Why American Health Care Is Bad For You
84
Private or Public, They Both Stink
Lately I've been having some weird, marginally sane thoughts about the state of American health care. I'd like to share them with you now, even at the risk of opening a can of worms, or a can of whoop-ass, or some kind of can of something or the other, I don't know what exactly.
I realize I'm jumping into a raging inferno here, but maybe by some miracle I will accidently jump over it and come out the other side unsinged. (Or maybe unhinged.) I also realize that I am badly mixing my metaphors and in doing so I am barbequing those worms and toasting that whoop-ass, all for the sake of a single tortured paragraph, but I don't care! No, I'm going to plow forward anyway (now we're plowing the BarBQ'd worms), and I believe I will survive this rhetorical test and maybe even triumph over it--I believe I will come out unscathed and the reason I believe this is simple:
I have no money.
Because I have no money, my opinions on this matter are of absolutely no consequence and of no importance to anyone. So, thank God, I'm safe. I can blather on as long as I like, secure in the knowledge that no one with a hypodermic needle or a scalpel gives a rat's ass about my opinions on the state of American health care.
People who do have money, however, are in grave danger.
In the United States, if you have a little money (or an insurance policy, or both) and you stupidly wander into a doctor's office or emergency room thinking you will exchange some of that money (or the promise of money) to get yourself some help for a minor ailment you might have, what you might not realize is that, at that very moment, you have ceased to be a human being and have instead become a slab of financial meat.
What you have really done, all unwittingly, is walked into a meat processing plant, and the only guarantee you really have once you pass through those stainless steel doors is that when you walk back out again (if you can walk by then) your wallet will be lighter and the guys who work there will have your address and telephone number. Trust me, they will be sending you letters and calling you. A lot.
Your health problem? What? Huh?
Oh that!
As the saying goes, why do you think they call it "practicing medicine"?
No, no, you won't be getting any help with any pesky "health problem." But what you will be getting is even better (for them)--lots and lots of drugs, lots and lots of bills, and lots and lots of new brand new even bigger health problems caused by all those new drugs and new bills.
Don't be cranky. Payment in full is due at the time of (dis)service.
Diagnosing Sickness Is Not Health Care
What we actually have in the United States is not a system designed to promote and maintain individual and social health, but a reductive method of diagnosing disease and responding to trauma that has been monetized and incorporated.
When you walk into a doctor's office you probably have a problem or you wouldn't even go there. The doctor will see you very briefly (sometimes for less than five minutes), during which time s/he will try to ascertain (as quickly as possible) whether you need 1) a prescription, or 2) a specialist. This process involves halfway listening to you while scanning the often incorrect notes on your chart, and then interrupting what you are saying to end the visit and get on to the next patient.
If you ask for painkillers you will be denied them on the grounds that you are probably an addict or you wouldn't be asking for painkillers, and if you persist, you will be scheduled for anywhere between two and six really expensive medical tests followed by a revisit, at which time you will be declared well because the tests were negative and again denied painkillers.
If you don't ask for painkillers and you are concerned that you might have a serious (or minor) health problem and you have an idea of what it might be, you will be prescribed potent painkillers and/or sedatives and told to go home and quit worrying about it, it's perfectly normal. The best way to get enough oxycontin to turn Rush Limbaugh into a drooling zombie is to go to a GP acting like you know exactly what's wrong with you and then refuse to take any pain pills. Trust me, you will go home with a piece of paper that will make you the Drug Lord of your suburban subdivision.
If you are unlucky enough to be rushed to the emergency room with a serious and acute attack, you will be stabilized at great financial expense, then released hours or days later with very little information about your condition and the recommendation that you go see a doctor. If you point out that the hospital appears to be crawling with doctors, they will not-very-patiently explain to you that figuring out what your problem is is not their job--they already did their job: Your wallet will be empty for the next five years, so now go home.
Contrast this with what a friend of mine assures me is how Chinese medicine works. In China, she says, you only pay the doctor when you are well. If you are sick, you do not pay him, because the fact that you are sick shows that the doctor has not done his job.
I don't know if that's actually true, but I like the idea of it.
That system would be a true health care system--a system of doctor visits, the purpose of which is to create and maintain whole body and mind health.
Facts and Figures and Other Scary Stuff
America is a good place to have a heart attack, if you have good insurance. We have good surgeons here, and they like to do bypass surgery and they do it very well. We also have high tech medical facilities that can accomplish things for the very rich that poorer countries cannot, if the very rich should ever have a traumatic medical emergency or a serious illness.
America is not a good place for general good health if you are of average or modest means.
For example, a baby born in the U.S is three times more likely to die in the first hours after birth than a baby born in Japan, Finland, Iceland, or Norway. In fact, the U.S is has the second worst infant mortality rate in the developed world.
Among all world nations, the United States ranks a dismal #42 in life expectancy, with recent years showing a disturbing decline in life expectancy despite the constant press about our "best in the world" health care.
The U.S. ranks dead last on almost all measures of equity when it comes to access to health care, with the greatest disparity in the quality of care given to richer and poorer citizens than any other nation on earth.
The US healthcare system is the most expensive of systems, outstripping by over half again the health care expenditures of any other country.
Preventable illness makes up approximately 80% of the burden of illness and 90% of all healthcare costs.Preventable illnesses account for eight of the nine leading categories of death. Yet the U.S. health care system and the U.S. lifestyle (hours worked, pace of life, cost of living, child care options, general stress, diet, availablity of family leave) both put very little emphasis on preventing illness and maintaining health.
Half of all bankruptcies are caused by medical bills. Three-quarters of those filings are people with health insurance.
Administrative costs account for 31 percent of all health care expenditures in the United States. The average overhead for U.S. private health insurers is 11.7 percent; for Medicare, it is 3.6 percent; for Canada’s national health insurance program, it is 1.3 percent.
U.S. health care spending is approximately $2 trillion per year, or $6,697 per person.The United States continues to spend significantly more on health care than other countries in the world, yet 45 million Americans are uninsured and have no access to the health care system. Millions more are underinsured and cannot afford the care they are prescribed and either forgo it, or go bankrupt.
Eighteen thousand people in the United States die each year because they are uninsured.
A study in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that older Americans are significantly less healthy than their British counterparts - we have more diabetes, heart attacks, strokes, lung disease and cancer. Even the poorest Brits can expect to live longer than the richest Americans.
A baby born in El Salvador has a better chance of surviving than a baby in Detroit. The infant mortality rate in Detroit is 15.5, compared to El Salvador's rate of 9.7.
Nearly half the respondents in a survey of U.S. primary care physicians said that they would seriously consider getting out of the medical business within the next three years if they had an alternative. Many said they are overwhelmed with their practices, not because they have too many patients, but because there's too much red tape generated from insurance companies and government agencies.Because of this, at a recent meeting of the American Medical Association, A U.S. shortage of 35,000 to 40,000 primary care physicians by 2025 was conservatively predicted.
What I'd Like To See
Everybody who opposes universal health care in the United States seems to have a story about a friend of a friend who has a nephew who died of a hangnail while waiting for a doctor's appointment in Canada. Yet Canadians are quantifiably healthier that we are, have a longer life expectancy, a lower infant mortality rate, and a less stressful quality of life.
I think that our tendency to think in absolutes and discuss issues in extreme oppositional ways does us no good. In fact, I think this kind of discourse is encouraged by the press, which is corporately owned and has no real financial interest in seeing any big changes in our health care system. (Count the drug ads on any prime time TV show, especially news shows, and you'll get my drift.)
The truth is there is no reason to set this discussion up as an all or nothing question--all government health care versus all private health care. That set up is exactly that---a set up---designed to keep us stuck in a system that funnels enormous amounts of money to insurance companies and drug companies at the expense of the public good.
So if you think I'm going to argue for Universal Health care here like the good little socialist I am, well, I'm not going to do that. Maybe another day.
Instead what I'd like to see first are some real choices, not the false ones we have now, and also some real changes to the way we live and the way we think about work and life. Some of these choices we will have to make on our own and they won't be easy--like refusing to work for companies that force unhealthy lifestyles and ridiculous amounts of stress on low-paid employees. Other possibilites will take more group cooperation.
Here are just a few things I'd personally like to see here soon:
Cash Only Medical Care with sliding fee scales based on income that circumvent both the government and the insurance companies entirely. I think that lots of people would be willing to pay out of pocket for direct good wellness care modeled on the (possibly imaginary) Chinese system I alluded to earlier.
At these facilities (which could easily be staffed by nurses and physicians assistants) wellness visits would be affordable and regular--maybe four times a year--and would include a fairly thorough exam and a personal give and take discussion that would cover lifestyle stressors and recommended changes, diet, exercise, and emotional well-being. This would not replace conventional illness-focused medical care, but rather would supplement it, and hopefully reduce the need for it.
More generous leave policies at corporate jobs, more flexible and at-home work schedules, access to exercise facilities or even a requirement to use them, and mandatory daily physical education in public schools.
Free balanced breakfasts at all public schools.
Widespread and affordable federally subsidized mental health clinics that include addiction counseling and rehab. Right now, mentally ill and addicted people live on the street. When I was a child, it wasn't so.
Basic catastrophic care for all Americans. You don't have to eliminate medicine for profit to provide catastrophic care for all. People with money could still buy insurance or opt into upscale clinics.
Serious reform of the drug and insurance industries. (No, I'm not smoking anything, but as long as I'm making the list, I might as well ask for what I want!)
Mandatory nutritional education for all public school students.
I don't think any of these ideas are radical or that any of them would solve the mess our health care system is in right now, but they would all be fairly easy to get started and I do think they would help. it would at least be a start.
I think that we really need to stop thinking of health as a commodity to be sold and traded on the open market. If only rich people can hope for good health, if health is a perk you can buy once you achieve financial success, our whole country suffers and it drags everyone down, even the successful. Plus, it's just inhumane and horrifying.
For instance, every dollar put into keeping ALL children healthy saves millions down the line by preventing uninsured adult illness, serious and criminal mental illness, and addiction. It costs a couple of dollars a day to make sure poor children get a good breakfast and basic care. It costs nearly $40,000 a year to incarcerate just one poor adult for a single year, and during that year that convict is statistically likely to become more dangerous.
I have a million personal anecdotes, but I realize I won't have time to share them in this hub. I do think we are being penny wise and pound foolish when it comes to our health care system, and that the main problem is rampant corruption in the insurance industry and Big Pharma. It has gotten so bad that family doctors are jumping ship in droves.
Meanwhile, it really has become downright dangerous to get sick in the U.S.
Whatever you think about Universal Health Care, that's just wrong.
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Comments
I do take issue with one item: Rush Limbaugh was already a drooling zombie, with or without oxycontin.
I have jokingly told my wife before that after seeing what goes on around me with people we know we may be safer by not having any health insurance. I know that sounds crazy but your Hub explains why. Enjoyed it.
Hi Aya--That is a novel but actually really good idea! If we lived more like the apes we are, we'd be in better shape, lots better shape. But that would mean eating whole foods like fruits and vegetables, avoiding abusive and toxic environments, spend large parts of the day in motion and caring for each other, and sleeping when we needed to. These are such simple things. Thanks for your comment.
Hot dorkage--As soon as I wrote that I thought the same thing! LOL! Thanks for calling me out on it.
Bill--I agree. I do seriously think that if you don't need immediate surgery or something to save your life, you're better off without 'health' care--it's so unhealthy!
After reading that, I want to jump off a very tall hospital roof....or crawl into the fetal position and never leave the house again. Thanks for the eye-opener...I think.
Hi rockinjoe! Stay well, stay young, and you'll be fine!
Hey p, good to hear your voice again. I am in need of a root canal because my dentist topped off my tooth ache with an expensive cap that evidently broke the inner root or something and so now I am in pain but avoiding the dentist because who knows what my bill will be after ripping out the tooth and inserting one of those implants?
Yes, life is good in these United States where we are all guinea pigs, lol.
Right, Pam, the first couple of paragraphs had me laughing out loud –what followed not so much –that was a pretty scary landscape that you painted. How a country that's supposedly leading the free world treat it's citizens this way is beyond me. But I'm just an ignorant Spaniard, closer to Africa (where all those poor, sick people live, they must deserve it, yeah?), than anywhere near the wisdom from that side of the Atlantic!
Forgive the vent –to me it's a mystery how this picture you paint is still standing. In my very humble Spanish opinion, the nip of this is "I think that we really need to stop thinking of health as a commodity to be sold and traded on the open market."
Health can as well be a commodity for those who can afford or want to afford treating it as one, but the "commodity system" without alternatives shows such thorough disrespect to human life that I just can't understand it, nor can I understand that anyone would want to justify it, never mind perpetuate it by not addressing it "because it's such as mess that no one knows how to get to it".
A few of the ideas you bring forth are the way things work in many countries around the world. A mixed system, universal care for everyone and private insurance for those who can afford it or want to spend on it, more generous leave policies not only at corporate jobs but at any kind of job, state subsidized help for mental or addiction problems, free vaccines, etcetera. It is possible, it already exists. Those who say it would mean a lot more taxes aren't seeing the global picture, which is pretty much the one you painted, getting sick costs a lot of money, preventing sickness it a lot cheaper (for everyone's pockets) in the long run. Not to mention a lot more, dare I say, HUMAN.
