You've got to be rich.
And you've got to live on the Westside.
So I go to the Retina Partners office for my checkup.
Now normally I see doctors that don't take insurance. And let's just say the patients in the waiting room are...self-selecting.
But in this office there are all types, all ethnicities, from every socioeconomic class, because THEY TAKE INSURANCE!
Yes, the average person with macular degeneration is old, and they're on Medicare, and if you've got wet macular degeneration you need these shots that cost 2k apiece so...
It's kind of weird, almost seems free. Then again, I pay a fortune for Medicare and my Blue Cross PPO supplement. You want to be covered. And if you're still earning a living, Medicare ain't free.
So, you have all these tests. Some with the proverbial eye chart. And then you sit in a seat where you put your chin on a rest and they shoot pictures. Amazing the technological improvements in the medical world. But what bugs me is they're going to keep making advancements after I die, some that would have benefited me.
But there's a new one now.
The fastest doctor's appointment is the dermatologist. It's a veritable hit and run affair. Then again, my doctor left the hospital because of overwork and now she's independent and I may even get up to an hour with her. But I'm paying for that. But am I really going to go back into the hospital system, after so many MDs misdiagnosed my pemphigus foliaceus? She was the only one who caught it, very late in the scenario, when my body was covered with blisters and I ultimately had to be hospitalized. Couldn't anybody else see it?
So...
You've got to pay.
Now there are two types of people. Those willing to pay and those who are not. As well as those who have insurance and do not. You might be able to beat the system, you might go to the hospital and be treated sans insurance, but do you really want to take that risk? No, you want to be fully covered. With a Medicare supplement and a drug policy and...you'd be stunned how many people don't have these.
Like I said, the best doctors in Los Angeles don't take insurance. And they're off Medicare. Which means it's cash on the barrel, 100%. But my internist, who diagnosed my CML, I'm not going to pay him? I'm going to go back into the system where I'm a number not a name and get half-a*sed service? I don't think so.
Not that I'm thinking about all this as I'm going from room to room at the office today. This is just a routine checkup.
Until... At the final moment, after a very quick visit, seemingly as an afterthought, the doctor says there's a new treatment.
And at first he's soft-pedaling it, but when I show interest, when I say I'm willing to PAY, he says TO START RIGHT AWAY!
It's called Valeda Light Therapy and it's FDA approved, but insurance only covers people whose eyes are worse than mine. But it works for everybody with the condition. You don't get better, but it'll forestall getting worse.
And I'm thinking about the 6-8k cost. For a moment. Then I say I'M IN!
Which totally changes the doctor's demeanor. Now he's gung-ho.
You see most people in the Valley...they don't want to pony up.
Which is why the machine will be installed in their Santa Monica office. And people don't want to drive there. Because you have to go 36 TIMES IN A YEAR! And it's a schlepp.
I used to live in Santa Monica, but now I don't. We live close to the 405, near Mulholland, so it's doable, but believe me, this is an inconvenience, it's only a five minute treatment, but the driving...
So he's telling me they're one of the first, if not the first, to get this machine in the nation.
Which reminds me why I don't want to live in the hinterlands. I mean Vail has excellent health care, probably the best of any ski town. Scratch that, THE BEST of any ski town. Athletes fly from all over the world for treatment. And they've got a cancer center, but how comprehensive can their service be? Whereas in Los Angeles you can get a specialist in every field who only sees your problem and...that's what I want. I want the big doctor. Sometimes the diagnosis and treatment is clear, but sometimes it's not.
So...
I lamented no longer living on the Westside, but Felice says we can move when I buy the house, which is never going to happen. Hell, prices have gone up in wake of the decimation of the Palisades. Used to be middle class people could live on the Westside, but that ship has sailed.
And in truth, at this point to do your job it doesn't matter where you live. Because with a computer and phone you can be just about anywhere.
At least I can.
And I'm thinking about what Narada Michael Walden told me about money. It comes and goes. Have a windfall and you'll have an unexpected bill, funny how it works that way. You can be tightfisted, saving for a long life, and then be cut down at a young age.
But even worse is the people who can't afford it.
And then there are those who don't prioritize it.
Funny how that works. I know so many people who'll buy a new car, improve their house, but they won't spend on health care. If the doctor's not covered by insurance, they won't go. And they convince themselves they've gotten the best treatment since they went to the doctor when this is oftentimes untrue. I ask people whether their doctor ran this test or that and they have no idea what I'm talking about. And then there are people who have heart disease in their family who are convinced that they're safe because they take a statin. You could do much more than that, and oftentimes you need to.
Thank god I've got the money. Didn't used to, but do now.
Do I want to spend all this cash?
Absolutely not. But then I think of my dental bills... Good luck getting an implant for free.
Life is not convenient and life is not free. You can convince yourself with blinders that you've got everything covered, but oftentimes you don't. There are people who can't afford good health care, and for them I truly feel sorry. Statistics tell us they don't live as long as the wealthy, who do so because of what they spend on health care.
I mean it's my vision. What difference does the money make if I can't see?
I'm doing it. I'll rearrange my schedule.
But I know not everybody else will. Whether by choice or cost.
And that's just sad.
But that's how the world works. You grow up and you get to steer, you get to make the choices, it's part of being an adult. But many shirk this responsibility, believing they're going to live forever.
They're not.
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