Thanks to Roy Gibbon for sending me this important article. Everything you need to know – MEDICAL INSURANCE EXPLAINED Q. What does HMO stand for? A. This is actually a variation of the phrase, “HEY MOE.” Its roots go back to a concept pioneered by Moe of the Three Stooges, who discovered that a patient could be made to forget the pain in his foot if he was poked hard enough in the eye. Q. I just joined an HMO. How difficult will it be to choose the doctor I want? A. Just slightly more difficult than choosing your parents. Your insurer will provide you with a book listing all the doctors in the Plan. The doctors basically fall into two categories: those who are no longer accepting new patients, and those who will see you but are no longer participating in the Plan. But don't worry, the remaining doctor who is still in the Plan and accepting new patients has an office just a half-day's drive away and a diploma from a third world country. Q. Do all diagnostic procedures require pre-certification? A. No. only those you need. Q. Can I get coverage for my pre-existing conditions? A. Certainly, as long as they don't require any treatment. Q. What happens if I want to try alternative forms of medicine? A. You'll need to find alternative forms of payment. Q. My pharmacy plan only covers generic drugs, but I need the name brand. I tried the generic medication, but it gave me a stomach ache. What should I do? A. Poke yourself in the eye. Q. What if I'm away from home and I get sick? A. You really shouldn't do that. Q. I think I need to see a specialist, but my doctor insists he can handle my problem. Can a general practitioner really perform a heart transplant right in his/her office? A. Hard to say, but considering that all you're risking is the $20 co-payment, there's no harm in giving it a shot. Q. Will health care be different in the next decade? A. No, but if you call right now, you might get an appointment by then. From: Sharon Sherrard [sharonsherrard@aol.com] Suzanne this is absolutely right on! Absolutely hysterical and absolutely sad! because it is so true! From: Jean Clyde Mason [jeanclyde@earthlink.net] VERY FUNNY, SUZANNE….. Someone we know called me a “bigot” for saying that Michael Moore is a fat slob and a poor spokesman for any health message. I see the condition of my English friends teeth, the pills they take long after we have exposed their worthlessness and the lack of any alternative education. From: David Langer [david@tvgpr.com] Right on! From: Joyce Chamberlain [jachamberlain@juno.com] I find this article contrary to my experience with an HMO. I have insurance through PacifiCare and my medical group is Healthcare Partners. A year ago I had both hips replaced at the same time. I was concerned because of all the things I'd heard about HMOs, like in the article. However, my experience was wonderful. My surgeon was the best in the area and was trained in a special approach that allowed both hips to be done at once. The approach required a special surgical table which Torrance Memorial had. I was given every bit of care I needed at the time I needed it without question or issue. I couldn't ask for better care and the cost was minimal! Whenever I've seen my PCP for other matters, they have all been handled without issue. I get my medications through the mail program which gives me 3 months for the cost of two. Based on my experience, the article is not accurate and is misleading. From: Kathleen Patton [kpatton@cddnp.org] Thanks for this commentary; funny but true unfortunately. From: Lynne Richardson [lynnecrichardson@hotmail.com] Hilarious! From: William Ridinger [ridinger@msn.com] Funny article, with a lot of truth in it. The only thing they left out (and it is actually in the last sentence) is that the one doc still in the plan whose office is a half-day away and who holds the 3rd world diploma can get you in to see him 3 weeks from next Tuesday. I've been talking to some rational, science-minded people about the circles, and surprisingly, some of them seem to have a fairly open mind about the phenomenon. I think I came up with an original quote…”What science doesn't understand, it shuns.” I wonder if I read that somewhere or actually thought it up myself?? I paid that huge amount for a copy of Jon-boy Anderson's “Change We Must” CD and then I forgot about it as I was getting ready to leave the Maui house and left it there, so I still haven't got to hear it. I have nearly called the caretaker two or three times and asked him to mail it to me here in Texas, but I am going back in 2 more weeks and I plan to immediately locate it and listen. Finally. A lady dolphin trainer/researcher turned me onto a sci-fi writer named David Brin, who writes about humans and dolphins cruising the galaxies together (e.g. Startide Rising), among other things. What an imagination he has…..also holds a Ph.D. in astrophysics from U.C. San Diego, and went to Stanford as an undergrad. Makes more money writing science fiction than he can working for NASA! Another great sci-fi novel that addresses a breakthrough in human-cetacean communication is Into the Deep, by the late Ken Grimwood. Dr. Lilly really liked that book; he and Ken spent some time together in the Bahamas, in what turned out to be both of their later years: John died at 86, Ken at 59. Big Al Einstein once said that “imagination is more important than knowledge.” I highly recommend Walter Isaacson's biography of Einstein; just finished that recently and learned a lot. Here are the lyrics to another little YES ditty off the CD “Tormato”… I could not take it oh so seriously really When you called and said you'd seen a ufo But then it dawned on me the message in writing Spelt out a meeting never dreamed of before I looked out, in the night Strange and startling Was this voice of time just saying There's got to be a linking of everyone Got to be a centre It all comes flooding back Arriving thru eons of times immortal power of the future to behold Vessels of a different impression, None that we could ever hope to have known So look out, in the night Once they arrive On that perennial light Impress a bolder empire of energy In the ships we see The coming of outer space You say there's no reason to conjure With the force as it has been known to be seen You say I'm a fool, a believer Put your feet on the earth it is green But look out, in the night Wait for they arrive To start such sciences anew Here it is the coming of outer space Such a pure delight The coming of outer space ************ Glad to see the humorous piece appear in your e-mail. Keep up the good work; I believe that there is a pretty rapidly growing group that see now what the scientists are still turning a blind eye to. “Such a pure delight…the coming of outer space”….indeed!
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