Maryanne Godbolo’s frustration over her daughter’s physical impairment led to a 12-hour standoff when police officers came to take her daughter away. She also lashed out on what Godbolo considers to be inappropriate state interference on her child’s medical care.

When the 12-hour standoff ended, Godbolo was in handcuffs and her child was placed in a children’s psychiatric hospital.

Godbolo is in a battle with the Department of Human Services of Michigan over her right as a mother to determine whether or not her daughter should continue receiving an anti-psychotic drug called Risperdal. The agency insists that it is one of the government’s responsibilities to protect children’s welfare even if it is against their parents.

Godbolo refuses to trust doctors as she blames them for some of her child’s medical problems. She says that some of her daughter’s illnesses could be due to physician negligence and possible complications from childhood immunizations. She, however, did not name her daughter’s doctors and did not provide the press a copy of her daughter’s medical records.

Godbolo insists that her daughter responds better to treatments that do not include the anti-psychotic drug Risperdal. On the other hand, the state firmly stands by its belief that without the ideal medical attention and treatment, Ariana (Godbolo’s daughter) is at risk.

Ariana stayed in a psychiatric facility for a month following her mother’s confrontation with the police and is now currently staying with her aunt, Godbolo’s sister.

According to a recent study, many parents are now apprehensive to take their children to hospitals , to a doctor or to purchase prescription drugs due to the increase in the United States medical care costs.

The researchers studied data of 6,273 families that participated in the Medical Expenditure Panel Survery conducted between 2001 and 2006.

Based on the conducted study, one of the most pressing reasons that will increase the likelihood that families would not go to doctors or delay seeking medical attention is financial burden. “Financial burden” in this study is defined as out-of-pocket medical care costs more than 10% of the total family income or insurance premiums.

Some other factors noted in the study are children with activity limitation and parents with intermittent insurance coverage. The researchers also found out that race or ethnicity also play a role in the delay of medical care for children. For example, white families have greater tendencies to delay seeking medical care than black families.

This study was presented Monday during the Pediatric Academic Societies meeting conducted yearly. At this point, the study is still considered preliminary because it has not yet been scrutinized by colleagues in the industry- a requirement before a study is to be printed out in a peer-review journal.

Lauren Wisk, study leader, said that their results show how unfortunate the realities of the United States medical care are. More and more families are deciding to forego medical care because of how high the costs are.

Medicare is worried about thousands of people making a deal with their physicians. The deal is patients will pay their doctors a fixed yearly fee, regardless of whether or not those patients will need the services of their physicians. The physicians are also under contract to see their patients the minute they need their doctors, and give them undivided attention.

Medicare said that this kind of arrangement threatens Medicare and the medical care overhaul envisioned under the Barack Obama administration.

“Concierge medicine” – or what they call the deal between patients and doctor wherein people will pay their physician an annual fee for exclusive treatment – poses a threat to people who cannot afford the $1,500 annual fee. In this set-up, physicians will limit their practice among patients who can “afford” them, leaving those who cannot lesser time with doctors.

Medicare recipients are said to be the most vulnerable in this situation. Medicare’s financial issues are pushing doctors to reconsider their participation in the program. This means Medicare members are faced with possible short supply of primary care physicians. A greater problem is anticipated because the new health law is expected to insure 30 million more people.

John Rother, director of AARP, said that their concern is the explicit medical delineation between people who have money and those who do not. He also said that if this continues, Medicare will stop being as universal as its objective.

Concierge doctors say that it is never about the money and the intention is not to put down those who cannot pay for their services. They simply prefer this kind of set-up because they can focus on a few numbers of patients instead of juggling a thousand patients at a time.