Hi storytellersrus--Tooth pain is just the worst, you poor thing. I just went through that with a back molar and was just like you--afraid to go because of what it might cost. Finally I couldn't stand it, I had to get some help, so I called a local dentist who gave me three options on what to do immediately and more options for later, some affordable, some less so. I chose to just have the tooth pulled--it had been filled and refilled and so even with a root canal and cap there wasn't much point, so boom, he yanked it right there for $80 bucks. Not the most fun I ever had, but by the next day I felt 1000% better. He said that yanking teeth on an emergency basis is about all he ever does anymore--that few people can afford anything else these days, so mostly he does emergency extractions. There were two other people there waiting, both for extractions, both people who didn't go to the dentist on a regular basis because they couldn't afford it. It was kind of depressing, but a relief to get that tooth out.
Elena--I saw 'Sicko' when it first came out and expected to just hear a lot of stuff I already knew, but what shocked and upset me was not how messed up health care is in the U.S.--we all know that here--what upset me was how much better it is almost everywhere else except the third world. We are constantly told here that we have "the best health care system in the world" and it's just a big fat lie. When I was a girl, there were almost no homeless people. It was unheard of. For the past twenty years it's gotten worse and worse, so bad that whole families are forced to live in cars and people do sleep on the street, especially the mentally ill and veterans and people with addiction issues. It's shameful and inhumane. I don't know when it will change, but I hope soon. Thank you for your thoughts. I think people in Europe see us as barabarians sometimes, and who can blame them when we run things this badly?
I'm all for your plans except the mandatory physcial education. That's one factor that made some of my permanent disabilties worse, when I was forced to participate and do exercises I can't do without injury. I didn't have any good days as a kid. I didn't get a gym slip from a physician till I was sixteen, up to that point i just had my GPA dragged down and daily humiliation for "not trying" and getting mocked for "Flunking GYM?" hahaha.
Every one of my physical disabilities has been diagnosed as psychological and dismissed. I didn't get any effective medication till I went to a specialist, where I found out what I have is fibromyalgia on top of the right side hemi-hypoplasia. I can't count the number of GPs that didn't notice that I'm lopsided with one leg more than an inch shorter than the other -- who lectured me about good posture when I've got scoliosis.
I've nearly died in hospitals. Every hospital I've ever been in has had a succession of residents trying to give me penicillin, which I'm deathly allergic to, ignoring the bracelet, the chart and my constantly repeating every two minutes "I'm allergic to penicillin." I got patronizing, resentful looks asking what was in the needle when they came after me.
Then told them "If it's penicillin or one of its derivatives I'm dead from that shot. I'm allergic." Held up the bracelet. Watched them turn green and struggle not to puke and run away. I've educated so many of them to ask for drug allergies that I ought to get paid by a teaching hospital, risking my life every time.
Hospitals are geared to catastrophic acute illness or injury, they handle that very well as long as the patient was standard and healthy to begin with. Neither hospitals or GPs are equipped to handle anyone who's got permanent conditions and disabilities, let alone multiple ones most of which they didn't study. Diagnosis is a joke.
Incidentally, I got my maintenance pain medication by going in knowing what was wrong with me and sensibly insisting that I wanted no opiates and would not take X, Y or Z pain medication that I have bad reactions to. Opiates are only useful for acute pain, not for anything chronic -- they're not cost effective, you wind up addicted but they don't work any more. Common sense about opiates put me into that "prescribe and make him go away" category.
I'm not taking any unnecessary medications, but curiously my pain medication is over the counter in Europe. It's a controlled substance here because it's "too easy to abuse" because it's safer than aspirin or tylenol in terms of how much of it you have to take to do damage to your body. It's a loony safe drug and any pain doctor will prescribe it over anything else because it's nonaddictive and safe -- if you can use it, it's the sensible choice.
Yet I had to go without for nearly a year after seeing that specialist because "It's a high dose of a controlled substance."
One with zero street value. You can't get high on it. It does nothing to you if you're not in pain. All it does is reduce pain.
Oh, and every GP in Lawrence turned me down when I moved here and needed to get a new primary care physician. I sent out a list of my permanent conditions, medications and needs. One look at that and they treated me like a hot potato. I wound up having to go to a clinic in KC which is supported by the community as a poor people's clinic with sliding scale, though I've got medicaid.
That might have had something to do with that redlining -- not a high paying or heavily insured patient with a long list of complaints but someone poor and sick who was poor because he was sick.
I agree that Europeans think of this country as barbaric for their health care. I can remember all too many European tourists I met while I lived in New Orleans who were horrified at the number of untreated chronic health problems I lived with because I didn't have insurance but was self supporting and couldn't pay. I get the impression that in their countries I would've gotten a lot less runaround and would have gotten disability a lot sooner.
I've been stung by it every time I had to get health care and I was born needing way too much health care. I'm aware of these problems and would love to see a universal health care plan that wasn't based on profit.
Wonderful Hub, Pam. Hope that you don't mind a filthy socialist commenting!
No sign of any free market types yet, but I am sure that they will appear.
I knew a guy in Scotland, once. Nice guy, but a total conservative, who believed in privatising everything, including health. He became bankrupt and lost his business, savings and home. When his wife became ill, all of a sudden, he became a great fan of the welfare system.
With the economic crisis, things may change and universal health care may find a few new fans.
I am all in favour of the National Health Service in the UK. In fact, most times I visit my GP I am perfectly healthy, but there to get contraception, or smear tests, or other "staying well" treatment.
If I get ill, I know that I don't have to worry about the expense, however terrible everything else is.
Hi Pam! Great hub! I've heard horror stories about both systems of health care. And, while I feel the free market is best for many things, those on the free market side of things need to realize that our health care system needs massive reform. A person shouldn't have to go bankrupt because they got sick, nor should anyone be allowed to 'fall through the cracks', or be denied because of pre-existing conditions. Yet, many of our leaders actually condemn people who get sick and cannot afford medical care, yet forget that monsters like Charles Manson get a roof over their heads, free meals, and state of the art medical care if they need it, all on the taxpayer dime! And furthermore, if Manson and his ilk are paroled, they do not have to pay back a penny! In the meantime, you and I will be instantly hounded by collection agencies if we're so much as a minute late with a payment because pain and illness makes us move slower! Unfotunately, while we are the greatest country in the world, too many of us, both leaders and people at large, think this means we have no problems. I could go on, but I think everyone gets my drift.
Again, great hub!
Well done, Pam! As always. Humorous, but full of important insights and considerations. I canceled my health care "coverage" this year when I realized the amount I was paying (about $120 per month), saved me approximately $300 over the course of a year, while I paid well over $1000 in medical services. At some point, there was a clerical error that made me realize insurance companies pay less than patients for services rendered--and that made me mad. To top it all off, my faith in Western medicine has been steadily declining over the years, for many of the reasons you listed above. I really hope Obama and his administration can make positive strides in healthcare, particularly to help meet basic needs and improve life expectancy. In the meantime, I'll be researching alternative healing modalities.
Thanks for drawing attention to yet another critical, systemic problem!
Hi Robert--People with chronic illnesses get the worst of all possible worlds in the U.S. I think, I KNOW our system is especially poorly equipped to deal with chronic illness, and now, to make it even uglier, we have this two tiered system where Medicare patients are essentially encouraged to go away, just go away. My daughter has a chronic pain condition and had to file medical bankruptcy because of the TEN YEARS of horrible misdiagnosis, bumbling treatment, and outright abuse she not only suffered but was BILLED FOR over years of trying to get some help. Finally she ended up at the Cleveland Clinic about two years ago and got a correct diagnosis and treatment plan, At the time she ended up there, she could barely walk. Now she's doing well and you'd never know she had a problem--she still has it, but she is getting the right care.
After awhile, if you have an undiagnosed chronic condition, they start to treat you like you are just a nutcase. It's very demoralizing. Or they just stand there and say, over and over, "Your tests are clear," even when they can clearly see something is seriously wrong. I have some kind of neurological issue that surfaces every so often, causing my left side to go numb and my speech to blur. I've taken every test imaginable for MS and also been 'cleared' for stroke and heart disease, and yet, the problem has never been diagnosed or treated, and when it crops up it is fairly debilitating.
So I've learned to just ignore it. It's better than putting up with the crap I've gotten during the times I pursued it, and I can't afford it anymore anyway. I'm sorry to hear of your ongoing challenges but not surprised. Best wishes to you. You have my empathy if not sympathy (hey, nobody wants to be pitied--just a little help would be nice though!)
Sufidreamer--I'm a filthy socialist too. Most people here at HP already know it. I'm usually proud of it, but I tried to keep it in check here just to focus on the acutal issues and skip the politics. Thanks for your comment!
LondonGirl--Thanks for commenting. I hope Obama gets something done on this front. We badly need some kind of reform, but Universal Care would be best.
myway--Hi! The free market has shown itself to be a bit more of a beast than a magificent animal lately. I think it definitely has no place in issues like Universal Health care. People deserve help when they are sick just because they are people. Every other civilized nation on earth 'gets' this except ours!
Melissa--I hear you. I lost my health insurance this year too when I quit my bank job, but it was so freakin' worthless. I think I am doing better without it, out of that toxic environment, taking care of myself. I also have lost confidence in the whole system. At this point, I actively fear it.
Here's hoping that the new administration delivers, for the sake of you guys who laysare having problems. No system can be perfect, but the current one helps nobody. I like your comment about keeping the free market out of healthcare - you do not worry about 'choice' when you are sick, only about getting better.
Touche, Pgrundy! Excellent piece! But I must report, in all fairness, that my recent emrgency/trauma center visit was better than I could have ever hoped for. I was rushed to a brand new hospital (the place is beautiful, like a palace!), Sacred Heart-Riverbend, which was so new parts of it were still under construction, and I was one of the very first patients. My family was completely amazed at the constant care I was receiving. I was never alone... never.
Then they caught on as to why: There were no other patients (at least not on ICU floor where I was) and all the doctors, nurses, specialists, neurosurgeons, etc were bored so I got all of their attention. Had I been rushed there say, last week, I doubt I would have gotten the same care.
Also, and this floors me, my medical expenses are in excess of $30,000! - and I'm not through with follow-ups, etc. BUT, all but a couple thousand of this bill is being covered by their Bridge Assistance Program... for a variety of reasons: I am now disabled and unabled to work, I have no health insurance (never needed it before!), AND- and this is a big one - I'm now a disabled senior citizen. Damn! I KNEW that AARP card would come in handy...
I just read an excellent article about healthcare in AARP Magazine which, it turns out, is an excellent resource for good info - of all kinds. Check it out:
Amen SufiDreamer! I hope Obama doesn't out it all too far on the back burner.
CW--Ouch, a senior citizen? No way! But I'm glad you came out of it alright. I am without insurance for the time being but I'm OK with it. I totally believe the $30K ER bill. Mine for two days was around 15K. Yikes!
I wish SO MUCH that this country would get it's collective head out of its ass and implement universal healthcare. I know that I was extremely lucky regarding timing and such. The normal American medical experience is rarely this positive. That's shameful!!! And not even Obama is pushing for it. ...My ONE problem with him.
$15K for two days - Wow. Were they using gold plated scalpels and limousine ambulances? That is very steep.
My..my! There is so much which has been discussed and thrashed out already. I seem to be a late comer. LOL. What an indepth analysis! You are an asset to the hub community.
Don't tell her that! Now she'll be thinking she's "all that and a bottle of pain pills." ;-)
As someone who has--unfortunately--had a lot of dealings with hospitals over the last year, I can say from 1st hand experience that what you say is true. The bills from the hospital are a joke. You can't tell even what was done, much less what the actual cost was. If you really break those down--which you can by demanding it from the hospital--you will find the legendary $8 aspirins and $20 dollar boxes of kleenex. Not to mention the doctors who come in, look at your chart while your knocked out on drugs, and then tack $500 bucks on your bill.
I think too it is important to at least get a start on reform, and your suggestions are a great way to do that.
Of course, I see everything in terms of show business. I'm seeing a Broadway musical. Our leading man is a young activist seeking to reform the health care industry. Let's call him Tony. The leading lady is a young resident at Mammoth Conglomerate General Hospital who shows great promise. We'll call her Maria. Her overly-protective brother, Bernardo (though how he got a Puerto Rican name is a mystery) is head of Health and Human Services.
While picketing in front of Mammoth General, Maria falls in love with Tony. Bernardo does not like this, as he wants Maria to date only bureaucrats. At the local dance, the activists "dance off" against the administrators, surgeons, drug salesmen, and insurance executives.
Further, we will follow each faction as they sing and dance their way in various locales and straight into our hearts, such as the emergency room, the hospital lobby, congress, funeral parlors, protest marches, bankruptcy court, etc. Some of the musical numbers are I Feel Dizzy, Tonight-I'll Send His Bill Tonight, When You're a Specialist, and many, many more.
Of course, tragically, Tony and Bernardo stab each other with scalpels, and Maria breaks into the pharmacy at the hospital and takes an overdose of sleeping pills made by Squibb. Everything returns to the status quo.
Ok. I spent far too long on that and I think the food poisoning is going to my head. Uh...where was I? Oh, yea.
Great hub!
