Obamacare not so compassionate

[Revmitchell]

So one of my church members has a 92 year old Father who had a stroke this morning. He was rushed to the hospital where he was diagnosed and the doctors want to give him blood thinners but obamacare will not pay for it. Would you like to know the reason why? Well, I am glad you asked................



Because he is too old. the Insurance will not pay for it because of his age even though the doctors want to give it to him,

Obamacare can take a long walk off a short pier.

 

[Deacon]

Not quite the whole story...

The clot-buster drugs given to stroke patients in the early hours of a stroke are quite effective but not recommended for those of advanced age due to the increased risks associated with treating the elderly.
Some physicians will go off-protocol and give them anyway but the insurance companies run the show now so no off-protcol medications are given.

Rob

 

[InTheLight]

Why is this elderly person on a private insurance plan and not on Medicare?

My mom is 94 and had a stroke 2 years ago. She's on Eliquis, a blood thinner, which is (mostly) paid for by Medicare part D.

 

[Revmitchell]

N
Some physicians will go off-protocol and give them anyway but the insurance companies run the show now so no off-protcol medications are given.

Rob

Well the doctors here wanted to "go off protocol" but as it is now they are just making him comfortable waiting for the inevitable as there is nothing else to do.

 

[Deacon]

When giving tPA (tissue plasminogen activator), there are many things to consider, age being but one factor. There are quite a few other very important comorbidities that can exclude a patient.

The first study I Googled regarding tPA and the elderly was from 2010: here's the conclusions:

In the NINDS trial, 44 subjects older than 80 years were randomized, and their 3-month functional outcomes were not significantly improved with IV tPA. Of 25 randomized to IV tPA, 4 experienced symptomatic intracranial hemorrhages within 36 hours of treatment. Compared with younger patients, older patients were 2.87 times more likely to experience a symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage within 36 hours of IV tPA (95% confidence interval, 1.04-7.93). Of 227 Cardiovascular Health Study participants hospitalized for ischemic stroke between 1995 and 2002, seven, whose mean age was 84 years, were treated with IV tPA (3.1%; 95% confidence interval 1.2-6.2). Two had symptomatic intracranial hemorrhages, 3 failed to improve, and 2 of the 7 had good outcomes.
​

At 92 years old sometimes the best option for doctors and the patient is to not cause harm by aggressively intervening - things can get quite ugly.

Rob

 

[Internet Theologian]

So one of my church members has a 92 year old Father who had a stroke this morning. He was rushed to the hospital where he was diagnosed and the doctors want to give him blood thinners but obamacare will not pay for it. Would you like to know the reason why? Well, I am glad you asked................



Because he is too old. the Insurance will not pay for it because of his age even though the doctors want to give it to him,

Obamacare can take a long walk off a short pier.

Nonsense and my wife is a pharmD and says this is bogus, she works with this daily.

 

[carpro]

When giving tPA (tissue plasminogen activator), there are many things to consider, age being but one factor. There are quite a few other very important comorbidities that can exclude a patient.

The first study I Googled regarding tPA and the elderly was from 2010: here's the conclusions:

In the NINDS trial, 44 subjects older than 80 years were randomized, and their 3-month functional outcomes were not significantly improved with IV tPA. Of 25 randomized to IV tPA, 4 experienced symptomatic intracranial hemorrhages within 36 hours of treatment. Compared with younger patients, older patients were 2.87 times more likely to experience a symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage within 36 hours of IV tPA (95% confidence interval, 1.04-7.93). Of 227 Cardiovascular Health Study participants hospitalized for ischemic stroke between 1995 and 2002, seven, whose mean age was 84 years, were treated with IV tPA (3.1%; 95% confidence interval 1.2-6.2). Two had symptomatic intracranial hemorrhages, 3 failed to improve, and 2 of the 7 had good outcomes.
​

At 92 years old sometimes the best option for doctors and the patient is to not cause harm by aggressively intervening - things can get quite ugly.

Rob

You really want to see "ugly"? .Watch a paralyzed, but breathing and thinking , human being survive for years as the result of a stroke. Believe me, they would rather be dead.

If you could ask them, they'd take the 2 of 7 odds any day of the week.