A Big Mistake

Last year, my roommate's telemedicine bus was taken out of commission with little to no warning. Then they fixed it. Now, it seems, it has happened again. Like last time, we really have no idea why. In our state, basic care can happen in rural areas, but for more serious things, you have to go to one of the (TWO) major cities to find someone who has the skills to help you. Last year when I was needing a total hysterectomy, the only way I could get someone to handle a patient of my size was to travel two hours to the city. This wasn't fun and it certainly wasn't fun when I was riding home with holes in my belly.

Now a bunch of sick people (who are more than likely also poor) are going to have to find a way to get to the city for their treatment. This is assuming they even can. A lot of sick people don't have great vehicles. Many of them don't have anyone to go with them and that is a long drive to make solo if you're ill. And in some cases, they don't have the strength to handle the trip. Telemedicine was vital to helping them.

And while the easy answer seems to be 'why not just move closer?' I think we all know it's never that simple. Things are more expensive in the city. Metropolitan areas are difficult to navigate and the higher populations mean more traffic. Not to mention, moving is never easy on anyone. It's basically hell on people who are ill.

I have a friend who is very active in keeping abreast of local politics. She posts a lot of stuff about how the state government is handling funding. Even though my state, in the past, has managed to stay in budget, we're not doing that now because our governor refused national funding for health care. It's really gutting the state and they're being too stubborn to accept the problem they've created. It's possible that the telemedicine program was one of the things they cut. I'm not sure on that, but it seems likely.

It that is true, it was a very poor decision on their part. They cut funding to a program that helps a LOT of people across our state. This program provided health monitoring for a lot of conditions and gave peace of mind to those who used it. After all, the idea of driving so far for someone to tell you that you're still the same as you ever were is very rough on the psyche.