Well of course we expect US to have the best of everything but when we compare it to Canada (which has universal health care) then we have to also factor in the population size of these two countries i.e., US population is 10 times the size of Canada. http://www.internetworldstats.com/america.htm
You may be onto something here with those reform ideas. The only way to stop this drug machine is somehow take the value out of operating it in this manner. The "sickness" industry is a cash cow the likes of which bail out dreams are made of. Big Pharma makes billions upon billions by keeping us addicted to whatever still has a patent.
Practitioners are paid big bucks to prescribe the latest and greatest drug, regardless if the old drug was working just fine. Millions is spent on advertisements, psycho-analysis of targeted populations, and now they have their sights on our children. Almost anyone you ask knows about Ambien or Ritalin.
What powers and drives this great big machine is the same thing that drove the economy into a brick wall. GREED. The insatiable lust for money. I think to get any kind of true reform we have to get to the root of the problem.
People have to start caring about eachother's well being. We have to be "other centered." The nation has been on this "me me me" kick for far too long. It reminds me of that scene in "Finding Nemo" when all the seagulls are like "MINE! MINE!"
Anyway that's my rant and rave about that.
Bravo Pam! I've been waiting for this one, and you did an outstanding job! There's hardly anything left for me to add except for personal experiences that show everything you say is so true. But I'll save those for now. ;)
Christoph touched on an important issue...if you ever have to go to the hospital or have tests performed, request copies of everything. It's insane how you're charged. I remember having blood work done once, and when I got the bill it was double what it should have been. After reviewing a break down of charges, I saw that I was charged for each needle they used to draw blood and also for each attempt to strike a vein (it took 2 or 3 tries). I went nuts. I called them and said that I absolutely refuse to pay for having to get stuck more than once. It's not my fault the nurse couldn't hit a vein the first time. Sheesh!
I think your idea about a sliding scale is probably the best solution. It would be something that would allow people to get medical care regardless of their circumstances.
So much to comment on and no time. Great job Pam!
Sufi--Yes, 15K, and actually it was wasn't even two full days, it was more like a day and a half, an overnight. What was even worse was that my insurance only covered about $11,000 of it, and the other $4,000 was "due on receipt" in the form of about 8 separate bills. $2500 to the hospital is now in collections because they "no longer accept payment arrangments," meaning, pay up or in full go to collections. Well, I didn't HAVE $2500, still don't, and I've decided at this point they can stick up it their rectal cavity. I still don't know if I have heart disease, I can't afford a cardiac follow-up, and I have been given no treatment program except the one I invented myself soon after the incident--keep a normal weight, minimize stress, exercise, and pray. Maybe I should sent THEM a bill for my services in treating myself. I refuse to send them any more money than I already have for the substandard abusive care.
Hey CW--aw, let Anjali flatter me will you please! It's the only medicine I get these days! LOL! Thank you Anjali.
Countrywomen, good point, although even if you figure it per person they still spend significantly less and manage to cover everyone. I'd move to Toronto if my kids were here in the midwest. Couldn't sell the house anyhoo though--and I still do love America, even if its kind of a mess right now.
Christoph, I LOVE that! Seriously when is opening night? No, on second thought, a screenplay is more like it. You could make a fortune on that. As to the bills, it's too comically true. No explanation, nothing, just "Send us this much NOW!" What a load of horse manure. And they won't treat you until you sign a release saying you will pay whatever they charge and if they kill you it's not their fault. When the ambulance arrived that is actually the FIRST thing they did--made me sign the release. Incredible.
Paradigm shift, I agree completely. It's all about greed, and most of it comes down to Big Pharma and the insurance comapies skimming enormous profits off the top when they actually hamper, not help, the delivery system. For every Congressperson or Senator in DC there are FOUR health insurance lobbyists. It's true. It's scandalous. I'm giving Obama a chance, but if he can't begin to address some of this corruption in his first term, I'm on the revolutionary team, I'm not joking. Time to pitch these crooks into the Potomac.
Hi Pam--You know, it's true, the whole billing thing is an intentional mess, and just deciphering it is a full time job even for a brief ER visit. I can't begin to imagine how people cope when they have cancer or other serious illnesses. A single ER visit literally results in an avalanche of separate bills, none of which are detailed, half of which have not been filed with the insurance company. It literally took me hours of my own time just to get all the separate provided to actually file a claim before billing me---I had to contact each one separately and some required me to drop off forms. The ambulance bill was contested by the insurance company, which takes the position that any time you go to the ER in an ambulance from work it is a worker's comp claim and they are not responsible. What a racket.
Pam ~ You've really stirred the pot with this lengthy rant filled with pertinent facts and figures. For all the obvious reasons I studied TCM [Traditional Chinese Medicine] which, as you said, supports 'preventative' health care through breathwork, slow daily movement of Qigong, stretching, plus herbal teas and applications, water therapy, getting into the great outdoors, and improving family relations. Personally, I feel that relationships and such conflicts may be at the root of all illness. We're on this earth to repair and help each other and the earth.
The American health care system got out of wack when the direction became mechanized and sterile. We must become personalized and caring for each individual. We must listen to the needs and voice of each person to lift them up.
Sometimes a bandaid works, but other times we must look closer and deeper into the problem. Sometimes the cast on a broken bone is what is needed in an emergency situation, but the chronically ill need a different approach.
And so, I came to homeopathy as a system of medicine that looks into the essence and root of the disorder. It is a "holistic" approach and really really works!
Thank you for letting it all out, because it needs to be said and we need to get the message. All the best in health, Debby
Oh alright... you certainly deserve it. Hey, just want to make sure; are you currently researching and/or using alternative medicines? There's certainly some very good resources out there - but be careful "snake oil" sites, too!
Pam, what you experienced shouldn't be experienced by anyone ever. As if it isn't bad enough to go through that entire ER ordeal. :( When people get sick, their first concern should be finding the best doctor to help, but instead we're stuck living with horrible health issues because of many problems in the health care system. If you have insurance, you have to find a doctor who accepts your insurance. If you don't have insurance, you most likely have to go to a clinic where you really are treated like a slab of meat.
You touched on another problem very well...going to the doctor now involves a rushed analysis where they try to determine either what color pill to give you or a referal to a specialist that you can't afford. These days, whether we're talking about mental health or physical issues, the answer is always with pills. If the first pill causes a reaction, then they give you another pill to counter the effects of the first one.
I think where insurance companies have gone wrong is in their unwillingness to help cover preventive medicine and alternative treatments. It's never made sense to me that they'll cover some of the expense after you have a problem, but offer no assistance in preventing the problem. But you mentioned this as well! :)
Very interesting article, when I was in college I was set on becoming a doctor. One of the reasons I changed my mind (aside from my GPA) was that every doctor I shadowed told me about the insane amount of paperwork required for each patient because of insurance companies.
Hi Debby--I guess it is a rant. I didn't really think of it that way, but now that you mention it, you're right. I agree with you that a holistic approach is what is missing. For instance, I am convinced that the source of the chest pain that sent me to the emergency room last May was job-related stress and a sense of helplessness to do anything about it. Not one medical professional suggested that I reduce my stress levels. I finally came to the conclusion on my own that I needed to make changes whatever the cost, but it would have helped to have moral support and good advice in the process. So often I think modern medicine just enables people to stay in unhealthy situations by prescribing drugs that numb or dull appropriate reactions, thus making the illness worse ove the long haul. Thank you for your very helpful insights.
CW--I am working on integrating alternative healthcare into my routine, but so much of it is hard to evaluate. I find yoga and meditation to be almost always helpful, and good nutrition and plenty of rest. People don't sleep enough anymore. Plus I walk the dog every day.
Pam--I do thinkg primary care providers are under ridiculous pressure to make visits very brief. The last two visits I made were under 5 minutes, and one of those visits was interrupted three times (in five minutes!) The other visit, the doctor got everything wrong, even after I corrected him twice. That did it for me. I won't be back unless it's a dire emergency. What a zoo!
Sandsworth--yes, GPs are leaving in droves because of all the red tape. It is a real crisis. You can't get into a GP to save your life anymore, but even when you do, all they can do is refer you to a specialist. Thanks to the insurance companies their hands are tied anymore.
All of those are excellent practices. I know for a fact that if I hadn't been in such good shape, the result of my injuries could have been much different - and much worse!.
I've heard alot of good and positive things about herbal remedies. The rub is, they're more potent than most realize and you need to thoroughly research their interactions to any current drugs (OTC or prescription) you might be taking. Even aspirin or cough syrup or drops. Everything! For me, the goal would be to REPLACE the drugs with the herbal remedies, if possible. The advantages are numerous: they're enormously cheaper, have little-to-no side affects, and will not deposit any residuals in your brain and make you crazy (dementia, ALZ, etc) as you get older.
I've been so worried about being put on drugs, but so far that hasn't happened. But if it does, my serious herbal research begins.
Pam - Great Hub, and I agree, the most shocking thing about watching Sicko was the quality of healthcare in other developed countries was better....for *far less money*. And they cover everyone! The fact is that a good portion of what we spend goes into the wrong (non-value-adding) pockets. Health insurance companies are incentivized to deny care, not to urge preventive care. The wrong sort of incentives force the wrong sort of outcomes.
I have always had and will probably always have very good healthcare, but it does not sit well with me that 47 million don't have health insurance and so many more are underinsured or see their benefits vaporize the minute they need serious help.
Livelonger & CW,
I got to thinking today while I was walking the dog, I wonder if people can dicker with a physician? What I mean is, if the insurance company's adminstrative costs are 31% (on average) of the bill, why couldn't a person say, "OK, here's the deal. You're charging $80 for this 5 minute visit and the insurance company gets $25 of it. How about I hand you $50 in cash right now, off the books, and we'll call it even?"
I don't know if I'd have the nerve to do it, but on a grander scale, something like that needs to happen I think.
My problem right now is finding a physician I trust. It's not easy when you're uninsured, and most of them aren't taking new patients anyway, so choices are really limited here if its a GP for Family Practitioner.
I'm thinking of looking for an acupuncturist instead--I'm fairly serious about it. Thanks for your thoughts!
Constant Walker - Good call about the dangers of alternative therapies. I just turned down a well paid assignment writing for a mineral supplement due to ethical concerns. I researched the product and believe that it could actually be harmful. There are a lot of products out there which are useless, at best.
I am not knocking all alternative medicine, because there are many genuine and helpful holistic therapies out there. CW mentioned herbalism and there is a lot of evidence suggesting that much of it works. Western medicine is certainly not the only way, for reasons mentioned above, but so many sharks out there try to fleece money from you. The internet is a difficult place to conduct research, even when you know what you are looking for. If you have any doubts, post something on the forums and there are plenty of hubbers who will be willing to help.
Sufi--I know what you mean. Some of that stuff is kind of out there. It doesn't logically follow that just because the current system is messed up that therefore anything 'alternative' is better. Some alternative therapies are junk and some are actually toxic, as you point out.
I think a certain amount of basic good sense helps--exercise, proper diet, minimize stress, have friends and love in your life--these things will go a long way toward preventing illness without adding anything too bizarre or alternative. Letting minor ailments run their course tends to develop immunity. Common sense can help but so much unhealthy behavior is built right into the American lifestyle--our economy runs on monetized dysfunction--but at some point we just have to say no, I won't do it anymore. Won't work for Satan, won't eat poison, won't get all worked up about stuff I can't fix, etc, and so forth.
I think a lot of Americans are getting to that point about now.
a bit of a rant, but you probably had to get it off your chest. US health system has to be one of the most deplorable situations on the globe. after living in Europe for 15 years, i believe i qualify to judge. US health system is a reflection of the greed that furnaces the pharmacutical industry to the american medical association. we have created an elite of professionals who deny service, and in my experience, give minimal help when needed, to be exact...doctors, hospitals, hmos, you name it. all of this could be avoided with universal health care, simple, simple, simple. it would come from an added tax which obviously everyone would feel. but what would you want more, being charged every paycheck and have free medical service for your whole life or ending up in the hospital with a $200,000 bill and face bankruptcy.
they say Europe bonded right after WWII, creating many of its universal humanitarian benefits for the populace. many would call this socialism, i call it growth and i hope that with the new administration that americans grow up and reach the standards that the rest of the world think is 'normal'. guess i had to get that off my chest!!
i only wish i could see the change in my lifetime, then i could start to be proud to be an american because we should take care of our county and our people. when americans start to realize that the people rule the government instead of the other way around, we will start moving in the right direction.
Despite it's many faults- I would still rather receive health care in the United States than anywhere else. Please read on, I've got a rant of my own....
This is just my opinion based on some seminars and working in the healthcare field: "The healthcare system wants to portray the image that the patient is most important- This is False!
It's all about the money!! From the R&D groups, Pharmaceutical industry, lobbyists, Medical Schools, and last but certainly not lease- THE Insurance companies-oh, yes, and now let's toss in the federal government-once they take complete control the system it will surely crumble, history shows that everything that is nationalized eventually does the people harm."
Money and greed have destroyed the U.S. Healthcare System and the person that is sick and their family are the victims. It has become "mafia-like" in it's structure- without the hits and broken knee-caps and severed fingers.....
