Twenty-seven hundred people went to the Wise County Fairground in Wise, Virginia this weekend. They did not go to a fair, but rather to seek health care that they otherwise would not have gotten. The fairgrounds were the site of a Remote Area Medical (RAM) expedition. Some people came three days early to be sure they would see a doctor, a dentist or an optometrist. The statistics on the care the RAM volunteers gave are staggering.
Even more staggering is the fact that they have been doing this work for ten years in the United States. RAM makes expeditions to third world countries, and for RAM founder Stan Brock, "There is a Third World right here in the United States." (NPR)
Meanwhile in the conservative communities of Bryan and College Station, Texas, the local Chamber of Commerce urged both city councils to adopt a resolution stating “its strong opposition to the proposed changes in our country’s health system through government interference and control that negatively impacts businesses.”
The strange thing is that no one remembers that there are also businesses in countries with universal health care. Giving people access to health care has not destroyed businesses in those countries. Yet, some people are convinced that it will in the United States.
Others claim that if everyone can have care, no one will be safe, because care will be rationed. Care is rationed now, and the motive is profit. Why doesn’t this scare people? Then there is an argument that runs that “free” care will become exceedingly costly, because people will become frequent fliers. There are such people everywhere, even in countries where access to medical care is not a privilege.
The proposed existence of such people seems to come from the imagination of conservatives. They sit and think about what they would do if something were free. Naturally, they would exploit it the way they have exploited government lands. They assume everyone else would do the same. They fail to take into account that medical procedures can often be painful and time-consuming.
Someone traveled to Canada and a few other countries and found a few people who were dissatisfied with the system. Now Americans hear their complaints as though they were shared by everyone everywhere. Forget the millions who live their lives happily without the specter of health care-induced bankruptcy. Their stories don’t count, only the people who think they got a raw deal. The point is that there will always be complainers. They should not be allowed to speak for the entire system.
Health Care reform is stalled in Congress. If it fails, more American productivity will go to waste, feeding rich insurance company executives while some seriously ill people must choose to die, rather than bankrupt their families. The insurance companies will spare no expense to make sure they get your piece of the pie. People who believe that it is time to put the brakes on insurance company greed should write their representatives now.
Sources
Remote Area Medical: http://www.ramusa.org/index.html
NPR: Rural Medical Camp Tackles Health Care Gaps. July 27, 2009 http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=11106657
rate
email
print
link to this page
Comments: 192
Right after Obama was elected, I predicted that the health care reforms would get lost within the first year, and while I wish that I am mistaken, I can't see anything to make me think that I am wrong. There will be meaningless reform which, in the long run, will make matters worse.
The THOUGHT always comes before the MANIFESTATION, and if you want things to come out well then you have to send your thoughts from a great clear clean free mental space.
We instruct our representatives on how we want them to vote. Whether they follow our directives is another issue.
Few argue that something has to be done.
Obama's health care plan is not the answer and never will be.
Not all foreign countries have a Government Run healthcare plan. Many have a Single Payer plan, some in conjunction with Insurance Companies. Israel is one of the latter and have a better plan, runs cheaper, and no one is excluded. Sure there is a 17% tax on income but that is not near what Obama's total government control plan will cost us.
Dismantle the Military, and we'd have enough for both health care AND education.
Wilka
Seems like the only time Republicans care about spending is when it will help the citizens of the U.S.
I would not say "Dismantle", but we could easily reduce military spending by 50%, and pay for those things, AND balance the budget.
But war is big business designed to line the pockets of the wealthy, so...
What we give as aid to other countries is only a drop in the bucket compared to Iraq and Afghanistan.
Get rid of the Bush tax cuts, put the tax rates back to where they were when king ronnie was in(when he raised taxes..remember?) and regulate the illness industry. It was non-profit for the first 150+ years of this country...until nixon and king ronnie.
I would much prefer universal/single payer. There is no way you can make me believe that we pay 3 times per capita what France pays(who are rated #1) and get anything but medicore service. That's criminal!
No one disagrees that everyone should have access to medical care. What many of us disagree with is changing a system entirely because 5-10% of our citizens are not getting medical care. It makes no sense that everyone should agree to having inferior care so that everyone gets inferior care. And it makes no sense that this will cost us so much money, money that we do not have.
The reforms that are being proposed are not what we need. While Obama claims that people will be able to keep their current insurance and care, based on what I've read, that won't really be possible. Meanwhile, I have not heard any mention of how he intends on getting more care to areas where there are few doctors or clinics now, have you?
