We decided to stay in the warmth of the house yesterday and watch Michael Moore's latest movie "Sicko."
Yes, Moore tends to sensationalize things a bit at times. But, quite frankly, I was surprised how straight he played things in this movie. If I didn't have my own unique personal experiences, I may wonder if he only chose the stories to assemble that supported his point. Moore's point is that the U.S. is failing its citizens in the area of healthcare, and that universal healthcare is the answer.
Because of my unique personal experiences though, I know that the current system is a failure. I know that many of this movies' proclamations are absolutely true.
And, quite frankly, it's embarassing to me.
We decided as a society to provide some things to everyone, schools, libraries, museums, an opportunity to learn. Why would we not decide to provide everyone with healthcare. It's inhuman. It's downright cold and mean. And it's not a good reflection of who I know we really are.
When my cancer spread earlier this year I was overwhelmed with kindness that poured in from everywhere. I know, from personal experience, how kind and giving we are.
So why would we stand by and allow our system to leave 50-million people with no insurance, no access to healthcare? Why would we allow our system to deny care to those who truly need it?
Who we really are, kind, generous, giving people, is not being truly reflected by our system in place.
We hold our structure of capitalism dear. But capitalism and democracy are not the same things. And in matters of healthcare, capitalism has superceded democracy, because as a whole I truly believe that we do want to take care of our own, we do want our sick looked after.
When you really think about it, the idea of driving healthcare decisions based solely on profit margins is really inhumane. In our country, the insurance companies must create profits for stockholders by denying sick people coverage.
And that is exactly how it goes. My insurance company has fought to deny me doctor prescribed treatments and drugs consistently. I've had necessary treatments and drugs delayed and denied by my insurance company. It is in my insurance company's best interest that I die, because until I do I'm a cost burden on the books.
My biggest worry about having cancer is that I will not be able to receive a treatment or drug that I need. You are always on edge. I've talked to quite a few cancer patients, and it's not the experience of all, but it is the experience of many.
We are told that "socialized" medicine is a nightmare in Canada and England and France. I do not truly know what healthcare is like in those countries. But I do know this, they do not worry about whether they'll be able to receive care if they get sick. They have that peace of mind.
And personally, whether I had this cancer to deal with or not, I just do not feel good being a part of our current system, to allow it to continue.
I think that there is a sick person out there right now who is fighting his or her insurance company so they can receive necessary treatments, and much too often not receiving those treatments. It makes me sick.
I think that there is someone's ambulance ride that will bankrupt them because they did not get the ambulance ride "pre-approved" by their insurance company. It makes me sick.
I know politicians on both sides of the fence will tell you that privatized healthcare is the best and only choice. But they are being given donations as high as one million dollars from the insurance lobby. What do you think they're going to say?
I know our own Rick Santorum accepted over $900,000 from the insurance lobby. Too bad Santorum is no longer in office. I'll miss 'ya Rick.
Sorry for jumping up on my "pulpit" this morning.
But I see what we've become and it's not truly who we are. It's not ok with me to just let sick people die, whether that person be me, a loved one, or a total stranger. It's not how I was raised. It does not reflect what I've learned spiritually. It's not the manner of my family or friends.
It's not something I'm comfortable being a part of. Are you?
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4 comments:
Here is where you and I part company. In a perfect world, health care for everybody paid for by the government would be wonderful. However, it is not a perfect world and this cradle to the grave concept being shoved down our throats will do nothing toward getting health care to everybody or anybody who needs it. We just cannot put ourselves in the position of that kind of care. The biggest problem in our health care is because Hillary Clinton formed legislation when Bill was in office that became insurance company driven instead of medical care specialist (doctor) driven. So now, the insurance companies are in the driver's seat and even the doctors of our country have no say at all. That should be the first correction made to healthcare.
To be sure, we definitely need a more user friendly insurance program. However, it cannot become a free ride for everybody. It will end up like social security and Medicare which are on the brink of becoming bankrupt because it has been used and abused for things other than what it was originally intended. We definitely need a catastrophic fund and you are definitely a case in point. A fund that will see to it that people in your type of health emergency would be switched into a coverage that would be always available. But, the average working healthy Joe should not be hanging out at every doctor's office for every little hang nail. That is what has happened to the VA -- our biggest and most obvious failure into socialized medicine. Since it is such a sacred cow, we will never be able to touch it and correct any of the flaws and abuses that are running rampent over this health care system.