The patient is not first, the dollar is first. It's a corrupt business. There are many good people that work to take care of patients and truly care about providing quality and compassionate, but they are squeezed by beaurocracies....hospitals are understaffed-the patients suffer.
The first place cuts are made in any hospital budget are NURSING/PATIENT CARE. That says it all.
Again, just my opinion- I get fired up about this because I wish it was better. It's a vitally important issue and it's very complex with many variables.
There is much propoganda floating around about this, I try my best to stick to facts-sometimes it is hard to discern facts from propaganda.
Great hub!!!
Pam,
Every time I read about the US health system I grow more confused. In your recent banking hub many of your readers mentioned that they no longer used banks, but now use credit unions instead. Presumably it would be possible for a right-minded organisation to set up in competition to the health insurance companies, and make a system that was fair and equitable available for a sensible premium? Such a large nation, and so few viable choices! It's the politics of greed, and it surely can't be too long before people start to rebel against it.
Thank you david and newcapo for your thoughtful comments.
What is kind of ironic is that the last two times I was in the emergency room (once for my partner who had a gallstone attack and once for my heart attack emergency), we listened to rants from every single nurse who came in the room. Three of the nurses were male, and they all had lots to say about what the doctor should and shouldn't have done, what's messed up, what they would have done differently, what other nurses are doing wrong... and so on and so forth. They just spewed this stuff, every one of them. I thought, my God--how effective can these people be when they are so frustrated they are venting their frustrations to patients!? They were competent and kind, but we both found it very disturbing that there was so much open disagreement and frustration among the staff. One male nurse even said (to me), "you shouldn't have been admitted. They only do it so they can use the nuclear imaging test. They scare you on purpose because it is profitable." And this from my nurse!
Amanda--I would love to see that. Some doctors are setting up something kind of like that--they charge an annual fee--it's like joining a club--in exchange for better care, fewer patients, longer visits, etc., but you still have to have insurance. No one could afford it otherwise. And you still have to pay per visit.
I hope Obama doesn't shelve this issue too long. It's a very sore subject with many Americans. Thanks for you thoughts.
I remember that you were worried about writing this Hub. In fact, it seems that you have touched a nerve. Hope that everything works out for you guys over there.
Great hub Pam! As a retired RN I definitely have opinions on this one, and I agree.......best to stay out of hospitals if one is able. So many hospital acquired infections, understaffing, etc.
By-the-way, my mother wanted to go to a specific foot doctor that she had used in the past and he was "out of network." So she asked him if she could just pay him cash and he said yes! So..........try it! You might be surpised at the doctors that would be amenable to this arrangement. They do not have to file loads of paperwork and wait endlessly to be reimbursed by the insurance companies.
Also.........FYI...........I used to volunteer at an assistance ministry as a counselor for many years. Some things I learned and used to pass on to some of our clients: If you have a hospital bill, doctor bill, etc. and can't afford to pay the entire thing...........pay them SOMETHING each month. $5 for example. It COSTS them MORE to bill you each month than that. They cannot report you to a collection agency because you are showing good faith in making payments, and SOMETIMES.........they just might write the rest of the bill off. As already stated, it costs them more to keep billing you!
As to Robertsloan2's comments about allergies........that is why I am now happily engaged with a new company that offers all of this information and more to be put online where doctors and emergency personnel can easily access it and know in advance of treatment what the history and problems might be. It can literally save your life!
That is not to say that once in the hospital, one needs to ask what each and every pill is that they might want to give you. Mistakes are made!!! Be inquisitive and ask. The good nurses will respect you for doing that and they should be able to answer that question easily.
I told my father to do that and once when he was hospitalized he passed the information on to his roommate. That man asked what he was being given in that little paper pill cup one time and the answer was...."This is for your heart." He responded....."My heart! I don't have heart problems!!!" And he did not! It would have been a mistake.
I could go on and on.......... Just be careful and stay informed. Wishing everyone good health and if Congress does not start doing something about this.........lets all write our congressmen and women and if nothing is satisfactorily done......lets VOTE THEM OUT OF OFFICE! They do not have "sacred" positions. They are there to serve us, their constituents.
Good points. I've seen doctors mention the red tape too. I think at some point, things are going to change because people are going to reach their limit.
Dee Webbing It Up!
"Despite it's many faults- I would still rather receive health care in the United States than anywhere else."
Why?
Great Hub and some great replies as well. I personally believe that the state of our health care system is because of something that runs deeper then what some may realize.
Firstly its the presumption that people are entitled to "health care". It's not a protected right, yes people could deserve health care but deserving something does not translate into a right. I'll use my baseball bat rule of thumb to test my opinion on this.
Lets apply the baseball bat! Patient says, "Doctor, I'm sick and almost dying of fever please treat me so I can get better." Doctor says, "No". Paitent, "If you don't treat me I'm going to beat you with my baseball bat!" So the doctor refuses still and gets beat with a baseball bat by the patient. Does two wrongs make it a right?
If recieving health care were something we were entitled too then it could conceivably be right to have beaten the doctor with the baseball bat!
The other HUGE issue with health care is the reason why people become health care providers. MONEY! That is the wrong motivation for getting into any field of the medical industry. We need to focus on helping people find what they can be passionate about for a career instead of focusing on how much a certian career pays and having that as a motivational tool to get poeple into the field.
This is the reason the health care industry has a huge demand for people. Alot of younger folks are getting into becoming an RA, CNA, MA and other fields only to leave when they find out they have to do a digital stimulation on a parapalegic patient so they can move thier bowels, or have to clean up some one who is incontinent, or deal with bed pans, etc. etc. Then they leave and find something else to do because the income looks less attractive in light of the duties.
I just read a piece in a magazine which says the price for ANYTHING can be "dickered," and they specifically included medical costs.
I'm also looking for a GP. Hope I can find one, period. I not even going for someone I trust. But, you never know.
I travel alot so I don't have a family doctor, however when the time comes I'll be conducting interviews. = )
Thanks RDHayes for you interesting comments. I'm not sure about the baseball bat test, but it never hurts to have another test in one's arsenal!
The word 'right' is tricky. Paraglider wrote a great hub here at about whether free speech should be a right. Steering around that whole issue entirely I'd say denying health care to sick people is inhumane. It may not be a right, but it's crummy and not very admirable.
I agree that if people choose careers based on what they loved rather than then money we'd all be better off! That's why I spend most of my time writing (and why I don't own a Tesla), but it took me a long time to learn that money is poor compensation it you're miserable. :o)
famous quote; "trust no one" - X Files
applies to health care in the USA. would've loved to see comparisions to some G20 countries or as some call them emerging market economies.
Like you pgrundy we are lacking heaps of money also. We are both self employed and raised 4 kids without any medical insurance. If we could have afforded it we probably would have paid for it, but we never could so have never had it.
Up until 2001 the Chinese colleges of Oriental Medicine have been our choice of family health care. But since 2001 we have been using Young Living Essential Oils as our families choice of medicine.
It is very interesting to note that when you do not have any health insurance, and so you have to pay your own way, prevention of illness becomes a priority.
I have chosen to use as much real, organic, bio-dynamic, food and personal care products and cleaning products as possible for this reason.
I have not had to take an antibiotic since I was a child living with my parents, probably 35 - 40 years ago.
My kids have grown up never having taken an antibiotic. Now I am not against emergency medical treatments when they are necessary, please don't get me wrong. However, there are other non-toxic alternatives to most of the things we use in our daily lives that are poisoning us, little by little, day by day.
Prevention is the cheapest form of insurance. The cost of a superior quality product or food item may be more up front, but in the log run, it is way cheaper.
I am from Australia, and I think Universal Health Care is good, however, I wish it would include things that matter, like, massage, essential oils, acupuncture etc.
I think more Americans need to talk about this subject and demand that the system be brought back to caring for illness versus profits.
Each person needs to take responsibility for the condition of their health though to a certain degree, and I don't think this is happening enough.
Hi Jennifer,
I agree with you 100%. I had no health insurance for most of my life. In my late forties I got divorced and got a corporate job because I needed to make a certain amount of money (or thought I did) to survive, and that job provided health insurance. Within two years I was on five different drugs and had three separate health issues, plus I was gaining weight, not sleeping, and having panick attacks.
It took me five more years to realize the job was causing the need for the insurance, and the insurance was enabling me to stay at the job--that job was literally killing me. I think most Americans live like this all the time and never question it--they just assume that is the normal way to live, but it isn't.
We need to seriously question our life style, the way we work, and the way traditional medicine has become an enabler in an addiction to money and stress. Life is not about money. Until we 'get' that we will keep getting sick and the health care system will continue to drug and rob us.
Thank you for your thoughtful comments here and all the best to you.
You have written quite a hub, PGrundy. And it is getting great traffic.
I am also quite disillusioned with American healthcare. It is hardly a system, and its ability to treat patients is hit-or-miss.
Thanks for stopping by Reg--Yes, 'disillusioned is a good way to put it. It's very disillusioning. Kind of like, you're on your own. For now, we really are.
Pam,
I didn't have time to read the comments, so if this has been covered I apologize.
Great Hub even better Ideas. Not a lot of people know this but there are four distinct health care systems in the US. The Military, the Tribal system, the VA, and the everyone else system. The system you covered is pretty much the everyone else system. The other three I have had the distinct privilege of witnessing each for about 20 years a piece, due to birthright and career choice.
The Tribal system is pretty much what you would call Universal Health Care; I like the fact that no matter what I could go to the clinic on the hill above the school when I was a kid and I could get my tooth fixed or cream for a rash or whatever. If your problem was too much for the clinic they would send you to the tribal Hospital which could be far from where you live. If they couldn't do it there, they would fork over the money for a regular hospital that could. All in all it was OK. The lines sucked and yes you could wait a while to be seen at the hospital. Or in my case I broke both of my arms and got them set with no anesthetic. It hurt like hell but no long term damage and didn't cost a dime.
Now the Military system is by far the best system in this country, it is like universal healthcare but with a big budget. They are always looking for new and better things and they like to use the military folks for all kinds of experiments. Sure some funky things could happen but they are rare. You always got the latest and greatest. 2 out 4 of my children were born in Military hospitals; given a choice my other two would have been born there as well. By far military hospitals are the most excellent birthing experience in the US.
Lastly, now I could use the VA due to my service, but it is by far the worst system we have, over burdened and under funded. So I have insurance and use what everyone else does, not because it is the best, but it is better than my alternative. I wonder if we stopped wasting so much money on weapons systems and other waste of time projects if we couldn't have military hospitals for everyone.
TMG
Would love to see the sources for all the stats you quote. I don't believe anything without a credible source. I have learned we are a nation of sheep as people generally swallow whatever "facts" are in print or spewed from anyone who might sound somewhat credible. (not at all meaning to infer you are spewing here.)
I understand this is your perception of healthcare and I respect your opinion. I would like to possibly give you a peek from a different point of view.
Many, many people choose to lead incredibly unhealthy lifestyles and give no regard to what their physicians and other healthcare professionals try to teach them or provide for them. I will elaborate with a couple examples.
You cite the infant mortality rate. Cocaine babies (or other drug addicted babies) are born every day and that alone is a huge risk for infant death. And of course, a more common scenario includes mothers who choose not to seek out prenatal care. When labor inevitably comes, (often gapingly pre-term) they walk into a hospital and literally drop a baby out with numerous "issues" that now culmunate in a lack of breathing at birth, thus driving up infant mortality rates. Sadly, most of this is preventable with proper prenatal care.
It is not that prenatal care is not available because it is available to all through various programs and the very least is provdied through the government funded Medicaid program.
And of course, there are millions of people choosing to eat steak and gravy and Big Macs on the weekends while they smoke numerous packs of cigarettes a day sitting on their couch. These folks will likely tragically die an untimely death from a disease process (or many disease processes) directly associated with their life choices.
It is not that they are not aware of the consequnces of their actions, they just exercise their right to choose. (Or choose not to exercise!) And while they are dying over a period of anywhere from 10-30+ years, they consume millions of dollars of expensive and time consuming healthcare services to treat their worsening conditions, demanding relief.
IF there were wellness appointments, I suspect few would keep their appointment. I have found if people are not properly "motivated," they won't take the time.
Healthcare operates the way it does because that is the way we, as Americans, drive it. We will not take the time to be healthy or prevent illness by taking days off or time out to go to a wellness visit. We think, "I am well, I feel great. I don't need any doctors. I would rather be...." (fill in the blank)
Just my opinion...based on what our society chooses to do and not do everyday. Sure the Granola-Yoga crowd in California and Oregon might partake, but they already partake of preventative medicine. They eat their granola and practice thier yoga and make a meager, but happy living pursuing their true passions. (I am serious when I say these are the genuinely rich people of the world!) My point is that all the folks who want to take time for prevention already are taking time for it.
Education is great - and anyone with an internet connection can get a truckload of it. Web MD is excellent. So are sites like The American Diabetes Association and other national organization sites that provide prevention information as well as information for those already diagnosed with the disease and are receiving treatment for it.
And the very few without access or those that cannot visit their public library to access a computer, can visit their county health departments and participate in the numerous programs that provide care AND education for all members of the family. (This includes public health nurses who make house calls.)
I think it is a case of actually wanting the information and then choosing to take action. Most folks are just stuck in the victim role and prefer to stay there. Again, just my opinion based on years of observations.