What's Not Wrong With Health Care
Health Care Reform Costs You 5 Freedoms (says CNN)
Fannie Med? Why A Public Option Is Hazardous To Your Health
"Certain parts of our country have been poorer than others forever and that's not gonig to change."
The bastards deserve to be poor, and no f*ing liberal is going to take a nickle from me to change that.
"What many of us disagree with is changing a system entirely because 5-10% of our citizens are not getting medical care. "
Even if it's really 18%, they still don't deserve to have health care because if they would get up off their lazy a*es and work, they'd have what I have. And anyway, the liberals lie about numbers.
"And it makes no sense that this will cost us so much money, money that we do not have."
If anyone gets anything they didn't have to pay as much as I pay, you are spending too much that we don't have.
We had a huge health fair here, recently, too. Although free, and wonderful, someone (the people who have insurance) are footing the bills.
Quoting sources is good, but we need your individual interpretation of the news. What do you think?
Wilka
I also acknowledged that we need to find new ways of getting doctors to want to be in depressed areas. It used to be that doctors were told that part of their college loans would be ignored if they would serve in depressed areas. But didn't seem to work real well.
The number of uninsured who cannot afford to be insured is not closer to 18%, Ann. You have to factor out the illegial immigrants, the people who have chosen not to have insurance because they don't need it, and the people making over $75,000 (even Obama thinks they make enough to buy insurance). That leaves the 5-10% who are really in need.
I have never said we should ignore these needs. What I have said is that it makes no sense to redesign an entire health program when the majority do not want such a thing so that thid small percentage can have care. I have said that it makes no sense for us to want the entire country to have inferior care so that everyone has that inferior care. And I have said that we have an existing program that we could put people who do need care today on - Medicaid.
I have also pointed out to people that the bills proposed right now would not help anyone immediately, not when they're scheduled to be implemented in 2013. So, actually, I think I have a much bigger heart than all of you. I want them to have care today via Medicaid. You want them to wait for some miracle program that's not scheduled until 2013.
The more we spend on health care the less there is for everything else.
10 4 u
I have worked hard to have an inheretance for my offspring. If we don't get good healthcare reform, I will not gamble any of my hard earned money on the current healcare system we have. I will not give those Insurance companis a dime.
The inheretance for my kids is all paid off, and will not go into any indebtedness ever again. The only insurance I have is a hefty life Insurance policy, with my kids as the beneficiaries.
End of story.
You also seem to think you have some control in how you die. It could very well be out of your control and wind up costing a lot of money which will be taken from estate before any money is given to your kids. Just a fact of life.
We all have so much more control in our deaths than many may think. I have all the neccesary legal documents to keep any medical intervention of any heroic efforts to maintain me alive should I be debilitated.
If I can speak for myself, I'll refuse any intervention, and I'll refuse to go to any hospital. This was all taken care of, and notorized way back during the Teri Schevo case.
Should nothing occur in the next few years, I'm signing all my properties over to my kids
"Do NOT Resuscitate! or I WILL Come Back and Haunt Your Sorry Ass" on my chest.
Think that will work?
Wilka
Even harder to believe are the many bizarre reasons given for why things should continue that way indefinitely. One of my favorites is the "Disgruntled Canadian" argument. Brilliant! The Canadians hate their publicly-funded health care system so badly, they named Tommy Douglas, the "Father of Medicare", as the Greatest Canadian who's ever lived. Go figure.
I'm not asking for free health care, I'm asking for affordable health care. I don't even have to have insurance, just make it so I can afford it or pay it off without the threat of losing my home and savings.
I just cannot understand why ordinary people with average wages want to fatten the insurance companies and their executives at the expense of their own health and that of our children and elderly. It just makes absolutely no sense.
You know, hospitals aren't making lots of money from healthcare....we have at least 2 hospitals here that are bankrupt. One has been saved by private donations, but it looks like the other may close.
It may be easier for you morons than actually reading something.
Insurance companies are in the business to make money. That is their whole point. I know ours isn't making anything off of us, due to all the health issues.
Part of the issue of rising healthcare costs stem from the rising costs of educating our doctors. I know doctors that finished medical school owing over $80,000...and that is getting off fairly cheap. Some end up owing over $100,000, since the avg. price is for school is $25,000 a year.
