Each one of us has to eventually decide how much of our life we want people (or governments) to control. This decision eventually led me to leave my parents and set off on my own path called adult life.

Recently, physicians were promised that ObamaCare would eventually cover expanded health care for the elderly. It would even include a “physical” once a year. Now, the real truth as it has played out.

It seems that the medical definition and the government’s definition of “health care physical” are two different things. Rather than covering the usual and customary health issues we were trained to attend to in medical school, listen to what the government wants us to emphasize (read micro-manage).  

The $159.00 labor-intensive review includes: physical inactivity,  smoking, alcohol use, nutrition, motor vehicle safety, sun exposure, obesity, high stress, general well being, social/emotional support, general life satisfaction, aspirin use, and vitamins.

I am instructed to screen for depression, hearing problems, frequent falls. I am to determine the presence of smoke alarms and fire extinguishers as well as the ability to use them. I am to quiz the patient on the use of electrical cords, non-slip mats in the shower or bathtub, use of stairway railings and banisters. I am to assess the patient’s mental status and their ability to handle their finances. The list goes on.

Of course, we need to ask a few questions. What is done with this information? Who pays for any additional services that may now be identified as being important? And how in the hell can a physican address all this in an office visit less than 2 hours long?

I recently read an excellent book on Dietrich Bonhoeffer by Eric Metaxas. Hiltler required physicians and nurses to report on the mental status of the German people right before he exterminated the mentally ill and others who were determined to need too many government services. Heil Obama.