The rise and fall of US Health care.

I'm currently researching, that sounds scholarly, so I'm Googling in my off time about why the US health care system is set up the way it is; basically why do we have employer based health care?
Stay tuned.

More on Health Care Reform.....

I am still unsure of who governs this nation; is it, "We the people" or is it, "them big business"?

I am amazed that hospitals are profit centers, creators of dividends for share holders and not simply centers of health care.

I have heard many times that the solution to our health care mess is that we must find a uniquely American solution. I ask Why? Why must the fix for our mess be an new invention or something no other country is doing? What is wrong with the French or German or Japanese or Canadian or even the British health care systems? I can hear those who hate the concept of a socialized health care system screaming that they don't work and will never work here. Well guess what they might!

Ask an American now living and working and staying healthy in Victoria Canada what he thinks about Canadian Health Care. Ask T.R.Reid who has written 'the Healing of America' and/or listen to him speaking on NPR's Fresh Air. Listen to what these two have to say about health care elsewhere. They have first hand experience of the American system and of other systems.

For a lot of Americans the existing system works really well, they are a fortunate minority who have employer based insurance plans that offer them low cost all inclusive health care with little or no out of pocket expense. The burden of the high cost of these plans is met by their employer, they cannot leave the job they have and keep the same coverage and same costs, they are tied to the employer. Employers love it because they know that these employees are not moving. It would be great if that kind of health care; low upfront cost, minimal out of pocket (copay) expense was available to the great majority of Americans. Currently it is not. With the right reforms it could be.

Write to your elected representatives. Ask them what kind of health care they have and ask if you can have the same!

Reinventing: The American way?

This past week has been eventful, our tiny world is again on the edge of disaster. In Iran the people are angry with the outcome of the election. North Korea is threatening the whole world with nuclear warfare. African nations are waking up and looking at how they are governed and how they fit into a shrinking world. Here at home we are still struggling with the depression, yes this is a depression, no matter what the media tells us things are not getting better for everyone. Our unemployment levels continue to rise, foreclosures will continue to rise and healthcare reform is still only being talked about. Iran is on the brink of a civil war caused by the fraudulent election returns. We are on the brink of a revolution, not a violent one, but a huge change in how we live and how we do our daily tasks.
Gas prices go up, jobs are fewer and pay less, food costs are increasing, health care costs become prohibitive for those without jobs or on fixed incomes. Just a few of the things that are cause for concern.
Our health care system sucks! It is expensive. It is not the best care just the most costly.
I heard this week that" we need to find a uniquely American solution to our healthcare crisis", we already have a uniquely American solution and it doesn't work.
It is time to look at how our allies in Europe and elsewhere manage healthcare and for us to implement the best system here. It might be counter to what we have always had but it might be better. If we always do what we always did we will always get what we always got.
It is time to stop reinventing things to be uniquely American.
It is not weakness to accept that someone else may have a better way of doing it, it is wisdom.

"Polls Show Declining Support For Obama Decisions" Says Who!

The Polls show, the Polls indicate! What a load of crap! It's not even August yet the media is creating news . Maybe the media always has created the news, not just reporting what is happening but creating what is happening. Let me clarify what I mean..
The Polls: a cross section of the US population is asked a few questions and then the pollsters present the answers showing what the US public thinks about the subject they were questioned about. Where is this cross section and how many people are asked questions? I see polls from different sources, WSJ, US News and World Report, Time, USA Today, NBC, ABC, CBS, CNN, Fox News, Reuters and the list goes on. They all use a cross section of the US public. I wonder if the WSJ uses people who never read the WSJ and does the CBS poll ask NBC or CNN or Fox watchers? Where is this cross section? How many homeless people, how many bankrupted by medical bills or Katrina survivors, or ex GM or Chrysler employees or how many making less than $50k per year are included in this cross section?
Here in Minnesota we are still awaiting the result of the November 2008 Election of one of our US senators. Why don't we ask the pollsters to poll a cross section of Minnesota voters to see whether we get Norm back or have Al as a new face?
I fully understand that we are in trouble as a nation as a world, economically and politically. At home we have two huge problems that need our attention: the economy and health care costs.
The media constantly barrages us with the doom and gloom; always fast to point out what is wrong , to tell us how bad it is, how much worse it will get. They rarely offer hope. They rarely show the good that is still happening.
What we need is a rallying much like that which happened in WWII. We had a common enemy, we had a common goal, we pulled together. We also had leaders who were able to lead.
I believe that there is very little free press in the western world only in countries where there is a definite dictatorship is there a free press, it is underground and it is constantly fighting to tell the truth always looking out for the truth police!
Our media usually feeds us a steady stream of pap, something to keep our minds off what is really happening.
Who controls the media?
What is really happening?
Who is the cross section of the US population that makes up these Polls?

Taxpayer's money without Government control?

Maybe, perhaps I heard this wrong; The republicans favor a health care system using taxpayer's money but without government control!!! Yikes that sounds like a prescription for failure, fraud and complete and utter chaos.

Obviously the republicans know that such a proposal has as much chance of success as a donkey has of winning the Derby.

Party politics aside; the republicans, AMA and health insurance providers don't want any overhaul of the current system; they don't want to take a pay cut!

This week we see the congress starting to work on health care reform. I have a question for our lawmakers: Have you decided, have you agreed on what is wrong with the current system?

I know we have 15% or more Americans without insurance; we have many Americans with deductables so high that they don't see Doctors; we have older Americans choosing whether to eat or buy prescription drugs; we have areas where there are lots specialized medical facilities but a shortage of Family Practioners; we have insurance companies spending millions on analysing claims looking for ways not to pay; we have insurance companies spending millions on duplicating documentation and records.

So congress: Which of these few ills are you agreed upon exist? Or do you need some second opinions and was there a pre existing condition that needs to be investigated?

A Remedy in the making.

I am not a health care professional. I am not involved, professionally, with health care. I am self employed. I am British. I live in the USA.
I love this country and I am concerned for it's health.
Over the next weeks I will be talking about health care in the USA, where it is now; the problems we face and my take on solutions to make it better.
I will talk about the myths of "socialized" health care, from my point of view and the truth about it, again from my point of view.
I am not intending to argue. I want to put my point of view forward. I am seeking solutions to make what exists better; for all of US.