Posted by
ShiningCity on Friday, March 07, 2008 1:57:57 PM
Scottie sent me a link to
an article on the current health care "crisis." I've decided to talk about this issue. I've got a conference coming up, and I'm swamped. So, I'm making no attempt to write in the King's English. For expediency, I'm going to write how I'd speak. It's just faster. Keep in mind, I am a Texan, so. . .I'll just warn you: this turned into a rant, and I don't have the time (nor really the inclination) to fix it. Sometimes I just like to rant.
I don't get the "crisis" part of this discussion. My experience is that everybody who needs health care in the United States of America has it. It's just a matter of where they go to get the care. The "crisis" part, in my opinion, comes from liberals who hype up the fact that some people don't like where they have to go to get care, namely county or state teaching hospitals. One point, however, I'd like to make perfectly clear: nobody, NOBODY, n o b o d y, in the US lays dying on the side of the road. Nobody delivers their baby in an alley or a bathroom stall unless they choose to do so. Nobody bleeds to death from coughing up their own lung cancer because they have no access to doctors, specialists even, & tests. And heaven forbid, Nobody does without their AIDS drugs if they want them. Not in the US. If you think otherwise, then 1) you have unrealistic expectations of physicians, hospitals and government &/or 2) you don't possess the correct facts.
It's as simple as this: if you need, nay even "want" some form of care, just walk in a hospital and get it. If your care is truly emergent, no place may refuse to treat you. The hitch is that depending on which establishment you walk into, you might get a bill for their services. Apparently, today, bills for services are just unacceptable to many Americans--at least for health care. People put this up there with "life" and "liberty." They think they're born with a right to "life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness. . . oh, and free health care."
Now, IF your problem is NON-emergent, and if you don't have any money, or you have not much, then you can walk into a state or county teaching hospital and "access care." Here, you may not get a bill at all, or your bill may be adjusted based on your income. Not to worry, the rest of the working folks reimburse the hospital or clinic for your visit by paying all sorts of taxes: medicaid, medicare and various other taxes that people don't even know they're paying that are dedicated to reimbursing state/county institutions for the delivery of "free care."
If you don't want to go into the state or county hospital, then just walk up to any one of the various clinics that are scattered all over urban areas--many are satellites of the county hospital, and some are actually philanthopic clinics funded & staffed by churches. My point is that in 2008, whether you have strep or toe fungus or a gun shot wound, some clinic or hospital somewhere with some doctors are available to treat you. There is NO SUCH THING as "decreased access to health care." That notion is a fallacy. Don't believe me? Go leap off your roof, & call an ambulance. The first question they'll ask you or your family member is, "Where do you want us to take you?" I'd even go so far as to make this pathetic statement: There is NO SUCH THING as decreased access to FREE health care, if you're "poor enough" (meaning, don't work at all).
So, what's this "crisis?" From my perspective (a physician with more than 10 years in teaching at a state hospital), it's because those who must access the state/county systems just don't like to wait. And they don't like seeing "doctors in training"--usually because they don't understand the system. They fail to understand that physicians in training are typically the most up-to-date, the most well-supervised, and the most passionate about doing what is the best thing for a patient's condition. Yes, I said it. Residents are usually the most diligent about what is the "best clinical decision"--for the very reason that they are not constrained by insurance demands and cost. So, ironically, those patients who access the state/county facilities (usually indigent, but not exclusively) end up with the BEST and most CURRENT health care--and most pay no money for it. Zip. Nada. What is the most often required payment? TIME. Waiting in a line. And yet, people who have no responsibility to pay for their own care because they DO NOT WORK all of a sudden have a problem waiting in a line. As if they have someplace else to be. Next thing you know, influential liberals, in their typical fashion for picking up everybody else's issues (also known as: "getting in everybody elses's business") have decided that because many of these people choose to stay home instead of wait in line, they have, PRESTO, "decreased access to care." And now, we have a "crisis."
Next thing you know, "America" hates our health care system. If you want to know if they do, just go up to one of these people who are chosing to stay home instead of going to the emergency room for their case of gone-O-ree-A**, & waiting in line behind the gun shot wounds, and ask them if they're unhappy. Here's what they'll say: "Yeah. It feels like fire when I pee." So, all of a sudden, (gasp!) somebody's doing without urgent health care!! Don't you know, untreated gone-O-ree-A, can cause devastating consequences to fertility. And of course, this is the spin for 60 Minutes or the Obama Campaign. Take your pick--it's one in the same.
I used to be a proponent of some kind of change to our current health care environment. I reviewed the Romney plan, and it made sense to me. But after thinking about this for a long time, I don't get it. I don't see a "crisis," (even though I've somewhat oversimplified things above), and I don't get what the big deal is with having to wait to see a doctor. I pay a buttload of money for my insurance; I AM A DOCTOR, and I have to wait.
It's simple: if you're sick enough, you'll be seen first. If you're not, you're going to wait. But in the US, even if you're the poorest crack-addicted prostitute AIDS-infected heroin user, if you've got a bleeding aneurysm in your brain, we're going to find it AND treat it.
**TH doesn't like "gone-O-ree-A", so I had to use the phoentic spelling.