Those of us who care enough to pay attention to the recent healthcare debates have listened intently to try and discern the direction that our country is going. This needs to be done, primarily, because politicians rarely say what they mean and generally talk out of both sides of their collective mouths.
Once all the political rhetoric has been peeled away from the various arguments, and the “truth” (or at least something that’s fairly close to the truth) can be revealed, only then can we figure out what the hell is really going on.
Is the newly signed healthcare bill socialized medicine, today? No.
Does the newly signed healthcare bill pave the way for socialized medicine in the future? Absolutely.
That’s what frightens me the most about the entire situation. Medicare was thought to be great when it first reared its head. Now we know that is a complete joke that will shortly bankrupt this country. Social Security has been insolvent for years now, and this healthcare bill will no doubt follow suit.
The bottom line is this; do you, as free men and women want to have to go to the Federal Government for your healthcare, taxes, mortgages, and student loans? Because that’s where we’re at people!!!
The government seems to be hell-bent on providing ALL of our needs! Can anyone say "Russia"? This bill aims to completely shift the paradigm for insurance of all types. Auto insurance will be next, then homeowner’s insurance.
Look, if you smoke, knock yourself out; have a great time, but don’t ask me (a non-smoker) to pay for the higher premiums that you incur because of the decision YOU made to smoke. You are at a greater risk to kick the bucket than I am, therefore, your health insurance should cost more. Why is this so difficult to grasp?
Now before you bleeding-heart liberals dive in and start screaming about the lack of coverage for uninsured people; it is completely true that the system as it stands is jacked up.
But I feel that the open market is the best place to solve the issue; not Uncle Sam. One of the main reasons that new medicines and devices cost so
much is directly BECAUSE OF THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT / F.D.A.
Where does the train stop? How much government is enough? How many hand-outs and entitlement programs (funded by tax-payers) are enough to satisfy the craving for “free”? At what point do we take responsibility and accountability for our actions regarding our health? I’ve said 1000 times previously, health insurance will not make you healthier. All it’s going to do is allow you to run up even more medical bills that the government (see taxpayers) have to find a way to pay for. It makes no sense whatsoever!
If Uncle Sam would simply get out of the way and let the professionals take care of this mess, things would work out much better. We’ve seen the government’s best in action at the I.R.S. and the Post Office. Do you seriously want these buffoons determining when you are treated, by whom you are treated, and even IF you will be treated for whatever ails you? That’s precisely what is going to happen before the end of this decade.
In any case, the issue is far from being over as fourteen states have already lined up to file suit against the U.S. Government on the basis of the healthcare bill being unconstitutional. This one ought to be fun!
Wednesday, 24 March 2010
Tuesday, 23 March 2010
Wednesday, 17 March 2010
The Ex and Healthcare
As I’ve set back and listened to the debate raging in out nation’s Capitol, I find myself at a loss for the words to describe the lunacy that ensues daily in Washington. While “healthcare reform” is the term du jour, no one really seems to be addressing one of the core issues within the current healthcare structure; malpractice fraud and the overwhelming cost of needless litigation. When a patient sues a physician, it causes the doctor to practice more defensively; hence the term “defensive medicine”.
Case in point; my ex-wife, in all her wisdom, decided that my eldest daughter needed to go to the emergency room (see: expensive healthcare) for a superficial injury she received while playing in a soccer match over the weekend. She was kicked with the soccer ball, at close range, which struck her on the inside of her left thigh. It left a rather ugly indentation that is a perfect replica of the laces on a soccer ball. Now, while I marveled at my daughter’s soccer prowess, and bullet-proof defensive skills, I did not, at any time, deem her injury worthy of a trip to the E.R. That’s because it’s a superficial wound! There’s nothing to be done for it save ice and Ibuprofen, which I had been administering all weekend.
Now anyone that has been paying a modicum of attention to the healthcare debate in Washington would know that one of the reasons, as previously stated, that health insurance premiums continue to rise is because more and more healthcare professionals are being forced to practice defensive medicine so they don’t get sued. So there are a battery of tests run for the smallest injury or wound; and, that’s right, you guessed it, my daughter was the unknowing victim of defensive medicine. They actually X-rayed her leg! Now listen…..you do not have to have the letters, “M.D.” after your name to know that the chances of a rubber ball filled with air breaking the strongest bone in the body, the femur, are slim and none!
So why the X-ray? It’s expected by the patients today. We have been trained that that is the process we are to go through in order to receive a correct diagnosis. Lord forbid that the good doctor misdiagnose a superficial skin wound! What should have happened in this particular case is that the triage nurse, upon checking in my daughter, and thereby discovering the cause of her injury, should have given her 4 Ibuprofen, a Zip-lock bag full of ice, and a bill for $5 and laughed her mother out of the E.R.
Sadly, this did not happen, but the mere thought of it does make me warm inside. Now I realize that I’m a bit biased when it comes to the ex, but I think you get my drift here. It’s unnecessary and unwarranted E.R. visits just like this one that are driving our healthcare costs through the roof. But the physician’s hands are literally tied. If he were to diagnose such an injury without running the patient through some $3 million machine, there would undoubtedly be hell to pay. So the ex spent roughly $300 and my daughter left in EXACTLY the same condition in which she showed up. Does anyone think this is an issue, or is it just me?