Canada, whether you want to admit it or not, is another huge failure in terms of what it delivers to its people. That is why there are not enough doctor's to meet the demands of their health care. The government has determined how much they can be paid and it is not enough to pay off their medical school education so they don't even bother to set up practice in Canada. My relatives can attest to that. Pregnant women cannot got to an OB/GYN doctor on their own such as we can here. They must all go through a mid wifery type of care until a problem is discovered -- often times too late.
CAT scans, MRI's, Ultrasounds, etc. cannot be done on demand -- they simply are not available. You wait -- often times many weeks until you can have your test done. Surgery is more often than not unavailable for months unless you are really in an extreme emergency.
On the positive side, when my aunt was in the nursing home, her cost was based only on her monthly income -- most of her bills back then were $800 to $900 a month. Her savings were never allowed to be taken for her nursing home care. In sharp contrast, my own mother's savings were completely wiped out by her nursing home care the month before she died. Every last cent of her savings went for her care. She did have wonderful care but so did my aunt. Another contrast, my mother was in a private room the whole 3 years, my aunt was in a room with 5 other people -- there were no private or semi private rooms in any of the nursing homes so your access to a nursing home room was not based on how rich or poor you were.
We definitely need a new direction for our health care but we also need to be very careful where we take it. Healthcare should not become another welfare state that can be consistently abused by those in our society who don't work and make excuses for not working especially those who are capable of holding a job and certainly we don't need any healthcare for hangnails -- Iodine works wonders as does aspirin.
There are many many ways to improve our healthcare system and the way it is delivered to everybody but a cradle to the grave approach for everybody just is not the way to go. Research into new drugs is expensive and I am very much afraid that the research will slow or stop if the government starts paying for complete healthcare for everybody. We need some kind of balance between the government and all who use the healthcare to be able to pay our own way without losing access to the best healthcare in the world. Love ya you VA working mom who is one of the abusers!!!!
I do love a good debate. And I think our healthcare system deserves one.
You are absolutely right about our doctors losing all control to insurance companies over decision making. And that is obviously wrong. Doctors must regain their full abilities to do their jobs.
Actually I have done some fact checking and Richard Nixon is responsible for allowing insurance companies to take over. There are actually filmed conversations of Nixon agreeing to do just that.
Hillary gained a reputation for championing universal health care during her husband's first-year in office. Bill appointed her to head a commission to make universal health care a reality.
But during that year the insurance lobby slowly convinced her to forget universal health care. And she has. In 2006, she accepted donations from the insurance lobby at nearly one million dollars.
Like with any issue, Democrat, Republican, does it matter? They're all on the payroll with someone. And they're on the taxpayer payroll too, we just don't pay them as much as the special interest groups.
The health care issue is a difficult one, but one that deserves attention. The World Health Organization ranks U.S. health care in the U.S. 37th.
37th?
There are 50 million of our fellow Americans without health insurance. There are not 50 million homeless people on our streets. These are people just like you and I.
Sure, there will always be people who abuse the system. There will also be nurses who steal and resell drugs (like which happened here recently). But I tend to think that most of us our fairly honest and good. I have to believe that the number of abusers of the medical profession is relatively small.
Trust me, I'm nervous about the government being in charge of anything these days. If I think health care is a mess, jeesh, take a look at government at large. Whew!
But I only know that I have cancer medications until March. After March? I have no idea.
Someone in England doesn't have that problem. And that's a BIG problem.
It's only through scratching and clawing and fighting that I was able to find a way to get my cancer medications until March. After that I may face monthly costs of $5,000 every month.
Someone in France doesn't have to worry about that. And that's a BIG problem.
I'm sure England is not perfect, nor France, nor Canada.
But I do simply know this, our health care system, although filled with talented people who really care and impress, is embarassing, a failure, and is not working. And the reason that we are where we are is completely based on profit and greed.
You know, profit margin is not the best thing to base all decisions upon.
(Knew I could get you going on this subject Mom. Smile.)
And you think universal care will give your
Nexavar -- dream on. Those drugs probably are not even close to being available in England, Canada or France. They provide substitutes and generics wherever and whenever they can for any drugs. At least in this country we do have avenues available for the expensive drugs. Your insurance company should not even have the right to refuse you this medication but they are now doing it and getting away with it. Other insurance companies like the one I have renew your drug contracts for the very expensive cancer drugs every year and then you get them. Mine would require a very small co-pay and all of this hinges on the prescription from the doctor yearly. That is a good and fair system.