If we have higher mortality in the USA, I respectfully submit it is because of our choices, not our healthcare system.
And I do not mean to leave out the millions of people who really do care and do seek out information and do their best to live a good life and prevent disease, etc. And somettimes everything you can do is just not enough.
It happens. People get sick. They experience trauma or they are diagnosed with a horrible illness and require services from a healthcare provider. And yes, the cost of healthcare is pricey. Whether the government pays for it, insurance companies, or the consumer, it is not cheap to be tragically ill or injured in any deveopled country. But I will tell you this, while the healthcare in Canada is not atrocious, it is also far behind the States. I have seen and heard of many people in Canada come to the US to recieve their care because they precieve it as better, more up to date care.
Maybe the grass is just greener...?
Just so you know, most hospitals and all government operated clinics have a price break for cash only patients. And it is sliding scale, based on one's ability to pay. Maybe no one is informing you of this fact, but it is there. Talk to someone in charge of the business office. I understand its not your fault you don't know this, it is the fault of the hospital or physician's office for not being more helpful. And I certainly agree compassion needs to extend to our assets (or lack thereof) as well as our ailments.
You mention mental health - I agree this is a huge crisis in America. I am not sure what country does mental health well - Sadly, I fear the mentally ill are forgotten and devalued universally. This is seriously a sad state of affairs.
The solution? It does require money because these folks definitely require a lot of services! If you have any great ideas on that, please write someone in Washington and notify the national organizations for mental illness. They can help make ideas reality.
You have a lot to say - keep saying it!
I see....a mite disappointed my earlier comment was not allowed....a pity it is says I,perhaps because my thoughts did not agree wuth the author........so is 'freedom of speech',dead after all.................
May God's healing force be with you,always
Laurence Chilcott
Hi Money Guy--I was not aware of thse different systmes thank you for going over them. Wow. It doesn't surprise me about the VA--that has gotten a lot of press, or did, for awhile. I hope this administration does something more about it.
Mystic Biscuit-thanks for another point of view. I appreciate you taking the time to share your strong opionions.
Health-care-4life--I only delete spam comments and comments that are extremely racist or hateful. I don't delete comments just because they disagree with me. Mystic Biscuit doesn't agree with me and I approved her lengthy comment. I don't remember deleting your comment, but if I did it's because I thought it was automated spam or HP deleted it automatically as spam--which they do sometimes. (Your name is IS a tad spammy...)
If you have an opinion go ahead and express it.
Pam, I generally don't get at all ruffled when people express a point of view that is different from my own, but the comment from Mystic Biscuit struck a nerve in me. Not a bad nerve, just one that says there's another side to that coin.
For anyone who thinks that these 'clinics' with a sliding scale are a good choice, I'm here to say that some are and some aren't. Some of them treat people horribly and the care you receive can be substandard. I've seen both, and it makes me sick. I'm going to share something I've never shared before.
When I was pregnant with my second child, I was self-employed and had no insurance. I had to go to a clinic for pre-natal care, and it was the most horrible experience of my life. I felt like I was part of a cattle farm...all that was needed was to have my ear tagged. I sat (preganant) in a waiting room for hours waiting to be seen, I was only seen by interns and students, and there was always someone different each time I went for a checkup...meaning I had more strange eyes and hands examining me and my 'yoohoo' than I can count, and that isn't pleasant by any means. Sometimes there would be two or three interns and/or students during a visit. I didn't have a clue who would deliver my baby, I was only told that it would be whatever resident happened to be on call at the time.
Fast forward...when I went into labor, I went to the hospital and told the resident on call that I wanted an epidural. She looked at me and said, "That's a luxury for people who have insurance." Isn't that nice?
My pregnancy was considered high risk and I had assumed that she/the resident had read my history which included the fact that my first child was delivered by C-section meaning I might not be able to deliver vaginally and needed to be watched closely.
Well, that didn't happen, she evidently didn't read my chart because I wasn't monitored closely and my daughter nearly died. It wasn't until the heart monitor showed that my baby's heart had stopped beating that the doctor/resident finally rushed to the room to do something. What she discovered is that there was too much scar tissue from the previous C-section for me to deliver vaginally, yet it was too late to schedule one for this delivery. A team of people rushed to the room, and they managed to get my daughter out with forceps meanwhile damaging my uterus in such a way that I would never have any more children.
When I think back on that it really upsets me, and it upsets me when people can't see that some of these 'clinics' aren't as rosey as some people evidently want to believe. I can fully understand why some pregnant women would choose to not go to a clinic even if it cost nothing, and that is very sad.
Pam,
that's a disgraceful tale. I had two c-sections, and they're no picnic in the best of circumstances, let alone the worst. You have my sympathy!
A lot of good info. thanks
Pam--that's horrible. That should never happen to anyone, and the comment about the epidural is inexcusable. That person should have been fired on the spot.
I've actually had the "lots of people looking at my hoohoo" thing happen at the regular doctor, even with insurance. My first child, first prenatal visit, I had an student with the doc, and then again at the delivery, a whole crew of folks coming in while some professorish dude blathered on about my genitalia. Not the most pleasant experience.
I think childbirth horror stories deserve their own hub, there are so many. Seriously, it's barbaric here, the way women are 'processed' when pregnant. I'm getting worked up just think about half a dozen bad experiences I had myself--and as I say, with insurance, in expensive doctor's offices.
Personally, as I've said elsewhere, I'm for Universal Health Care. I think it's obscene that we are the only developed nation that doesn't have it, and I don't feel at all that if people are poor or make bad choices or are addicted or whatever that they deserve substandard care or no care. I think that's just inhumane--but I think we do live in a very inhumane country right now. We're not supposed to say so, but the rest of the world isn't afraid to say it.
PGRUNDY, you said, "and I don't feel at all that if people are poor or make bad choices or are addicted or whatever that they deserve substandard care or no care"
The poor I don't feel fall into the same category as those who make bad choices or are addicted, the latter kind of being the same. But I don't think it's fair to make others pay for peoples addictions or bad choices by giving them free health care, and doing so would only contribute to more bad choices and addictions.
By the way would you like your taxes increased to 50% of your income? That's what will happen if we get universal health care. The money has to come from somewhere and I don't want it coming from my pockets or any one elses.
Yes, I would gladly pay 50% in taxes if it meant decent care for all, including me. The tax rate in Canada is near that in my tax bracket and I've considered moving there, but this is my home, my grown children are here, it's my country too, so I'm staying.
We won't agree on this issue, but at least we are still free to state our different opinions, and I do value that. I think we can all appreciate that freedom and be grateful for it.
I don't see punishment as an effective way to deal with bad choices and addiction--especially not addiction, which in the case of drugs and alcohol can be shown to be a medical, not a moral, problem. As a society we waste an enormous amount of public money ineffectively incarcerating addicts and teaching them better ways to steal and kill, instead of just treating the addiction in a humane fashion.
But again, I recognize we will not reach agreement on this. I appreciate you taking the time to share your views, though I don't share them myself.
I don't view punishment as an effective means to deal with anything especially not being able to afford health insurance.
I just popped back in to say thank you Pam. Sorry about the lengthy comment before, but I felt a need to show through personal experience how our current choices aren't as pretty or as reasonable as some people may think.
At any rate, one good thing is that when private doctors offer a sliding scale, that is often a positive experience. I've seen that too. It's when you need a specialist that trouble can start.
Amanda, thank you. :)
Hi Pam--Sometimes when I hear from people in Europe, Britain, and Australia about U.S. issues, it is clear to me from their bafflement at the attitudes here that America is just not a very tolerant or humane place. It makes me ashamed of us, seriously. So many Americans can't see past the end of their own noses and also seem to be constantly angry at imaginary scapegoats like welfare moms, addicts, the poor... I confess that gets on my nerves pretty bad. The common attitude of, "I made my money all by myself and made all the right choices so screw everyone else, it's all mine," is hard to admire. No wonder the world hates us.
We're always being told the NHS here in the UK is in dire stress re:funding, but I think they're still doing a top rate job with what they have.
Hi J_Eds--Yes here in the U.S. we're always being told that universal care will bankrupt the country, which does seem redundant, given our current circumstances. Both hospitals in the city where I live are nearly bankrupt in the for-profit system--one is expected to possibly fail this year.
"By the way would you like your taxes increased to 50% of your income? That's what will happen if we get universal health care."
We have universal health care in the UK, and don't pay 50% income tax. The top rate (for earnings over about £40k) is 40%
Same in Spain, pretty much. Can't recall what's the low end for top taxes, but for top earnings taxes never reach 50%. Besides, the 40% tax LondonGirl mentioned is for the top earnings, lower end salaries are nowhere near that. Just to make that point. It's false that UHC needs to stand on crazy taxes. A reform may need investment, yes, but nowhere in Europe UHC needs to be sustained on that type of tax.
Hi London Girl & Elena,
My political views lean towards Democratic Socialism which here in the US makes me just a hair to the left of a monster from the depths of hell in the minds of much of the populace, even though in most of the rest of the civilized world it's just another viewpoint. I would gladly pay half my income (if it really took that) to make sure that a human social safetly net existed for all persons, no matter what their station in life.
Weirdly, I do NOT feel good about paying the 15% of my wages I currently have to pay, because a good deal of it goes instead to torture, war, and lately, straight into the pockets of already wealthy financiers.
So go figure.
Of course we won't agree, because I feel it's not right to take peoples property and give it to others by way of TAXATION, and you feel it is right. It's my property to do with as I please because it's from the fruit of my own labor. Should I choose to give what's mine of my own volition that is my "right".
You say, "The common attitude of, "I made my money all by myself and made all the right choices so screw everyone else, it's all mine,"...
Isn't that some ones "RIGHT" to act like that? So you want to punish them by taking it away from them and giving it to others in the form of UHC?
You alude to my position as being a form of punishment which I take offense to and see as a personal attack on my beliefs, yet your more then willing to take other peoples property and punish them by giving it to others.
Punishment is a penatly for an offence or fault. Making people pay for others bad choices is the punishment that's going on here. So now that you've judged me I'll judge you, your a hypocrite.
I believe we find each other offensive Mr. Hayes. No need to take it any further than that IMO.
Hi P - I ha dbeen paying health insurance for my family (not for me - I could only afford the wife and 2 children) - at a cost of $625 per month. I used the VA - This amount was to go up as well when we discovered my son had autism this year. Thank heavens my wife held onto her Canadian citizenship. We have since moved and am spending the money I used to paying down other debt that incurred because of it plus classes form y son we would have never received in the colonies.
It really saddens me to see the states getting so run down by greed - often I don't tell anyone I am from the states as I am simply embarassed.
I now realize that the Health Care industry is failing and my money was incredibly wasted, but that Social Security is one of the largest Ponzi schemes Americans will ever see. To those reading this, look up Ponzi scheme and then put two and two together -
Don't get me wrong, Canada is still hurting for doctors and nurses that have left for more money to the states, - but they are slowly coming back. I did watch "Sicko" and yearn to move to France - anyhow I thought your post was fantastic and hope more people read it.
Thank you Embarrassed--I live in Michigan, which has been hit very, very hard by the economic meltdown and continues to get worse day by day. I've seriously considered moving to Toronto, but I decided it's my country too. I'm losing my sense of humor about it all though. I've pretty much dropped all pretense of civilized discussion on certain topics, because it comes to a point where you either stand for something or you don't. I feel like we've totally lost our moral compass here in the U.S. Ever since Reagan it has gotten to be more and more about money and hogging as much of it as possible, and less and less about doing what is right and fair. I feel like you--embarrassed by it and ashamed of it.
Nobody makes it totally on their own. The very rich have their money on the backs of the working poor. Even people who still have middle class jobs and own property didn't get that purely through their own hard work. Hard work is part of it, and the other part of it is being born into a supportive family, having paved roads and the chance to get a decent education, being fortunate enough not to contract AIDs or cancer or a chronic illness that renders your ability to work hard defunct--I could go on, but the point is, none of us achieves anything in a vacuum, and if we don't want to imprison half the country and step over the bodies of the other half on the way to our summer homes, we have a debt to pay to society to keep it decent and humane and fair.
Until this past election, my views were minority ones. It is changing now, but there's still a lot of hard feelings all around.
I don't believe that he who dies with the most toys wins.
I had a miscarriage this summer and a couple months later our (private) insurance premium got mysteriously raised by 50%, the fuckers. I don't know for sure that the two are connected, but since we'd had the insurance less than a year and are two young and healthy people with two young and healthy children, that's the only excuse I can think of for them. It's something like $600 a month now, and I would drop it in a heartbeat if not for the certain knowledge that my toddler would choose the next day to throw herself off the bed and break her arm or something. :P
The system we've got now is completely unsupportable. I'm more or less agnostic but still *praying* that Obama is able to push through a reasonable national plan of some sort, because as it is we're getting punished for my husband's decision to help his brother's business (which employs about 80 people, btw, and would likely employ more if it didn't have to pay salaries that could cover the lubeless ass raping that is the US private insurance system). Great way to encourage entrepreneurship, gov! Canada is looking better and better, but I'm inconveniently attached to this country of ours. :(
Can I say just this one thing about the good Mr Obama? Here from across the pond it looks like the poor guy has so many expectations on his shoulders that I feel for him. And it's not just expectations from Americans, the ones who have a "priority" right to have expectations, but he's got them from all over the world –economy, stabilizing Middle East, terrorism, social and ecologic agendas... I really hope he knows how to navigate the extremely messy inheritance he's getting. Or that we can all cut him some slack, 'cuase it ain't fair that just one man gets so much shit on his shoulders. Off topic ends here, and sorry for sticking this in!
