An Interesting BBC Article

BBC News just published a comparison of health care in the US, England, France, and (for some reason) Singapore. The results are what you would expect--we pay more and get less than any of these other countries. Look at the statistics HERE.

Health Care Rationing

One of the lies being spread by the pro-status quo forces (read insurance companies and drug companies) is that government sponsored health care will lead to rationing of care, with older people and people with severe health issues denied care. I am living in a small Spanish town and see Spanish totally government sponsored health care in operation every day. Like many small towns in the US, Sahagún has many senior citizens. They are out on the streets every day in conversation with their neighbors, walking with canes, crutches, in wheel chairs, etc. Their health care needs are being met very well by the national system here. As for those with severe health issues I can cite the case of the daughter of a local florist who was born without a stomach and who has had many reconstructive operations in her short life. We were in the shop one day when an ambulance pulled up to take this child to León for further treatment. All of her health needs are being met at no expense to her parents, who would not have been able to afford such care on their income as florists.

The truth is that health care in the US is rationed to a great extent with those who can’t afford health insurance or those who have been dumped by our for-profit insurance companies unable to afford health care. Don’t believe the lies that are being put forward by those who profit most from what passes as health care in the US. These big corporate bandits are not working in your best interest. Please take a few minutes to watch the following video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qn0xxjpf360

Real Health Care Reform

Like many other Americans, I am spending a part of each day watching the debate over health care reform descend into a shouting match between people who really want to debate our future and those who are transfixed by the corporate pharmaceutical and health insurance industries sponsored scare campaign. I can only hope that these underhanded defenders of the status quo fail in their attempt to continue business as usual. The facts are self-evident to anyone who will seriously listen—health insurance companies have seen their profits increase by astronomical proportions in recent years. Sometimes they have increased 10-fold and more. This industry has a vested interest in keeping the present system in place and they are using well meaning, but uninformed people to try to stop any change. The facts about our health care system are as follows (a quote from the World Health Organization:

“The U.S. health system spends a higher portion of its gross domestic product than any other country but ranks 37 out of 191 countries according to its performance, the report finds. The United Kingdom, which spends just six percent of GDP on health services, ranks 18th. Several small countries – San Marino, Andorra, Malta and Singapore are rated close behind second-placed Italy.”

If you want to read the report for yourself just click on the URL below:

http://www.who.int/whr/2000/media_centre/press_release/en/index.html

I am living in Spain, a country that has government-run health care and I see it in operation every day. Our apartment is just around the corner from the municipal clinic. I’ve been in this clinic and it appears to be well run and efficient. We can’t access it for care because we are not Spanish citizens, but we have consulted a doctor there for a recommendation concerning private physicians we could consult to meet our needs. The doctor saw us within 10 minutes and made his recommendation free of charge. Even foreigners who have health emergencies are treated in this local clinic. My prescription drugs cost me a fraction of their cost in the US (often less than my co-pay would be) and the quality is equal to the quality in the US. Government-run health care is not perfect, but it is so much better than what we experience in the US that I would be in favor of a “single-payer” approach for the US.

But, as bad as the current political mess is, it masks a more urgent issue—scientific medicine in the US or anywhere else doesn’t really deliver the best health care. Here is a quote from Dr. Weil, a strong advocate of alternative medicine:

“But what's missing, tragically, is a diagnosis of the real, far more fundamental problem, which is that what's even worse than its stratospheric cost is the fact that American health care doesn't fulfill its prime directive -- it does not help people become or stay healthy. It's not a health care system at all; it's a disease management system, and making the current system cheaper and more accessible will just spread the dysfunction more broadly.”

I participate in scientific medicine as little as I can. I rely for the most part on treatment modalities that aren’t covered by Spain’s government system or my $700 per month health insurance in the US. (That figure is in addition to the Medicare system that I am a part of.) I find that the alternatives I use give me better health and a better quality of life than reliance on scientific medicine. I am in the process of getting off of my prescription drugs and am finding that I have increased vitality and no return of the symptoms that put me on those drugs in the first place. After we get finished with the shouting and name calling that is going on right now, perhaps we can consider whether we might be better off with less scientific medicine. That will be REAL health care reform.

Distortions from the Right Wingnuts

Also known as the Republican Party. There is a totally crazy rumor out there that the proposed health care plan will mandate euthenasia. Any thinking person will realize that this is a total lie, but we have a lot of fellow citizens who appear not to be thinking these days. Here is a short video that I urge you to watch. It sets the record straight. If you have questions, go and read the bill for yourself.

The part that I find most sickening is that the people who are spreading this from places of power in Washington know that it is a lie. Elected representatives should be held to higher standards than this.