My dad's Pill Bill is about $8,500/month. His Leukemia pill is $8000. If he doesn't qualify for the Leukemia/Lymphoma grant (that subsidizes him) he'd be dead. THAT is a quality medicine plan is it not?
Wilka
B. PERMANENT IMMIGRATION TO CANADA:
Under this class, one can make application for PERMANENT IMMIGRATION TO CANADA under the following three categories when he/she is OUTSIDE of Canada.
Applying for immigrant visa of Canada under the Independent Class. Canada Immigration
This class has become very popular and also known as professional class or skilled worker class and the application is assessed based on a point system. An individual should make an application under this class if he/she wishes to come to Canada based on his/her qualification, work experience and knowledge of English or French language.
Applying for immigrant visa of Canada under the Entrepreneur class, investor class or self employed class. Canada Immigration
This class is also known as business immigration class. One should make an application under the entrepreneur class and self-employed class if he/she wishes to start a business in Canada. A person should make an application under the investor class if he/she DOES NOT wish to start a business in Canada.
Applying for immigrant visa of Canada under the Family class. Canada Immigration
If an individual has close relatives in Canada, he/she may apply under this class for family sponsorship.
Jax, you're right about Canadians. I met many in the St. Pete/Clearwater area when I lived there. My folks were in a mobile home park of retired people, most of whom were snowbirds from Canada. They hated the medical system in Canada and did as much as they could here rather than wait for necessary care in Canada. But people would prefer to believe Michael Moore.
It depends on what insurance people have....we have a PPO...I don't need referrels.
Our Catholic hospital here harasses people to pay their bills. They call and say, "You need to pay $100 a month."If you say "I can pay $50 a month, they will put your account in collection, and in doing so, ding your credit. A bad credit score makes other problems, like raising the price of your state-mandated auto insurance.
Insurance companies have their feet on the necks of all but the most affluent (or healthy) Americans.
If you're talking about the big insurance companies, I'll dance a jig on their graves. The hospital will never go bankrupt, since they pursue their debtors with astounding vigor.
Oh, I got MRSA from one of those hospitals.
The prescription plan and dental plan is great.
But, the health part..
Not so good.
It barely pays for any of my personal bills.
I just got a bill from the hospital for a total of 1300 dollars.
The insurance my hubby pays for every two weeks out of his paycheck, paid not one dime.
And, people think the current system is fine how it is?
I needed looking into and/or fixed.
That did it for me.
When I wrote about my experiences with the Israeli health care system, I wrote about a system that works well. However, it is also a system that has its foundation from the days of the British Mandate and became Universal Health Care in 1995. The United States lacks the foundation for such a system and would have to do some major house cleaning before it could achieve a similar system. For one thing, insurance companies never got involved in the Israeli model; that's a major difference right there. Secondly, "for profit" hospitals are very marginal in Israel; the overwhelming majority of the hospitals either are affiliated with the General Federation of Labor or are government hospitals. It's an entirely different structure; for the United States to achieve such a system would take years of restructuring and planning.
However, throwing our hands up in the air and giving up is not a solution. The current system is not a system at all and leaves far too many people without coverage. I have my own questions about the plan now before Congress and only hope that more serious work will be done on it before it goes to vote.
Thank you Maurice. I was hoping you would jump in here with your input.
Well, I checked out Georgia's qualifications for medicaid and medical....for a family of 4 (which is our family)....the income limit for Peachcare (Georgia's med. care for children) is 235% of the FPL (Federal Poverty level), which is $51,818. To qualify for medicaid as a pregnant woman..it's $44,100. For children under 1, it's $40,800.
Wilka
Keep in mind that our senators, representatives and the president have opted not to be covered by the "public health care plan", choosing instead to enjoy the benefit of lifetime first class care at taxpayer expense.
If the plan is not good enough for them, is it good enough for us? I suggest we all opt for the same benefits that our elected officials enjoy.
Which is exactly WHY every American should be demanding a Single Payer, Universal Health Care Plan!
For our elected officials to be receiving such obscene benefits, immunity from prosecution for speeding, tax-evasion, lifetime health care and salary, etc., is the same as the feudal system.
:O(
The profit motive in this country interferes with way too many aspects of life for most people. This is a prime example.
Canadians have no idea how good they have it, nor do they understand that we do not have even a fraction of what they have.
And conservative average joes do not understand they are acting against their own best interests.
Featured in the Triple Name Club.
KICK THEIR BUTTS OUT OF THE DEBATE, concerning healthcare reform.!