When you talk about the 50,000 people w/o insurance. Who are these people. Are they illegals? Are they veterans who often times do not have insurance because they have the VA? Are they Amish, Mennonite or other religious affiliates who don't believe in insurance. Just who are these 50,000??? I would really like to see a breakdown of those numbers. I think you would be surprised to see that the numbers really do not represent the masses after all. Don't forget, people on welfare DO have access to very good health care. Each state has programs in place for people w/o insurance. Have you ever heard of Champus??? That is the branch of the VA that provides health care to veteran's families at lower or no income levels. That isn't being talked about at all. We are only hearing about the 50,000 w/o insurance and again I say it is being shoved down our throats. I have x-rayed and cat scanned many people over the years who had no insurance. The hospitals absorbed those costs and still absorb the costs of those who come through w/o insurance to the ER's. Look at the facts and I think that you will see folks are getting adequate treatment across the board -- especially for hangnails.
When it comes to cancers, heart illnesses, MS, AHL and the severe illnesses that people get, that is where some people fall through the cracks. We need catastrophic funding for those in that catagory. I don't think you would be allowed to follow your cancer status quite so closely under a government issued insurance plan.
We rank 37th --- isn't that strange. Again I ask -- by whose ranking since people come from all over the world to use our medical facilities because they are superior to others. The folks from Canada flock across the border into Mich & NY for treatment they cannot get or is unavailable in Canada. Why has our country done so many very exquisite operations on kids and others from 3rd world countries and the doctors and hospitals just absorbed the cost -- specifically separation of conjoined twins. Those operations don't cost thousands, they cost millions. You also need to tell me why Canada will no longer provide studies that require nuclear medicine and will not be able to provide CAT Scans & Mri's as readily. Radionuclide studies are a very valuable tool in our everyday medical world. When you think how far our country has come with just x-ray and its modalities, then you surely must recognize that it comes with a price -- a price that is worth every cent in terms of diagnostic tools alone. When I started out in x-ray 53 years ago, we had no such services available and many people died because they could not be diagnosed in time. That is true of the medicines that are now available and now Merck & Co has 6 new medicines ready to go for the treatment of diffent cancers, heart, MS, etc. I am sure the government is not going to fund these steps into the future. When I started on the CAT scanner in 1989 we had a single slice scanner that was only a 3rd generation scanner. Now we are placing a 64 slice scanner in our facility that will do profusion heart studies. Without money to do the research and come up with this scanner, we would still be doing single slice scans that took 1/2 hour to scan a chest, abdomen and pelvis. How long did your last CAT scan take -- 5 minutes. We have certainly come a long way baby and we have a very long way to go. New horizons include a total body screen that will scan even the smallest body crevice to see what is lurking that could cause a person a problem years down the road. I would not want to see these avenues dry up because of lack of funds because the free ride health care system was too broke because of multiple hang nails.
Maybe Nixon did start the health care problems -- I have seen nothing to indicate that at all. However, all of in the health care industry noticed changes big time when Hillary got her legislation passed.
Be careful what you vote for when promises are made concerning health care for all. You just might get it.
I also like a good debate!!!
Let me tell you about my day. A man was sent to me for chest and abdominal x-rays (other things too) but those 2 were ordered because of abdominal pain. These were ordered on 11/27. When I asked him if 2 weeks later he was still having pain, I will give you his reply "Oh no, I was admitted to an outside hospital and they found that I had ulcers and colitis and they gave me medicine and I am doing just fine now" He was in the hospital 1 week before these x-rays were ordered. My question -- then why am I wasting my time doing x-rays that have no rhyme or reason. They already did the x-rays on the outside, and other tests as well, and already had an answer to the man's problems so what did my x-rays offer except they were darn good x-rays that probably cost $1000 all things considered.
This is what can and will happen with socialized medicine. Costly x-rays, lab tests, EKG's, etc repeated for no logical reason. The patient had no idea why he was getting them repeated except "my doctor told me to get them done".
My hope is that we will be able to offer a healthcare system that would be processed through the states and will offer insurance based on a payment system from each individual using it. We already have a welfare system in place -- we don't need another one.
Sorry I feel very strongly about this and I will fight tooth and nail to get you the medical care you need or anybody for that matter. However, there is going to be a right way to obtain this and a wrong way. I hope we are smart enough to chose and not let our healthcare be emotion driven!!!
See you tomorrow. MOM
I just hope I don't become an example of our health care system.
There's good and bad in everything. I'm sure we can find a way to continue to inspire what is good about our health care, while still working to improve what is not good.
But we have to work on it. And our current administration has simply stated it's perfect just the way it is.
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