Hi P - the only way I made it out of my area and get my life started (college was unreachable $$) I joined the Army - so when you think about it I sold 8 years of my life for $17k in tuition. It would have been 19k+ but what they don't tell you is that you have to contirbute $1200 first. Although the healthcare was topnotch!
As well, I feel for the new pres, so much to clean up. But, when people are done with most large cities and they have drained it and left it penniless, the people to pick up the problems and try to mend them are Afircan Americans -just look at Newark, Memphis, Jackson, Chicago, Cleveland -the list goes on.
I guess this is just me ranting...
Hi kerryg--I have a health savings account but lost my insurance when I quit my bank job. My experiences with doctors and hospitals were so negative while I did have access to them that I don't even care about losing the insurance, but I do worry about losing my house if I get cancer or something. I think a good compromise would be to provide catastrophic care for everyone at a basic level and low cost wellness care, and then if rich people want to purchase insurance or opt into an elite clinic for extra cost they would still have that option.
Small businesses really get hosed in this country. Sole proprietors get double taxed, which makes no sense--It seems to me it's just a way to push people into working for corporations and thereby killing competition. I think corporate lobbyists really hurt the average person and the small business person. Obama's health care plan is not great but it's better tha nnothing. I do think though that at some point insurance companies will have to be bitch slapped pretty hard or just pushed out of it all together. They are the real problem.
Elena--I agree, the poor man would have to Jesus to accomplish everything everyone wants. I do think though that a lot of Americans realize he can't do it all. We're just so happy to see someone decent in office here--a lot of the expectations are more expressions of relief that we finally have someone who cares. I think people will stick by him even when he can't please everyone. I will.
Hey Embarrassed, no problem, rant away! There's something to what you say, but in a way it's good, because now we are getting all these really top notch smart young African American politicians coming up--and most of them are from big cities--so kids are going to see that. They're going to grow up thinking that is normal instead of thinking the way to go is to play basketball or be a rap star.They we will see by example that they can make a difference and they can change things, that it's possible. So I personally think that's great. For a long time now everyone has been so cynical here, like, oh, what does it matter, we can't change it. I do think Obama's Presidency and some of the new faces in Congress and in city governments are changing all that. So maybe there is a little hope after all.
Excellent Hub
Hi Pam,
Is the $600 per month health insurance mentioned earlier a typical amount? If so, then I don't understand why some of the other comments say that they object to paying for UHC through their taxes. Surely they would just be swapping one amount for another similar, or quite possibly smaller, amount!
Hi Amanda--Yes, $600 to cover a family is not unusual at all. When I worked at the bank, my share of the insurance (the bank half the monthly premium and I paid half) was about $200 a month, but it was very minimal coverage with a $2500 deductible and 80/20 after that--so it basically was catastrophic coverage which could still leave you with huge bills (and it did leave me with huge bills when I ended up in the emergency room). My share of a comprehensive policy would have run closer to between $400 and $500 a month, and that's with the employer paying a portion.
Now, I would not be able to get insurance at any price because of my age and because I just had that heart attack emergency room episode in May of 2008. I know people my age who have to have insurance because of serious medical conditions who pay over $900 a month in premiums, and of course they still get huge medical bills--the insurance only partially offsets that.
Part of the reason the costs are so high is the system is very corrupt and inefficient. That's the irony--all that money and the care is crappy and even dangerous.
I think the reason many people object so vehemently to Universal Health Care is ideological. Many people here feel they should only have to pay for themselves, and they think that if the government provides health care then their personal money is going to provide care for people they don't know, and this makes them angry. But what they don't realize is that that is happening anyway, right now. When uninsured people show up at emergency rooms because they can't get into doctors--and that is what they have to do--it drives up prices for the people who do have coverage and drives down the quality of care. It's so bad that the hospitals here in Kalamazoo can't raise prices fast enough to keep ahead of it. Every year they get farther behind financially and one is near bankruptcy--this is happening everywhere.
It has been shown again and again that we could provide universal care RIGHT NOW for less than what we spend on covering only some--a lot less money. But many conservative Americans don't want to provide for others, only themselves, even if it means cutting off their own noses to spite their faces.
So I don't feel very tender towards those people. I'm not Jesus, I'm just Pam, and they piss me off.
dont worry about it pgrund. youre still jesus of HubLand, or at least St. Paul. keep crankin out good reads
LOL! Thanks artfuldodger--I KNOW I'm not Jesus anywhere (even virtually) but I've definitely had my problems getting to Damascus in one piece, so yeah, I'll just keep on keepin' on... Thanks!
Yo, PGrundy. You're from Michigan. Michael Moore is from Michigan. Do you two brilliant, shit-stirring communicators know each other or somethin? Seriously, I'd say you've outdone yourself with this hub -- but you outdo yourself with every hub:-)!
The thing that galls me about people who are categorically opposed to UHC is that they don't get it. If they already have health insurance, they already are paying for people who do not. It's not like indigent people (don't you just love that word?) are not getting care. They are getting it, because hospitals have a moral obligation to treat them. Accordingly, those who do pay, are paying extra to cover the free care. That, plus the ridiculous inefficiency of our system. And yes, the disgusting greed of the pharmaceuticals industry. I think it's unconscionable that drug companies can advertise directly to consumers. So that we go to our doctors asking for "the little purple pill" or "Cymbalta" or "Zettia" or whatever. Getting your primary care physician to prescribe is just one step above self-medicating (you know -- those "bad decisions" that fuel those "addictions" that some people feel should be punished by putting the patient in jail).
My anger at our health care system is both deep and broad. I won't bore you with my own exploits learning to navigate the lovely (and vast) Kaiser system. I guess I've done a pretty good job, since I'm still among the living (and I have no right to be). But what kind of HC system pays 100% of routine office visits (like once a month) lab tests, xrays, surgeries, hospitalizations, even cancer treatment and drugs (yes, including enough oxy to anesthetize a horse) for an 87-year-old couple, but denies even basic coverage to their 51-year-old, hardworking, self-employed son? Is this a good use of health care resources???? Arrgh. Don't get me started! But thanks for letting me vent!!!
"You say, "The common attitude of, "I made my money all by myself and made all the right choices so screw everyone else, it's all mine,"...
Isn't that some ones "RIGHT" to act like that? So you want to punish them by taking it away from them and giving it to others in the form of UHC?"
No, it's not a right.
It's immoral, in my view, not to pay something for those who are less fortunate than oneself.
With tax, it's not "punishing" anyone. People still keep most of the fruits of their labours.
My other half and I are are both 40% tax-payers. We put in more than we get, by quite a way. And I'm happy to do that.
Life isn't equal opportunity. Of course, hard work and success is important. But if you are born to a single mother with no health care insurance, little education or ambition, you don't have the same start in life. Universal health care is fundamental to a civilised society, in my view.
It's immoral, in my view, not to pay something for those who are less fortunate than oneself.
It might be immoral yes, but now we are getting into the relm of forcing people to live by some one else's moral standard through taxation. How many ways is that wrong.
@Supermom
Btw I don't carry health insurance just so you know.
I have been without healthcare for almost 12 years. I am one of the lucky few that does not get sick enough to have to visit a doctor. Will my time come, probably, chickens always come back to roost eventually. There must come a time when we As Americans get sick and tired of being "sick."
When does this happen? I fear that we have already lost our country to only those that can afford it. Now , don't get me wrong, I believe that if you work hard and can enjoy the fruits, so be it. But our country was founded on helping all those who wanted to come here. Do I dare speak about immigration? Do we want to pay $5 for an apple -
Lets look at something totally different, when our food prices have risen to the level where we feed our families crap because we can't afford fresh wholesome food, and wonder about our obesity and mortality rate - when do you begn to draw the lines together? I think fresh, wholesome food plays a major role in our health and the way we can treat ourselves - but again, immigration. I am going to stop this here as I think I will hub this. But you get the idea - it all starts with what we put into our bodies - if good gorceries were less expensive, I truly think our system of health would have to play off something else to be a viable, capitalist entity.
"Life shouldn't be counted by the amount of breaths you take... but the amount of moments that takes your breath away"
"It might be immoral yes, but now we are getting into the relm of forcing people to live by some one else's moral standard through taxation. How many ways is that wrong."
Not in nearly as many ways as a high infant mortality rate, poor education, or sick children left untreated.
Hi MM--So much of it makes no sense! Some day when I'm in a mood I'll do an addiction hub--so much misinformation out there. Thank you for venting. You are welcome to vent here anytime.
Hi surviveprison--You say, "I fear that we have already lost our country to only those that can afford it." I think that sums it up pretty well actually. At this point we may or may not be able to get it back. I'm not sure I'll see it in my lifetime.
LG & Mr. Hayes--I'll hang back. You both already know my view. Thank you for your comments.
Wow!! That's my first reaction. This is certainly a topic that's timely and has hit a nerve.
14 years ago, I enrolled in a graduate program that I thought would be a launching point for me to get into public policy. My goal was to make mental health part of universal health care. That was back in the Clinton administration. I concentrated on health care, learned the history of modern health care in this country, how the AMA looked at home remedies, homeopathy and other treatments as quackery among other things. I got discouraged from this mission when I learned what it takes to make public policy (my professor said there are 2 things you don't want to see being made, puplic policy and sausage). It's truly an art in compromises.
I just read an article in The Wall Street Journal written by Deepak Chopra, Dean Ornish, and Andrew Wyle, http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123146318996466585 "Aternative" Medicine is Mainstream, 1/9/09, urging our president elect and HSS appointee Tom Daschle to make integrative medicine part of health care reform. They cited lots of stats about how prevention can reverse conditions and can even determine which genes are turned on and off (I could be crudely paraphrasing here). They also mentioned how expensive, invasive surgical proceedures like coronary by pass surgery does NOT improve quality of life.
I've known more than one doctor who quit practicing because it wasn't fun anymore. The joy they used to get from helping people was highjacked by insurance companies and HMOs demanding paperwork and less time with patients.
I'm glad you wrote about this. It's about time health care -- wellness care, not sick care, is a right and not a priviledge in this country. I do fear it's going to be a long road. I hope I'm wrong.
Hi ChaiRachelRuth! I'm really glad you stopped by. I think there are really two stories here--one is the terrible state of our current system--the corruption, the spiraling costs, the attrition in family practice, insurance issues and so forth. The other (and I think more interesting) story is about our toxic lifestyle and how reforming a health care system based on diagnosing and treating disease is perhaps not the quickest or cheapest way to help the most Americans to get healthy.
I do think that the current system is codependently entwined with corporate America in the sense that corporations so often promote toxic values and products (bad food, intense daily stress, long work hours with little regard for family and personal time, lack of exercise, standardization and disregard of individual abilities and talents) --and then modern medicine, which can only be accessed easily IF you have a corporate job, patches people up when they get sick from their toxic lifestyle so they can go right back to it and get sicker.
I heard on NPR the other day that the average American over 50 takes 5 prescription meds a day. Three years ago I took four a day, now I take none a day. I didn't needs a fistful of meds, I needed a sane life.
I do think we need both--wellness care and access to good diagnostic and treatment facilities if and when we do become ill. But if we valued our people more and if people valued themselves enough to refuse some of the crap that's promoted, that would go a long way to reducing the need for conventional medicine.
Thank you for your comments. I like Ornish and Chopra a lot. Thanks for the link too.
Is it right to force an individual by law to perform an act, administer professional training, or knowledge and services for the benefit of another individual to experience their rights?
What I'm trying to say is that a right does not include the implementation of another person. As an example, our right to free speech is not dependant upon the assistance of some one else to implement.
With UHC we are just enslaving the minds of the health care professionals. Additionally forcing a doctor to treat patients requires a violation of their rights. The doctors life is no longer his own but the property of the government or community.
We can’t dictate how much a person can charge for any service they render because they paid for the training required to obtain the skills to provide their services. This is what will happen when doctors are forced to render care and are told how much they are going to get paid to do it, despite the many years and 10’s of thousands of dollars they spent for schooling.
I for one as a patient would not want a doctor who is being forced to render care to me and isn’t getting paid fair enumeration for his services.
I would be a little more amicable to UHC if, and only if the government sent them to school and paid for all of it. Then the government could dictate how much a doctor gets paid, and those who are choosing to enter the medical professions are not likely doing it for the pay but instead because it’s in their hearts to provide health care to the sick and afflicted. Then health care professionals would be willingly, and knowingly slaves to the state or community. Unfortunately the latter idea won’t work in the USA because we’d never convince the existing doctors to become enslaved.
I found a table of physician salaries by country at the following website:
http://www.worldsalaries.org/generalphysician.shtm
It's hard to interpret the table, because some countries give the median and others the average salary for a GP, and these are two different figures altogether. The average (which is what is given for the US) includes all salaries divided by the number of reports--so if only a few doctors are making enormous sums it will skew the number higher--wihich may or may not be the case with the US number. If some doctors are making very small sums it will skew the average number lower.
