We’re seeing our health care slipping away

Dear Editor,

Medicine is in turmoil and it is becoming harder not to be caught in it. Physicians’ practices are being absorbed by business groups and one does not know what will follow.

You may find the telephone no longer reaches a person or you are 25th in line, and appointments are better made online. You might find the waiting time to see a doctor has grown ridiculously long, leaving you to suffer on your own. You may have to see an intermediary before you can see a doctor. Your visit with the doctor can be too brief for you to get an understanding of your malady.

Businesses will increase efficiency to increase their profits. The business may enroll you in REACH, leading you to lose traditional Medicare and get you into another more profit-driven program. If you are in a Medicare Advantage plan, the company can authorize less treatment than you need, make you accept a cheaper treatment, or have panels of specialists who are never available.

The New York Times showed that Medicare Advantage plans are stealing billions from Medicare, threatening its continuation, and no one is in a rush to stop them.

A medical situation which is stable and has an element of personal involvement and trust Is getting hard to find. The once-hallowed profession of medicine has been invaded by business, which requires profits to satisfy stockholders who don’t know you and have no interest in your health. The oldfashioned intimate doctor- patient relationship is becoming a thing of the past. If you still have it, take good care of something precious. — Hal Chorny, Gardiner, N.Y.