This, in spite of paying 400 million in fines for defrauding hospitals & policyholders, and a drop in commercial sales to businesses who had to cut back or terminate employee health coverage due to skyrocketing costs.
But you're OK with an insurance company bureaucrat doing it?
We have the best health care system in the world.
A handful of our top hospitals are among the best in the world. As for the rest, we spend far more per capita on health care and rank far below at least a dozen countries in terms of results - higher infant mortality.
Obama's proposals are "not the reforms we need".
OK, wtf ARE the reforms we need. Repubs sure haven't mentioned any.
I fear we are lost as a country. We no longer hold any kind of dominance in the world as far as personal indicators - education, health, etc. - and we have brought war and economic destruction across the globe through our greed for money and power.
Let's just admit it. People like Marilyn and George up above represent the apathy and total lack of caring for their fellow man. They are hoarders of money, hoarders of culture, hoarders of power over others they deem less worthy. Many people are brain-washed into thinking that we have choices - that we are 'free', or would be 'free' if only the government would stop taxing them and making laws. They are not free - they are continually beholden to the very corporate masters that they claim their government to be. Our government has turned into a pawn, a prostitute to these masters. And the people play their game by shouting their lies, repeating their propaganda, hoarding their measly possessions, collecting their guns and ammunition, believing that by they make them safe.
The enemy is not 'out there'. It does not hide in a cave in the mountains of Pakistan, nor is it grown in the fields of Afghanistan. The enemy is here - it is us. It is every representative that accepts a law fully written for them by lobbyists. It is every citizen who insists on killing themselves with the Western Diet. It is every CEO who continues to rape and pillage their company, slashing benefits and jobs, all the while insisting that he/she is doing this for the betterment of our country and someday new jobs will some of it. It is every big bank that takes billions of dollars from the taxpayers and pays out billions in bonuses not even a year later.
I look forward to the day when my husband and I can retire and move away from this land that I no longer recognize.
I wrote about this the other day. Hospitals stopped putting wards in not only because of the possiblity of spreading illnesses, but because people didn't want to share space. Labs popped up on every street corner because people didn't want to drive too far. MRIs were put in every hospital instead of one major hospital like it used to be because people didn't want to drive too far. We have caused much of the increases. And now we're suffering for it.
Yes, we have to find a way to get costs down. But having the government control anything has never proven to be a way to do that. They don't know how to save money, only how to spend it. And right now that means money we don't have.
The 5-10% of people without medical care can be put on Medicaid for a fraction of the cost of making everyone have inferior care. And meanwhile, we can get a good group of individuals - not politicians! - together to design a good public option if some people want that. But those who don't want that should be free to continue with free market insurance and health care. And right now, the proposals on the table will end up crippling free market health care in a short time and we'll all be on a public plan that the majority does not want.
Keep in mind, too, that the proposals being decided upon today would not start until 2013, according to anyone who has taken the time and effor to read them. That means that the people without care would still be without care until the programs begin. Putting them on Medicaid makes much more sense.
And if in fact 89% of the population is happy with that, then that gives me all the more reason for giving up on this country because that means that 89% of us are totals idiots and fools.
I have high standards for myself and expect the people who have an impact on my life to function at the very least with a modicum of intelligence and competence. The 'nothing's perfect' line is total bullshit IMO. We have a chance here to actually do something to move this country into a more positive track. To right many past wrongs.
What I am totally sick of is the people like Marilyn who every day wake up with the 'I'm okay, so you must be okay' attitude, then deny the truth when it is shown to them that not everyone is okay. In fact, we're not doing well at all. I'm not looking for perfect, I'm looking to turn things around so that we can start climbing back up from our incredibly bad standings in healthcare (37th in the world), infant mortality, education, etc. And the people like yourself and Marilyn who are okay with that poor performance and our nation's continual decline are part of the problem, not part of the solution.
I personally don't give a crap about Democrat, Republican, INdependent, whatevery labels people put on themselves. It's foolishness and reminds me of the worst in Junior High school immaturity. But, the more I see it get worse, the more one just has to face up to the reality - many Americans are ignorant, many Americans are incredibly selfish and greedy, many Americans are self-destructive, many Americans are apathetic - not just to the quality of their own time on earth, but of their fellow occupants on this planet.
Do your own digging. I've lived long enough to see my country slide further into self-destruction. And I'll call a spade a spade when I see it.