Panaroma - the rising cost of health

[Decisionsdecisions1]

I’m guessing it’s trying to be balanced but there are some interviewees that they appear to be deliberately showing in an unsympathetic light.

This feels like a bit like it was written by Kemi. Could have been so much more informative.

But people on LCW and LCWRA do get a work allowance meaning that if they can try to do some work even a few hours they will be significantly better off. This makes a huge difference when up to £600+ ( if they don't claim a rent element) can be disregarded from earnings.

Yes the program was slightly superficial as Panorama tends to be, but it was obvious a few years ago the benefits system will head that way, more diagnoses usually mean less resources.

That is true too, and I do know people on LCWRA who have part time jobs. But many also do not work at all as they are just not able to.

I suppose with Labour in power for another 3yrs, we know that more and more people will be given money from the state, fewer people will be working .

So they are hurrying up the inevitable end of the bloated benefits system. Sadly because of these deluded socialists, most genuine need will eventually lose out. Unintended consequences, but inevitable.

Labour have already ruined the education -lives of thousands of children and their parents. Next they’re going to ruin the lives of people who actually need help, when there no money left.

The welfare bill increased hugely under the Tory's too. Labour have just done nothing to curtail until they are now halving the LCWRA which will just penalise the sickest and really is just a drop in the ocean anyway. It is such a massive problem now that it needs all the parties to work together on a solution, not that this will ever happen. In fact labour are raising the standard UC element above inflation from April for everyone plus scrapping the two child cap. There will be very little in the way of savings.

To be fair it's not the fault of Labour that the welfare system gets abused to the point it collapses, it's sadly the fault of human nature.

As I said if there is money on the table then people will take it regardless of whether they need it, especially if they think that the next person will if they don't or if they are paying for it so it's either they pay for it and take it or pay for it and someone else takes it.

The PIP system is a very good and simple example of why socialism doesn't work, it's a great and honourable idea, it's just that it doesn't work with the selfishness of human nature.

If someone is awarded PIP, then they have met the criteria. It is also non-means tested, so nothing to do with needing the money or not.
If someone thinks they would be eligible but refuses to claim out of some sense of pride, then I do not think that is something to celebrate. Being eligble for PIP is not a failure. It means you are disabled. You not not get a card from the King and a medal for not claiming.

I think you misunderstand what executive dysfunction can look like.

Think "oh yes, I am going to go out and buy all the healthy ingredients' and make wholesome meals this week".
When you have something like ADHD, you make all the good intentions about good food. You have a fridge full of fresh produce.
But you get on with your day and once you feel shaky and your stomach is rumbling, you then realise you forgot to eat.
You have all the good stuff in your fridge, but what you actually lack is the executive function to get it all out, prepare it, and make a meal. In the meantime, you feel ill because you have not eaten. So you get a takeaway. No prep, no washing up. Just instant gratification.
If you need to eat, and you struggle to prepare a meal, then a takeaway is an option.

BTW, I binned 5 cucumbers this week. All mush in their packaging. ADHD tax. It is a real thing. I am ashamed of the amount of fresh food I actually chuck out.

Ive seen so many threads on MN about people with extreme depression who no longer self care because its too much trouble. Perhaps they also have physical limitations which make (for example) getting in and out of the bath such a chore,When you are depressed to that extent the days drift by and nothing seems worthwhile. People lose all interest in things which previously gave them pleasure. They dont go out or drop all their hobbies and interests. They dont bother to eat or take their medication. If they live alone there is no one to remind them about these things. This is the kind of situation that "prompting" it intended to address.

I understand this, but how is giving people money ‘prompting’? Giving money to buy a takeaway because a person forgot to prepare dinner isn’t solving the problem or making things better.

Exactly.

We now have mobile phones, who very likely have apps, calendars etc for this kind of thing, all cheap or free. You can ask your Alexa to remind you to do things, on an indefinite basis. Why do they need cash?

It isn't. It is basically rewarding laziness (in some cases). I say that as someone who has experienced complex mental health needs and claimed nothing.

I agree, zero incentives to work through it. Just handing people money to embed their struggles. Not good.

Why don't we stop all PIP cash payments and instead issue them with private healthcare vouchers so they can access treatment (non transferable)? That way we get them better and bolster the economy and know money isn't wasted.