The median would just be the midpoint of all possible salaries, which in some ways I think is a more accurate reflection of what is going on.
UK, Australia, and the US appear to have roughly equivalent salaries for GPs, but again, it would be interesting to see a table set up that was easier to read.
I think 'enslaving' is a strong word and fairly inappropriate in this context. You could just as accurately say that doctors are currently being 'enslaved' by the demands of insurance companies and HMOs, who routinely take 31% right off the top of every dollar the doctor makes just for administrative costs. The last few times I've seen a doctor I was treated to a litany of THEIR complaints about how insurance companies hamper their ability to treat patients effectively and ruin their quality of life, but I was not able to bill these doctors for my listening time even though they dumped their emotions during my five minutes. Maybe I will start doing that.
Presumably a few people, even in the US, still go into medicine not to get rich, but because they want to help sick people. I'd want a doctor who went into medicine for that reason, not a doctor who wanted a Bentley and saw med school as the best way to get one. For instance, I dragged my butt through two degrees and no one ever guaranteed me a good salary for doing it--why should they? It was my own decision to do it, I expected and got no guarantees.
It's hard to see why doctors deserve such a gurantee any more than other people. Getting a PhD in Comparative Religion takes 6-8 years and yet academics doesn't pay too well unless you get and Ivy League tenured spot, which few people do--but people still get Phds in all kinds of subjects because they want to and they love what they study.
The problem right now is that it's all about the money. It should be all about the patient. If you want to make money be a stockbroker, a thief, or a plumber.
Yes it's all about the money, I myself am in insurance restoration contractor and I charge more then normal because it takes longer to get paid, as the insurance companies try to hang on to the money as long as possible and I'm not a finance company or bank. All the extra paperwork and administrative cost's envolved in dealing with mortage companies and claims offices the list goes on. I expierance some of the same problems that the health care industry does in that regard.
However I fee that people who are entrusted with the very lives of others should be some of the highest paid people in the world.
I think - although I wouldn't swear to it - that the average UK GP earns about £105k p.a.
Pam - I love your avatar! Sorry its been so long since I've commented, etc. In 2009, you are still one of my top HubPages writers. :) Keep up the great work!
LondonGirl, how much is that in American currency? - I'm curious. And, does your country have universal healthcare?
A lot less in dollars than it was, the £ has been dropping off a cliff recently! A year ago it might have been about $200,000, now perhaps $160,000?
$160,000 is not a shabby income in these parts.
Stephanie--thanks!
Hi Pam,
LG is about right with her estimate, but I believe that British GPs can bump this up to quite a bit more by adding value to their practices through various wellness clinics. And yes Constant, we certainly do have Universal Health Care, and having read Pam's hub, I'm beginning to realise just how lucky we are!
well, luckly my country (Malaysia) is not that bad, we have private and government hospital here, my friend wife just delivered her 1st son last month in a government hospital and just paid RM9 (USD2.50).
Good luck to all the U.S. citizen,
Hope Barrack Obama can make a change for all Americans
Very true Hub, P... it's crazy watching the commercials about the Americans who file for bankruptcy due to medical bills, and even after having health insurance.
Thank you glassvisage. It really is crazy. I hope we see some reform soon. Thanks for your comment.
How can you possibly be bankrupted by medical bills if you have insurance?
Hi LG--Most comprehensive insurance policies have a deductible (the amount you have to pay out of your own money before the insurance kicks in) and then after that they have an amount the insurance covers (usually 80% of the bill over and above the deductible). Over the course of the past ten years or so, costs have risen very rapidly and to keep up, insurance companies have increased deductibles and premiums and reduced the number of services they will cover. So some things are excluded.
So, say you run up a $50,000 bill over the course of a week in the hospital (my bill for just under two days came to $15,000) and say you have a $1000 deductible (which is fairly standard---mine was $2500). If everything goes as well as it can regarding the bills, the insurance company will pay $39,200 and you will be responsible for the balance of $10,000 or so. Most policies have an out of pocket limit though--so maybe you'll stop at $5,000 or $8,000 that you have to pay, depending on the policy.
That's if everything goes right. But it never does.
What happens is, insurance companies dispute some items, refuse others altogether, and meanwhile, the doctors, labs, hospital and so on begin to bill you for every separate service with AMOUNT DUE IN FULL UPON RECEIPT on the bill. Often they will not have filed any of the bills with the insurance company, even though the first thing they do is take your insurance info. Every single service and doctor bills out separately. For my not quite two day hospital stay I got bills from 8 or 9 different places, all at once.
So if you get something more serious than a hangnail, you are immediately swamped with bills, none of which are itemized, all from different places, all wanting to be paid immediately, and the insurance company argues about or denies half of them. Even if they pay their share without argument (rarely happens), you are left with a huge amount due and no one wants to make arrangements anymore because they are all hurting financially. I got a formal agreement to pay $300 a month from the hospital, sent the first payment, and they turned me over to collections anyway--this was after $12,000 out of a $15,000 bill had already been covered. They know it's illegal to do that, but they also know you aren't going to pursue it because that would cost even more than the mess you are already in.
Well, that was long. Sorry.
I hope that sheds some light on your question. Most of the bankruptcies in the U.S. are medical. It's actually even more complex than what I described here because insurance companies get into these agreements with the hospitals and doctors where they say a service is worth so much, the doc says something different, and it all gets split up in ways that are a proportion of the actual amount billed and are almost indecipherable to the average person.
Maybe someone will jump in here and help me out with this.
Bloody hell, what a nightmare!
It really is. I don't know how people with cancer or something like that keep it all together. You walk in that emergency room and all you can think is, "Well, there goes my house..."
It's all very weird.
I have BUPA health insurance - as does my other half (costs £830 a year for the 3 of us, including our son).
You don't have to have health insurance in the UK, because of the NHS. It's useful for minor things that you have to wait for on the NHS, such as a dodgy shoulder or something like that.
It covers everything apart from GP, Accident & Emergency, and healthy pregnancy.
Ours has a £100 a year excess, per person. So if a person claims in a year, they pay the first £100, whether it's for 1 illness or 10 different ones.
But they never, ever say they'll cover something if they won't!
And presumably when you get taken to court for the unpaid debt the lawyers move in next?
Well, some people do lose their homes. That does happen. Often, the debit is just written off but your credit is wrecked. Sometimes they'll attach a bank account or garnish wages.
My 23 year old son ended up in the emergency room last year with a bad viral infection that lost him a couple weeks work. He doesn't have health insurance so he showed up the next day to sign papers to make payment arrangements. The very next payday his wages were garnished. They didn't even give him a chance to make the first payment voluntarily, they just went in and took half his paycheck, right away. They ended up taking about $800 too much over the course of a year, and they did give that back to him, but not until after they'd taken it and kept it a good long time. He just finished with them in December over it. He works as a cook in a local restaurant and only makes about $12 an hour, so he couldn't really afford to lose half his paycheck each week, and they did not operate in good faith with him at all.
When I was at the bank, I saw this all the time--these kinds of spurious collections practices. With my own hospital bill, I got sick the end of May, made payment arrangements the end of June, and they turned me over to collections in July, even though I had a formal agreement. I find the whole mess very disturbing and wrong.
don't they need a court order first, before taking wages?
I think so. But it must not be very difficult to get one, because that happened all the time at the bank too. People would call in about their accounts being overdrawn, that call would be their first indication that the account had been garnished--The bank swore the law required letters to be sent so they had to have been sent, but it happened so often that these people would call with no knowledge of the garnishment that I do believe they were often not notified. It was just too frequent an occurrence--and I know people do lie about these things, but very seldom did I get that sense from them that it was pretense--they really didn't know until the money was taken already.
In my son's case it happened very fast--within a week after he agreed to make payments--and the way he found out was half his check was gone. That's how he found out. He gave them his employer info and all and they used it to garnish his wages.
Wow. I'm lost for words.
It is amazing how plugged in most people are to the current medical system because it doesn't work and it costs a fortune. Despite that most people freak out at the thought of not having access to what doesn't work and costs a fortune. Oh, I said that twice...it was on purpose.
Not me. I cured my own stage 4 cancer 10 years ago for about $10. A couple days ago I learned of a man who cured his stomach cancer in a week using my recipe. someone else who was suffering from early onset dementia who couldn't talk or think is now doing fine.
So I don't freak out about medical care costs. But then why would I want to participate in something that costs a fortune and doesn't work?
The best to you.
Kelley Eidem
Together we can cure cancer - one person at a time!
you know, ive dug up alot of differing information and studies regarding our healthcare compared to other countries...theres so much floating around the web that its impossible to tell if information is liable or not. ive came across several sights that show the usa at a lot higher in the rankings of healthcare then brought up here but ive also seen several that agree. basically, i agree that reformation needs to happen but we have to remember the cost-we cant go around trying to add in more and more gov't-ally sponsored programs but have to generate private sectors and businesses to do the work.
So what im basically saying is that when you said that we need to group together and not work at companies that dont give us the benefits we want, we must get together and work out what we want. Competition, however, not governmental programs, would be a better bet to raise US healthcare (blahdee blahdee blah, rest of conservative crap defending it....lol). yeah, i see both sides and agree about the whole, we dont need extremes-all in all, thanks for a great site
This one is a really good post.. That is why it is one of the hottest hubs at present.. Thanks for sharing.. Quite long but worth reading.. Thanks..
Thanks for reading it financeaussierguy1--All the best to you.
Great Hub! It seems that most of our systems are so backwards here-especially health care. We need serious reform!
Thanks tourmaline. Lately it feels like nothing works around here, doesn't it? At some point things have to start looking up!
I dunno why everyone thinks that it's gov's job to get things done. First of all, we nincompoops allow elections to be decided by the guys up top by making political elections an inaccessible front to anyone who's not already connected regardless of their mentality, personality, honesty, or ability. Then, we grumble to ourselves about the issue instead of asking ourselves what we're gonna do about it. We constantly hand the issue over to the folks who put us in the situation in the first place and then wonder when things are ever gonna change. Done this way, the only time things ever change is when it becomes profitable for the people at the top. The rudimentary disguise of a wrench in the system doesn't fool me from knowing that the money funneled into the system even closely equates the amount actually received by the people in forms of necessary healthcare, schooling, environmental protection, alternative energy, scientific research, etc... While financing the budget for projects like law enforcement, military projects, warfare technology, (all the means necessary to detain a population in the event we should determine our government or the people in it are not fit to decide the fate of this country anymore) have recieved infintessimal amounts of taxpayers money beyond what's needed.
As for the healthcare system in itself - I disagree and agree with different parts of the hub. Stating that people with insurance fare better than people without - that's bull. I'm one who's gone without and have my own little story to tell that brings much shame to the medical community. Let me explain that if you have a job and insurance, then you're guaranteed a doctor's visit with someone who's competent enough to diagnose you hopefully and prescribe a remedy in whatever form that is and usually promptly. Without insurance, you're then another someone the doctor's typically cannot charge more for their services for, neither do they feel naturally compelled to help because of the stigma that can be associated with being a lesser class of citizen, and the help that you recieve is likely to be skewed toward the impression that your illness is one that should have been prevented (but wasn't because you're not the class citizen they prefer to help) therefore you don't deserve the best medical care, the latest treatments, the drugs that work, etc...
Second, why would anyone think that a doctor's office is anything different than an auto repair shop? If you take your perfectly running car in because you hear a ping (because of the lower quality gas you just put in - but you don't know that because you're not a mechanic) and ask the repair man to figure out what's wrong - do you think he'll find something? Of course doctor's are in the business to perpetuate themselves especially with the lowered prices they keep on being told they must compete with to be a provider in a health group. And why in the world would anyone think that the amount they spend in healthcare benefits should be less than they actually use? What planet are they from?
Ok, here's my story. I'm a cancer patient from way back. Had cancer since I was fourteen (mouth cancer - not related to smoking or chew). My spote kept reappearing at the size of a pencil eraser but benign. So, i just let it be. At 26, I got an impacted molar that turned into an abcess that fed the tumor and made it malignant and spread throughout my mouth and throat. I sought treatment for the tumor, but all the doctors kept telling me for months that I had an abcess for a tooth and that I needed to see a dentist instead - I lived in CA and couldn't afford a dentist because I didn't have insurance and noone would take the molar out or even see me - so the tumor kept getting worse and I couldn't find a doctor to acknowledge I had a legitimate problem. I was in extreme pain 24/7 and took huge amounts of ibuprofen for it (unbeknownst to me that ibuprofen enlarges tumors - ha! the doctors didn't tell me that!...)
Long story short, when I finally did get treatment at stage V (after about a year of pain and finally disfigurement) the doctors overdosed me with radiation to the point that I have a disabling condition because of it. I was told the radiation and chemo didn't work therefore I could have my lower jaw removed and replaced (tongue and all) with bone and muscle from my thigh and hip and abdomen - or...I could have a radical (and very painful) treatment of radiation implants which was breakthrough at the time supposedly. That too would offer a immediate solution(if it worked) but would eventually require jaw replacement from the bone degradation from intense radiation. Remember, I didn't have insurance so by now I was recieving medicare(but not disability) and being treated by the best (students at a medical university - because when you don't have insurance, you can't choose your doctors). Above all this, the doctors only gave me a 25% chance of surviving the cancer eventually.
