dedication and commitment to their profession. Did I mention that it also costs money to operate a medical office? It is a business with overhead and salaries just like a grocery store, auto dealership, contractor...I guess all of those people are driven by the almighty dollar too. About the notion that Montana doesn't attract the best and brightest medicine has to offer, I challenge you to check out the medical staff directory on the Bozeman Deaconess Hospital web site. The staff appears to be highly educated to me based on the information provided in the professional biography. While that doesn't prove that they are the best, it does show that they are competent. I'm not so sure you're glad to have local medical care available since, what is inferred by your statements, it is second-rate. |
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The Actual Picture
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To: danie006 I'm not sure whether you can recognize the amount of emotion you poured into your response to me. Nor am I sure why you appear to be taking this personally. You do not know my background, so the comments you are making to me are out of line. I'm not as green or ignorant to the medical community as you might be thinking. |
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RE: The Actual Picture
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It appeared that you opened the debate doors with your post and I obliged. That's all. I don't think I was out of line. No emotion or personal interest involved; I just offered facts to refute your inflammatory statements on a subject I happen to know quite a bit about. My response was only meant to provide a balanced perspective on the issues you raised. |
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You don't have insurance
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| I work hard to pay for insurance for my family. Why should I work harder to help pay for your insurance? What is your role?....to only accept handouts? | |
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Garage Sale for Kiersa
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A young girl who is living in Kiersa's families home, (renting/Belgrade) is having a garage sale with ALL benefits going to Kiersa and her family. Clean out your closets and homes and take only the "GOOD STUFF" to the Belgrade Fire Department. The fire department apparently is going to hold this stuff until the garage sale at Kiersa's home in Belgrade. C'mon people, this family may not be wealthy, but by golly they are surely doing everything in their power to provide for their children. |
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Helping
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Sometimes it takes a child to lead the way. Thanks berrymountain for reporting the news about the girl holding the benefit sale for Kiersa. That is something we can all support! |
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