Thousands In Britain Left To Go Blind Due To Eye Surgery Rationing

[Weatherman2020]

Free stuff! Can’t wait until every doctor visit is like a meeting with the IRS!

Thousands of elderly people in Britain are left to go blind because of rationing of eye surgery in the National Health Service (NHS), a report revealed on Saturday (April 6).

The Times newspaper said a survey by the Royal College of Ophthalmologists (RCO) found tens of thousands of elderly people are left struggling to see because of an NHS cost-cutting drive that relies on them dying before they can qualify for cataract surgery.

The survey has found that the NHS has ignored instructions to end cataract treatment rationing in defiance of official guidance two years ago.

The RCO said its survey has found 62 per cent of eye units retain policies that require people’s vision to have deteriorated below a certain point before surgery is funded.

Thousands in Britain left to go blind due to eye surgery rationing: Report

 

[Marion Morrison]

Oh! But we need single-payer here!

 

[shockedcanadian]

Wait until some provincial (or state) patsy doesn't like you. See how your healthcare is delivered then.

The more control you have, the less Canadian you are. That's a good thing. You want to live and die with dignity, you will never receive that in a healthcare system like Canadas or our British overlords across the pond.

 

[Dekster]

The article is not clear what vision level is the point at which the surgery is approved. Even in the US, I know people who have put it off voluntarily until it got to the point they could barely see. People just don't like the idea of having anything done to their eyes.

 

[bullwinkle]

Free stuff! Can’t wait until every doctor visit is like a meeting with the IRS!

Thousands of elderly people in Britain are left to go blind because of rationing of eye surgery in the National Health Service (NHS), a report revealed on Saturday (April 6).

The Times newspaper said a survey by the Royal College of Ophthalmologists (RCO) found tens of thousands of elderly people are left struggling to see because of an NHS cost-cutting drive that relies on them dying before they can qualify for cataract surgery.

The survey has found that the NHS has ignored instructions to end cataract treatment rationing in defiance of official guidance two years ago.


Thousands in Britain left to go blind due to eye surgery rationing: Report

Good morning, weather! And are there any comparisons to the thousands left to go blind here in America due to lack of any healthcare insurance at all? I believe all insurers consider blindness non-life threatening though, and in that case the rationing is not so unusual. Not to mention that according to your post, the surgery IS provided when a specific level of deterioration is reached:

"The RCO said its survey has found 62 per cent of eye units retain policies that require people’s vision to have deteriorated below a certain point before surgery is funded."

I have a friend who has carotid artery blockage but his docs will not do the procedure until he reaches 65% blockage, so the Brit NHS ruling doesn't sound so outrageous to me.

 

[Marion Morrison]

Wait until some provincial (or state) patsy doesn't like you. See how your healthcare is delivered then.

The more control you have, the less Canadian you are. That's a good thing. You want to live and die with dignity, you will never receive that in a healthcare system like Canadas or our British overlords across the pond.

The market for snowbird health insurance is yuge!

 

[JoeB131]

Free stuff! Can’t wait until every doctor visit is like a meeting with the IRS!

Thousands of elderly people in Britain are left to go blind because of rationing of eye surgery in the National Health Service (NHS), a report revealed on Saturday (April 6).

The Times newspaper said a survey by the Royal College of Ophthalmologists (RCO) found tens of thousands of elderly people are left struggling to see because of an NHS cost-cutting drive that relies on them dying before they can qualify for cataract surgery.

The survey has found that the NHS has ignored instructions to end cataract treatment rationing in defiance of official guidance two years ago.

The RCO said its survey has found 62 per cent of eye units retain policies that require people’s vision to have deteriorated below a certain point before surgery is funded.

Thousands in Britain left to go blind due to eye surgery rationing: Report

We have rationing in this country, too. It's called "being too poor to get good insurance", or "Your insurance company declaring your cataract a pre-existing condition or elective".

So given you only have so much money to spend on Cataract Surgery do you give it to.

A poor young person who has a whole productive life ahead of him.

or and Old person who isn't working anymore, will probably die in a few years anyway.

 

[Marion Morrison]

Free stuff! Can’t wait until every doctor visit is like a meeting with the IRS!

Thousands of elderly people in Britain are left to go blind because of rationing of eye surgery in the National Health Service (NHS), a report revealed on Saturday (April 6).