Labour have the majority rn and voted on those benefits. Even if other parties vote against they’ll get higher spending through.

I have long been of the opinion that PIP should be completely overhauled or abolished altogether and replaced by a different benefit targeted at disabled people.

I think you'll end up with a tech bro running the UK and the whole place run like a corporation.

DD1 has a chronic life threatening condition, for which there is no known cure. She has been under world leading consultants at the top units in the country (children and adults). She also has an ultra rare genetic metabolic disorder - there is only one other family in the UK with it, that we are aware of. There are no specialists for it in the UK. She needs to go to A & E from time to time.

What good do you think vouchers for private health care are to her? The private sector can’t cure either condition, any more than the NHS can! There are no private A & Es.

What she needs money for is specialist equipment, a high protein diet for the metabolic disorder, more clothes (because they get ruined more than usual), extra laundry costs, petrol for her mobility car, more heating in the winter, a fan on her 24/7 when it’s hot in the summer…All to ameliorate the effects of both conditions on her, but which cost more money than so called abled bodied people need to live an ordinary life.

Because politically there is absolutely no way any political party would get elected with that in their manifesto. One in ten adults of working age are on some kind of health benefits, rising to 1 in 4 in areas like Blackpool. That's a lot of votes.

In addition if you tinker with the disability or health benefits in any way then there will be winners and losers. The losers will be incredibly vocal and publicised in the media about how genuine their case is, that they are being condemned to a life of poverty and pain. Whereas the winners will just be very quiet.

As a result from a media perspective it's very one sided as all you hear is the cases where people feel that their "genuine" (real or not) disability needs are being unfairly removed.

Honestly if you have suffered complex mental health issues then you should also be submitting a PIP claim as well whether you need the money or not.

As a previous poster said, if you can qualify for health benefits then you are entitled to them.

You are effectively paying for other people's health benefits anyway through your taxes, so you may as well try and get some of your own money back.

If you don't need the money then at least invest it for your children to provide a house deposit or pay for University education.

And lastly the entire health benefits system is unsustainable and will ultimately collapse so if you don't claim now then it wont be long before it's no longer available.

You do know some people with learning disabilities can’t use smart phones, because they are too complex for them?

DD1’s memory is so poor, she couldn’t instruct Alexa what to do in the first place! She can’t even ask anyone to get her a glass of milk or juice, because she can’t remember the words for milk or juice. Living with her is like playing 20 questions all the time! She’d be saying “The thingy, the thingy…”

As for work, seeing as she has anterograde amnesia, she couldn’t remember any instructions as to what she is supposed to do; and given she is verbally and physically aggressive (due to her condition and the drugs she is on), she’d just tell the person where to go, in no uncertain terms if she didn’t feel like doing it. If they persisted, she’d punch them in the stomach. Then she’d collapse due to the stress of being bombarded by language she can’t understand, and possibly need to be checked over by a nurse for physical injuries herself.

Who’d employ someone with a chronic life threatening condition, functioning around the level of a two year old, but no memory and who could die at any time, due to physical or emotional stress?

Which is exactly the reason it needs to change.

Sorry to hear that that is no qualify of life for either if you. She is at the top end of the spectrum.Will PIP make her recover?

Wouldn't a new system helping the deserved cases rather than those who want a takeaway be better? What is your plan for when you are no longer here and the system collapses? It is the takeaway claimants who will facilitate its demise.

But it can't change because firstly any changes will create winners and losers, the losers will be a lot more vocal and in the media and the winners will be quiet.

Secondly no political party is ever going to get elected with a promise to restrict health benefits ( you saw what happened to Labour and their backbenchers rebelling. Plus one in ten adults of working age is on health benefits so are never going to vote for restrictions either.

Which leaves the only option being a collapse of the entire health benefits provision or at the very least being restricted to physical (and not mental) health conditions.

So the logical ( although morally questionable) conclusion is that if you are eligible for health benefits or even think that you are, then grab the money while you can before it's pulled entirely.

OK - so there's £1000. Shall we give it all to one person with MND or divide it up between them and 9 people with ADHD/anxiety/depression? The pot is not infinite.