My first experience with Obamacare...

I guess I shouldn't be surprised.

My 81-year-old mother-in-law was in severe pain today. She saw her in-network Doctor for her symptoms. He prescribed a medication to relieve the problem, and called in the prescription to our nearby pharmacy.

When I went to fill the prescription, I was informed that it was not covered by her insurance - the same insurance that had covered the medication not long ago. The reason is what prompted this blog entry: according to the Pharmacist, she was not eligible for insurance coverage because she was over the age of 60. Had she been younger, the medication would have been covered.

No doubt this extends to other medications, as well as healthcare procedures, which were previously available to her. It may also explain why an increasing number of healthcare providers no longer take patients that are covered by programs like Medicare.

How did we vote this into being? And how can we continue to vote in support of this type of healthcare system? It's been 35 years since I first saw "Logan's Run" - an Oscar-nominated movie where an idyllic society has determined that life ends at 30, for the convenience of those who remain.

Hippocrates (known as the “Father of Medicine”) is famous for his Hippocratic Oath, known as one of the oldest binding documents and held sacred by physicians: to treat the ill to the best of one's ability, to preserve a patient's privacy, to teach the secrets of medicine to the next generation, and so on. I guess we have decided to replace it with a some version of a Hypocritical Oath: elected officials promoting or administering virtues, moral or religious beliefs, principles, and so forth that they do not actually possess or are guilty of violating.

I guess that makes sense, considering who voted for such policy. Either politicians who will not rely on Obamacare, or young people who do not yet need it. One thing is certain; we will all get older, and we will all need competent healthcare at points in our lives.

I hope there are still competent Doctors and facilities left when (I and) my children will need them.