The Times newspaper said a survey by the Royal College of Ophthalmologists (RCO) found tens of thousands of elderly people are left struggling to see because of an NHS cost-cutting drive that relies on them dying before they can qualify for cataract surgery.

The survey has found that the NHS has ignored instructions to end cataract treatment rationing in defiance of official guidance two years ago.

The RCO said its survey has found 62 per cent of eye units retain policies that require people’s vision to have deteriorated below a certain point before surgery is funded.

Thousands in Britain left to go blind due to eye surgery rationing: Report

We have rationing in this country, too. It's called "being too poor to get good insurance", or "Your insurance company declaring your cataract a pre-existing condition or elective".

So given you only have so much money to spend on Cataract Surgery do you give it to.

A poor young person who has a whole productive life ahead of him.

or and Old person who isn't working anymore, will probably die in a few years anyway.

JoeB would have us making Soylent Green out of the old folk.

 

[depotoo]

Medicare pays for cataract surgery.
“Cataracts are more common in older people. By the age of 80, more than fifty percent of the population will have developed cataracts.”

Free stuff! Can’t wait until every doctor visit is like a meeting with the IRS!

Thousands of elderly people in Britain are left to go blind because of rationing of eye surgery in the National Health Service (NHS), a report revealed on Saturday (April 6).

The Times newspaper said a survey by the Royal College of Ophthalmologists (RCO) found tens of thousands of elderly people are left struggling to see because of an NHS cost-cutting drive that relies on them dying before they can qualify for cataract surgery.

The survey has found that the NHS has ignored instructions to end cataract treatment rationing in defiance of official guidance two years ago.

The RCO said its survey has found 62 per cent of eye units retain policies that require people’s vision to have deteriorated below a certain point before surgery is funded.

Thousands in Britain left to go blind due to eye surgery rationing: Report

We have rationing in this country, too. It's called "being too poor to get good insurance", or "Your insurance company declaring your cataract a pre-existing condition or elective".

So given you only have so much money to spend on Cataract Surgery do you give it to.

A poor young person who has a whole productive life ahead of him.

or and Old person who isn't working anymore, will probably die in a few years anyway.

 

[bullwinkle]

Medicare pays for cataract surgery.
“Cataracts are more common in older people. By the age of 80, more than fifty percent of the population will have developed cataracts.”

Free stuff! Can’t wait until every doctor visit is like a meeting with the IRS!

Thousands of elderly people in Britain are left to go blind because of rationing of eye surgery in the National Health Service (NHS), a report revealed on Saturday (April 6).

The Times newspaper said a survey by the Royal College of Ophthalmologists (RCO) found tens of thousands of elderly people are left struggling to see because of an NHS cost-cutting drive that relies on them dying before they can qualify for cataract surgery.

The survey has found that the NHS has ignored instructions to end cataract treatment rationing in defiance of official guidance two years ago.

The RCO said its survey has found 62 per cent of eye units retain policies that require people’s vision to have deteriorated below a certain point before surgery is funded.

Thousands in Britain left to go blind due to eye surgery rationing: Report

We have rationing in this country, too. It's called "being too poor to get good insurance", or "Your insurance company declaring your cataract a pre-existing condition or elective".

So given you only have so much money to spend on Cataract Surgery do you give it to.

A poor young person who has a whole productive life ahead of him.

or and Old person who isn't working anymore, will probably die in a few years anyway.

Depotoo is exactly right. Socialist Medicare pays for cataract surgery in the US just like Socialist NHS does in the UK.

 

[Weatherman2020]

Medicare pays for cataract surgery.
“Cataracts are more common in older people. By the age of 80, more than fifty percent of the population will have developed cataracts.”

Free stuff! Can’t wait until every doctor visit is like a meeting with the IRS!

Thousands of elderly people in Britain are left to go blind because of rationing of eye surgery in the National Health Service (NHS), a report revealed on Saturday (April 6).

The Times newspaper said a survey by the Royal College of Ophthalmologists (RCO) found tens of thousands of elderly people are left struggling to see because of an NHS cost-cutting drive that relies on them dying before they can qualify for cataract surgery.

The survey has found that the NHS has ignored instructions to end cataract treatment rationing in defiance of official guidance two years ago.

The RCO said its survey has found 62 per cent of eye units retain policies that require people’s vision to have deteriorated below a certain point before surgery is funded.