I forewent the surgery and radiation inexchange for more morphine and a few months to live out my life and try to really see life and enjoy it for what it is before the pain got too intense for me to bear and I would kill myself. This was rational to me in the face of the choice between a life I couldn't count on to be anywhere similar to the life I enjoyed previously. I decided to have a little bit of fun and then kill myself. I haven't seen a doctor for seven years since that date until a few months ago when I had a PET scan that revealed I'm completely cancer free. The doctors who treated me previously either didn't have a clue what they were doing or were intent on practicing their hoodoo on someone they thought didn't matter to society anyway and stuffing a fat profit from the insane procedures that they'd planned for me.
The body has a feature that self limits illness 90% of the time. That means when you get sick - in the case you are too lazy or ignorant to prevent it when you can - you will only stay sick for so- so length of time or amount. I healed myself from what would have been a certain, lengthy, and very painful death at the hands of who were supposed to be the best in their field. Between my own natural healing ability, my faith in God, an unparralelled approach to happiness and life, and a holistic diet that I researched and designed to heal myself with diet and supplements, I am as healthy as I've ever been in my life. And I'm no extremist in these regards - I like my hamburger rare, eat food off the floor when I drop it, just quit smoking 2 years ago( five years after my treatment ended), smoked pot as part of my mental regimen to enjoy life while I still had life to enjoy, don't exercise a whole lot, don't have a supplement schedule.
Anyway, put our destiny back in our own hands - open our eyes and do something for ourselves instead of passing the buck. Get off our asses and stop talking about what pisses us off and gather people together to take real action. Only then will we see change toward what really benefits our nation as a whole.
Thank you for sharing your own story Steve. All the best to you.
The BBC's main America correspondent has just written an article on this subject. His 8 year old son has just been diagnosed with Type One Diabetes, and he's dealing with the insurance system.
He says:
"It was just before Christmas.
A piece of paper on the bed informed us that we were entitled to select a present for Sam, free of charge, from a room in another part of the hospital.
I imagine the NHS has similar kindnesses at that time of year and I imagine the parents' tears and the doctors' efficiency are also much the same. But there the similarity ends.
Mounting bills
Late on Christmas Eve - with Sam out of hospital - I went to the chemist to pick up the kit: the syringes and emergency injections that will now be part of our life.
We are very well insured but I still paid more than $200 (£134) in so-called co-pays... amounts for each medicine that an individual is expected to fork out for, even when the recipient is a child."
He goes on to say:
"Days after Christmas, as we were still struggling with our syringes and Sam was still wondering innocently if his disease might soon be cured, the real bills started arriving: $2,700 (£1,815)... then another $800 (£538). "Urology", it says starkly.
I assume that was a urine sample. It seems a bit pricey but there is no way of challenging this tsunami of reckoning.
The insurers wrote as well to say they had decided to pay the first bill. On the other - urology - they are so far silent.
Fifteen percent of Americans - including eight million children - have no insurance.
Diagnosed with diabetes, as Sam was, they would have been treated at Washington Children's Hospital - it insists proudly that it turns no-one away - but probably only after collapsing, because uninsured people tend not to go to the doctor to investigate symptoms.
And the parents would now be facing the kind of added burden that I find almost unimaginably awful: a sick child and a dependence on charity. Gifts from churches and drug companies, or a life of increasingly threatening letters, ending in bankruptcy."
The full article is at:
Thank you London Girl,
A friend of our family who as at Christmas lost his insulin on the plane to visit us. He had to be rushed to the local hospital, where they treated him and gave him a prescription for a chemical he had to have within 3 hours to avoid going into a diabetic coma--then they released him, with a paper prescription to fill, on CHRISTMAS DAY. When my daughter (she was the one who ended up taking him as we were out of state when it happened) insisted that they fill it there, right away, they said that since the doctor had signed the release there was nothing they could do. They spent nearly the entire three hours finding an open pharmacy and then waiting for the emergency scrip,
Only the finest here...
Hi, I want to move to France, what to know if it's true health insurance is free for residents? I have a special needed child severly hadicap i want the best health care for him, and I think I may have breast cancer and im scare i dont have any money or health insurance, and i dont want to die Im only 34 yrs old and i have to take care of my son. So I hear that in france they dont charge you for medical treatment, sicko even said it in his show.
how true is this?
It's true. Every developed nation has some kind of health care in place for its people. Only the U.S. doesn't. Look into SCHIP here in the U.S. for your child. Call your state or local government if you aren't sure how to apply--it's free health care for kids and you may be able to sign your child up to get care.
Thank you pgrundy,
My son Chris has medicaid, it's not the best but he does get medical attention for anything he needs, But I'm pretty sure in another country he would get more much more, I use to live in New jersey and there medicaid paid Chris a home aid nurse to help me out 5 days a week for 6 hour, and they paid for his adult diapers. Now present time I'm in Florida where a home aid nurse was denied for chris and i have to pay $50 a week for diapers medicaid wont pay it. Right now I'm concern with my health I Need to get checked, haven't seen a doctor over 2 yrs, since i don't have any home aid nurse to help me, my back is all messup from carrying Chris and bathing him on my own, and like i said my left breast is hurting for the past yr I'm afriad it could be cancer.
It's just sad to know that if i do have cancer or some kind of diease, and i had to die young and unable to contiue helping my son due to the fact no one wants to treat me because i have no money and no insurance.
I definately agree with you. I was diagnosed with severe cronic asthma when I was 4 years old. I had bronchitis twice a year, whenever pollen season came around. I developed an immunity to penicillin by the age of 5. I was so sick with pneunomia at 3 1/2 years old the doctor (home visit!) would not move me to the hospital. He had trouble finding a pulse and told my parents he wasn't sure I was even breathing. He finally found a faint pulse, and told them he would be back the next day to check on me, but that they shouldn't get their hopes up. He said if he moved me my body might go into shock and I would have a heart attack. My parents come from family arranged marriages, where children mean money, and therefore some guarentee of financial security for the parents in old age. I remember feeling very tired when that happened and I thought I was dreaming while I was asleep, I tried to speak to tell the doctor I was alright, I just felt like sleeping because I was very tired. When I realized I could not move my mouth to tell him, and I could not open my eyes to look into his to reassure him I was alright, I knew it was serious and I had to consciously work to wake up. I did manage to speak just before he left. I have known since then, that if you don't fight to stay alive and help yourself, nobody is going to do it for you, and sometimes nobody can. I heard my dad tell my mom 'don't cry, it will be over soon, we can always make another baby', I got so angry, I not only woke up, I have survived for 57 years. They moved out of state when I turned 18 years old, 15 miles from nowhere in the woods and told me to find a job. I joined the Army. I have cost them and the taxpayers money ever since. I agree, the more they can spend on drugs, the more they spend. Especially if they ( gov. health workers) know your family doesn't care and you have no one to turn to for support. California has cut our prescription coverage over the past year, also our dental coverage they cancelled, and eye exams and glasses, contacts have also been cancelled. I have severe hammertoes and bunions I can not get repaired. And with all this I can not get a doctor to say I have physical disabiliities, I have even had their gov. Phychiatrists rudely ask me to my face, if this didn't make me angry and confuse my mind. I have told them ' no, the worlds full of a-holes, but the world is full of the other half people who happen to be human'. Nobody in their right mind wants the gov. to run Health Care. I wish I could get away from them, but I have nowhere to go.
Hi Emerald Moss 31--I'm sorry for your hardships. Sadly it seems like we will be getting no help this year either. Thank you for sharing your story. Hang in there.
Wow, what a reaction to your hub. As a Canadian I have excellent preventative health care. When I returned home from wintering in Mexico, I had letters waiting from a dietitian, diabetic nurse and the mammogram people all asking to see me. Our basic health care doesn't pay for everything, I just shelled out $960 for soft lenses for cataract surgery and had a tooth repaired for $270. Our BC medical care pays for hard lenses, but not the less invasive soft lenses. The dental bill was outrageous and the dentist took offense with my statement that I wan only seeing him because it couldn't wait until I get back to Mexico.
I don't recommend travelling to the nearest Mexican border town and just picking any dentist. It truly is buyer beware down there, but there are some terrific dentists in cities further to the south. Tourist area dentists tend to be higher priced and in some cases almost as much as their American counterparts. You need to find out by word of mouth who is best in your area and reasonably priced.
I will say that now more than ever we all have to take more responsibility for knowing our own bodies and informing ourselves about treatments, both standard and alternative.
One concern I have with the proposed health legislation in the US is that nothing has been said about co-pays. A $200,000 medical bill with a 20% co-pay can still bankrupt the average family.
All of my family members have been well served by our "socialized" medical care. The socialized part is only the hospitals, public health preventative services, subsidized prescriptions. The one payer negotiated fees paid to doctors account for nearly 80% of our overall medical costs.
Hi Maggie Mae--As I write this, my partner is in the hospital recovering from emergency surgery. He's been in there since Sunday, there were complications, and there will be a 2-3 week recovery period off work with need for a visiting nurse and follow up visits to a clinic, so it will be extremely expensive. I go there in the morning and stay until I can't keep my eyes open anymore. It's been scary but he's starting to come around.
He has *good* insurance but it is 80/20 after the deductible, so we are scared, but what is the alternative? If someone you love will die without it you do it and figure it out later. But we could be in that group of people who are bankrupted even with insurance. We're just taking it day by day. Thanks for your excellent and insightful comment.
Wow, I've read your hub, it's good, and all the comments. I'm still out on my decision. Questions; 1)If someone can't afford health insurance now, how will they afford it when it's mandatory, or how will they afford the fine. 2) How will the elders feel about a cut in Medicare, 3)How do you feel about insuring illegals (who under the new plan will become 'residents' of our borders) 4) If there is so much fraud in the system now, what will prevent it, and why not clean it up already. Good Hub.
Hi jiberish--Thanks for your comment. The answers to your four questions are my personal opinions, but I guess that goes without saying. 1) health reform without sliding scale payments based on income is worthless--if I have to buy some crappy policy like the last one I had and pay $700+ a month for it, I'll be up a creek. 2) The cuts in Medicare are cuts in waste and bad procedure--not cuts in the care itself. 3) I personally believe that we are foolish not to make care available to ANYONE within our borders, especially in the case of infectious illness or children. As soon as BIll gets home from the hospital, I'll write a hub on why. 4) The fraud is in the system because of health insurance companies, not the system itself. Even with the Medicare fraud, it's usually some creepy pretend medical company bilking seniors or collecting Medicare without the senior's knowledge. People are sick of government so blaming the government feels right, but you have to look at how these companies operate and it's very ugly. The government is corrupt but private industry is worse.
I have to go to the hospital though now. And I'm guessing once we're done with that, we'll be looking a bankruptcy ourselves with all the bills that will start to pour in---and Bill HAS insurance.
Sorry to hear about Bill, Pam - please pass on my best regards and thoughts to him.
Gods Pam I'm sorry to hear about Bill. Thinking of you.
Good Luck, I hope things work out in your favor.
Thanks everyone--Just got him home a couple of hours ago. He'll be recuperating here for a couple of weeks before he can go back to work, but he finally seems to be on the right track. Scary, but it all is coming out OK. thanks again.
Good stuff - glad that he is over the worst of it. Two weeks of eating your cooking - that should help his recuperation! :)
Hi Sufi--I hope so! We're having jasmine rice and mushrooms tonight. Easy on the stomach. It really smells wonderful though--like flowers. Dohn has a great hub about it. :)
Excellent!! Also to be noted is the extreme pressure that our doctors, nurses, and other medical workers are subjected to. Long hours, few breaks, poor benefits & medical insurance, (yes, many medical groups provide sub-par insurance to their own employees! & low morale in in medical workplaces is commonplace.) I personally know of medical workers (one a great physician), who quit positions with medical groups due to these and other reasons, not the least of which was the employers DEMAND that patients receive only designated time allotments from the medical staff.
G.L.A.--That's crazy. It doesn't surprise me, but it's awful. For a long time, health care jobs were the only ones you could get around here, and now they are laying off too. When my spouse was in the hospital recently there were lots of empty beds even though they had just shifted to all private rooms. Off the record we were told that people just weren't coming in unless it was critical--very few elective procedures, even with insurance. People are out of work and just can't afford it, which of course pushes more people )in the medical field) out of work.
Your my hero....thank you so much for bringing light to this subject.
Aya Katz says:
10 months ago
PGrundy, the American health care system is awful. Agreed. But what makes it so terrible? Maybe government licensing of physicians and laws requiring employers to provide healthcare insurance are part of it.
Americans are very unhealthy. Chimpanzees in the wild are much healthier. They rarely develop diabetes or heart disease, and yet they have no medical care at all. How do you explain that?
Since I started eating more like Bow, I lost twenty pounds, and I have de-stressed and feel much healthier. Also, when was the last time your doctor looked up your nose and vacuumed out all the snot when you had a cold? Bow does this for me on a regular basis, and it helps me recover from the common cold faster. People used to groom each other, and when they did this, they discovered minor ailments more quickly and even helped to cure them.
Maybe, instead of universal health care, every family should adopt a chimpanzee!