michelleponders

Taking care of my elderly mother with Alzheimer’s has really opened my eyes to how we as a society are not caring for the elderly. Medicare sucks. Health care in this country is only about making money and and when you retire, life gets harder because the government can no longer get any money from you.

We are living longer thanks to advancements in the fields of technology and medicine.

Technology has played a huge part in people living longer. We don’t have to chop wood for the stove to cook food because we have natural gas or electricity. We don’t have to take clothes to the river and use a wash board to scrub them or beat them on rocks because we have washing machines and clothes dryers. Farmers don’t have to use a mule and a plow with the invention of gas driven tractors. The wheel has made moving large objects easier amongst so many other uses. The automobile gets us to our destinations way faster than walking or the horse and carriage. Electricity has made so many improvements in everyday life.

There have been huge advances in medicine. Antibiotics have made overcoming infections a real game changer. Vaccines have almost, and in some instances, completely irradicated diseases that used to wipe out generations of children. We understand the importance of hand washing and hygiene in stopping the spread of diseases and sickness. We understand the role of genetics in our health. The invention of insulin was a huge game changer for people with diabetes. We understand the significance of living and eating healthy.

Despite the fact that we as a society are living longer, we are not taking care of our elderly. And there are several reason for this.

The corporatization of medicine has made the field of medicine all about money. Young people can work long hours and pay the stupidly high copays and deductibles. Older people can not work all the long hours anymore because, well, their bodies can’t keep up anymore. That happens as our bodies age. Also, many older people usually have just Medicare paying medical bills. And there is no money to be made for doctors and health groups when all you have is the government paying your medical bills.

Medicare is a federal funded medical program that never has enough money. I mean, it is funded by a government that can’t even balance a budget and is trillion of dollars in debt. Unfortunately, this also means that older people do not receive the care they actually need because there is no money to be made. They don’t go to the doctor as often as they should and in turn don’t give their money to greedy corporations. But that also means that older people have ailments that could easily be treated if medicine wasn’t run by greedy corporations.

We are still vulnerable to ailments as we age including dementia, arthritis, and pulmonary disease. There doesn’t seem to be any real funding in helping to treat and understand these ailments of aging as they are considered end of life issues. Now, I, for one, have no desire to live forever. But it would be nice to get the healthcare I actually need as I age and to leave the side of heaven with dignity and respect. But this is not the case for the elderly. You find very few, if any, doctors practicing in geriatrics. There are no federally funded programs to help families who don’t have the money to hire home health agencies to care for elderly family members because people must work in order to survive.

The fact is, elderly people can no longer work 40+ hours, the government can no longer get any money from their paychecks and in turn the elderly are no longer considered valuable. They are left to wither away with no dignity or respect. And if you don’t think that is the case, then talk to families trying to care for elderly family members or, better yet, go tour nursing homes.