Thousands in Britain left to go blind due to eye surgery rationing: Report

We have rationing in this country, too. It's called "being too poor to get good insurance", or "Your insurance company declaring your cataract a pre-existing condition or elective".

So given you only have so much money to spend on Cataract Surgery do you give it to.

A poor young person who has a whole productive life ahead of him.

or and Old person who isn't working anymore, will probably die in a few years anyway.

Depotoo is exactly right. Socialist Medicare pays for cataract surgery in the US just like Socialist NHS does in the UK.

Medicare is not single payer. Someone on Medicare is free to seek alternative treatments outside of the system.
Socialist UK you have one system and one course only for treatment.

Think of the DMV for your surgery.

 

[Weatherman2020]

Wait until some provincial (or state) patsy doesn't like you. See how your healthcare is delivered then.

The more control you have, the less Canadian you are. That's a good thing. You want to live and die with dignity, you will never receive that in a healthcare system like Canadas or our British overlords across the pond.

Yep. You know darn well they have blacklisted people.

 

[Polishprince]

I was speaking to my aunt, who just turned 93 last month. She's scheduled in a few months for a cornea transplant.

Would a socialized medical system provide this surgery for someone of advanced age?

 

[Weatherman2020]

I was speaking to my aunt, who just turned 93 last month. She's scheduled in a few months for a cornea transplant.

Would a socialized medical system provide this surgery for someone of advanced age?

Not in Europe.

Friend in Ireland has an autistic son, took him 18 months to get treatment started.

 

[dblack]

I was speaking to my aunt, who just turned 93 last month. She's scheduled in a few months for a cornea transplant.

Would a socialized medical system provide this surgery for someone of advanced age?

It would depend on which party is running things at the moment and what their values are. Yep, that's right, socializing health care will mean that the next election will determine whether grandma goes blind or not.

 

[Tax Man]

Cataracts is a very slow progressing loss of sight in an eye. I have had a cataract in one eye for over 25 years and still see fine.

 

[Dekster]

Medicare pays for cataract surgery.
“Cataracts are more common in older people. By the age of 80, more than fifty percent of the population will have developed cataracts.”

Free stuff! Can’t wait until every doctor visit is like a meeting with the IRS!

Thousands of elderly people in Britain are left to go blind because of rationing of eye surgery in the National Health Service (NHS), a report revealed on Saturday (April 6).

The Times newspaper said a survey by the Royal College of Ophthalmologists (RCO) found tens of thousands of elderly people are left struggling to see because of an NHS cost-cutting drive that relies on them dying before they can qualify for cataract surgery.

The survey has found that the NHS has ignored instructions to end cataract treatment rationing in defiance of official guidance two years ago.

The RCO said its survey has found 62 per cent of eye units retain policies that require people’s vision to have deteriorated below a certain point before surgery is funded.

Thousands in Britain left to go blind due to eye surgery rationing: Report

We have rationing in this country, too. It's called "being too poor to get good insurance", or "Your insurance company declaring your cataract a pre-existing condition or elective".

So given you only have so much money to spend on Cataract Surgery do you give it to.

A poor young person who has a whole productive life ahead of him.

or and Old person who isn't working anymore, will probably die in a few years anyway.

My gramps had his done through medicare. IIRC the only issue was the expensive drops afterwards were not covered but my dad's doc loaded him up with free samples from the drug companies.

 

[bullwinkle]

Medicare pays for cataract surgery.
“Cataracts are more common in older people. By the age of 80, more than fifty percent of the population will have developed cataracts.”

Free stuff! Can’t wait until every doctor visit is like a meeting with the IRS!

Thousands of elderly people in Britain are left to go blind because of rationing of eye surgery in the National Health Service (NHS), a report revealed on Saturday (April 6).

The Times newspaper said a survey by the Royal College of Ophthalmologists (RCO) found tens of thousands of elderly people are left struggling to see because of an NHS cost-cutting drive that relies on them dying before they can qualify for cataract surgery.

The survey has found that the NHS has ignored instructions to end cataract treatment rationing in defiance of official guidance two years ago.

The RCO said its survey has found 62 per cent of eye units retain policies that require people’s vision to have deteriorated below a certain point before surgery is funded.

Thousands in Britain left to go blind due to eye surgery rationing: Report

We have rationing in this country, too. It's called "being too poor to get good insurance", or "Your insurance company declaring your cataract a pre-existing condition or elective".

So given you only have so much money to spend on Cataract Surgery do you give it to.