Is the healthcare system out of whack? Yes.
Is my ex-wife an idiot? Yes.
We can’t fix “stupid”, but there’s still hope for the American healthcare system. We just need someone with the stones to step up to the plate and tell people, “No”.
(More on “No” later)
Case in point; my ex-wife, in all her wisdom, decided that my eldest daughter needed to go to the emergency room (see: expensive healthcare) for a superficial injury she received while playing in a soccer match over the weekend. She was kicked with the soccer ball, at close range, which struck her on the inside of her left thigh. It left a rather ugly indentation that is a perfect replica of the laces on a soccer ball. Now, while I marveled at my daughter’s soccer prowess, and bullet-proof defensive skills, I did not, at any time, deem her injury worthy of a trip to the E.R. That’s because it’s a superficial wound! There’s nothing to be done for it save ice and Ibuprofen, which I had been administering all weekend.
Now anyone that has been paying a modicum of attention to the healthcare debate in Washington would know that one of the reasons, as previously stated, that health insurance premiums continue to rise is because more and more healthcare professionals are being forced to practice defensive medicine so they don’t get sued. So there are a battery of tests run for the smallest injury or wound; and, that’s right, you guessed it, my daughter was the unknowing victim of defensive medicine. They actually X-rayed her leg! Now listen…..you do not have to have the letters, “M.D.” after your name to know that the chances of a rubber ball filled with air breaking the strongest bone in the body, the femur, are slim and none!
So why the X-ray? It’s expected by the patients today. We have been trained that that is the process we are to go through in order to receive a correct diagnosis. Lord forbid that the good doctor misdiagnose a superficial skin wound! What should have happened in this particular case is that the triage nurse, upon checking in my daughter, and thereby discovering the cause of her injury, should have given her 4 Ibuprofen, a Zip-lock bag full of ice, and a bill for $5 and laughed her mother out of the E.R.
Sadly, this did not happen, but the mere thought of it does make me warm inside. Now I realize that I’m a bit biased when it comes to the ex, but I think you get my drift here. It’s unnecessary and unwarranted E.R. visits just like this one that are driving our healthcare costs through the roof. But the physician’s hands are literally tied. If he were to diagnose such an injury without running the patient through some $3 million machine, there would undoubtedly be hell to pay. So the ex spent roughly $300 and my daughter left in EXACTLY the same condition in which she showed up. Does anyone think this is an issue, or is it just me?
Is the healthcare system out of whack? Yes.
Is my ex-wife an idiot? Yes.
We can’t fix “stupid”, but there’s still hope for the American healthcare system. We just need someone with the stones to step up to the plate and tell people, “No”.
(More on “No” later)
Tuesday, 16 March 2010
Quote O' The Day
"The federal government would run a health care system - or a public plan option - with the compassion of the IRS, the efficiency of the post office, and the incompetence of Katrina."
The Patient's Choice Act
The Patient's Choice Act
Sunday, 14 March 2010
Way to go Tennessee!!
As if the rest of the free world doesn't consider Tennesseans to be illiterate, inbred, hillbillies, the Memphis police department has stepped in to close the debate. According to a report from Devlin Barrett of the AP, http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100314/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/us_pentagon_metro_shooting_guns;_ylt=Arb7ASs7kXfmiI4ckavu5EWs0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTN2dW9odXZjBGFzc2V0A2FwLzIwMTAwMzE0L3VzX3BlbnRhZ29uX21ldHJvX3Nob290aW5nX2d1bnMEY2NvZGUDbW9zdHBvcHVsYXIEY3BvcwMxBHBvcwMzBHB0A2hvbWVfY29rZQRzZWMDeW5fdG9wX3N0b3J5BHNsawNmdWxsbmJzcHN0b3I
the guns used in both the recent Pentagon shooting, and the one that occurred at a Las Vegas courthouse both came from the great state of Tennessee; courtesy of the Memphis police department. Apparently, police departments have the option to sell weapons that have been collected from various cases in order to buy weapons for the department, as well as other equipment, such as Kevlar vests. From what I read in the article it has been common practice in the past for police departments to do this. But until now, no one ever tried to attack the Pentagon with a freaking handgun!!!
So, basically, what Memphis has done is to further promote Southern stereotypes and set us back another 25 years or so. Thank you Memphis! You know, I have pushing fr years now to have Arkansas buy Memphis from us dirt-cheap. This only strengthens the case to have Memphis sold at auction by Powell Auction Co.
Way to go Memphis! I never liked you anyway.....
the guns used in both the recent Pentagon shooting, and the one that occurred at a Las Vegas courthouse both came from the great state of Tennessee; courtesy of the Memphis police department. Apparently, police departments have the option to sell weapons that have been collected from various cases in order to buy weapons for the department, as well as other equipment, such as Kevlar vests. From what I read in the article it has been common practice in the past for police departments to do this. But until now, no one ever tried to attack the Pentagon with a freaking handgun!!!
So, basically, what Memphis has done is to further promote Southern stereotypes and set us back another 25 years or so. Thank you Memphis! You know, I have pushing fr years now to have Arkansas buy Memphis from us dirt-cheap. This only strengthens the case to have Memphis sold at auction by Powell Auction Co.
Way to go Memphis! I never liked you anyway.....
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