A poor young person who has a whole productive life ahead of him.

or and Old person who isn't working anymore, will probably die in a few years anyway.

My gramps had his done through medicare. IIRC the only issue was the expensive drops afterwards were not covered but my dad's doc loaded him up with free samples from the drug companies.

I thought those drops came with the surgery. I was given mine with my go-home kit. I have Medicare plus coordinating coverage so maybe there's a difference. The surgery was a piece of cake for me. In at 1PM, procedure at 2PM during which the team, including me, discussed the DaVinci Code movie, then recovery for about 20 min, then home by 3PM. No after-effects. The main problem is that they do the eyes one at a time, so until you get back to surgery vision is clear and you can see the color blue again in one eye, and the other is still like looking thru a greasy nicotine covered lens. Biggest benefit is headlights coming at you at night are no longer huge starbursts.

 

[Dekster]

Medicare pays for cataract surgery.
“Cataracts are more common in older people. By the age of 80, more than fifty percent of the population will have developed cataracts.”

Free stuff! Can’t wait until every doctor visit is like a meeting with the IRS!

Thousands of elderly people in Britain are left to go blind because of rationing of eye surgery in the National Health Service (NHS), a report revealed on Saturday (April 6).

The Times newspaper said a survey by the Royal College of Ophthalmologists (RCO) found tens of thousands of elderly people are left struggling to see because of an NHS cost-cutting drive that relies on them dying before they can qualify for cataract surgery.

The survey has found that the NHS has ignored instructions to end cataract treatment rationing in defiance of official guidance two years ago.

The RCO said its survey has found 62 per cent of eye units retain policies that require people’s vision to have deteriorated below a certain point before surgery is funded.

Thousands in Britain left to go blind due to eye surgery rationing: Report

We have rationing in this country, too. It's called "being too poor to get good insurance", or "Your insurance company declaring your cataract a pre-existing condition or elective".

So given you only have so much money to spend on Cataract Surgery do you give it to.

A poor young person who has a whole productive life ahead of him.

or and Old person who isn't working anymore, will probably die in a few years anyway.

My gramps had his done through medicare. IIRC the only issue was the expensive drops afterwards were not covered but my dad's doc loaded him up with free samples from the drug companies.

I thought those drops came with the surgery. I was given mine with my go-home kit. I have Medicare plus coordinating coverage so maybe there's a difference. The surgery was a piece of cake for me. In at 1PM, procedure at 2PM during which the team, including me, discussed the DaVinci Code movie, then recovery for about 20 min, then home by 3PM. No after-effects. The main problem is that they do the eyes one at a time, so until you get back to surgery vision is clear and you can see the color blue again in one eye, and the other is still like looking thru a greasy nicotine covered lens. Biggest benefit is headlights coming at you at night are no longer huge starbursts.

My gramps had just plain medicare, no supplement and it was before part D and he was paying a all the drops out of pocket other than the ones they sent him home with that had just enough in them to get the prescription filled.. My dad's situation was a little different. The doc said that he thought it was ridiculous how much the pharmacies charged so he strongarmed them out of one of the drug reps. One of his eyes went south fast and the doctor was swallowing coal and crapping diamonds. I had to take him out of state to a specialist a couple times a week for a month. It was never quite clear what it really was. The eye doc said infection set up behind the lens due to contamination of the lens implant. The specialist was a little eye rolly about that, but saved his eye and restored his vision. None of all that after the original procedure on that eye cost my dad a dime and he never got an EOB on it from his insurance so I am pretty certain eye doc was paying for it out of his own pocket to avoid a major malpractice lawsuit. It involved lasers and needles through the eye. The specialist said, "Oh you can come on back if you want. Today it will just be a needle in the eye." I told him unless he was prepared to pick me up off the floor,while putting that needle in his eye, I was perfectly content waiting in the lobby.

 

[JoeB131]

Wait until some provincial (or state) patsy doesn't like you. See how your healthcare is delivered then.

The more control you have, the less Canadian you are. That's a good thing. You want to live and die with dignity, you will never receive that in a healthcare system like Canadas or our British overlords across the pond.

Yep. You know darn well they have blacklisted people.

and you think private insurance doesn't do that? You really think that some bureaucrat from EvilCo Insurance doesn't get his jollies by denying coverage, especially when his bosses reward him for doing it?

Again, none of you have had to wrestle with a private insurance company to get treatment.... it's a real blast.